Poetic Edda · heroic poems
Oddrúnargrátr
Oddrun's Lament
Bellows's introduction
The Oddrunargratr follows Guthrunarkvitha III in the Codex Regius; it is not quoted or mentioned elsewhere, except that the composer of the "short" Sigurth lay seems to have been familiar with it. The Volsungasaga says nothing of the story on which it is based, and mentions Oddrun only once, in the course of its paraphrase of Brynhild's prophecy from the "short" Sigurth lay. That the poem comes from the eleventh century is generally agreed; prior to the year 1000 there is no trace of the figure of Oddrun, Atli's sister, and yet the Oddrunargratr is almost certainly older than the "short" Sigurth lay, so that the last half of the eleventh century seems to be a fairly safe guess.
Where or how the figure of Oddrun entered the Sigurth-Atli cycle is uncertain. She does not appear in any of the extant German versions, and it is generally assumed that she was a creation of the North, though the poet refers to "old tales" concerning her. She does not directly affect the course of the story at all, though the poet has used effectively the episode of Gunnar's death, with the implication that Atli's vengeance on Gunnar and Hogni was due, at least in part, to his discovery of Gunnar's love affair with Oddrun. The material which forms the background of Oddrun's story belongs wholly to the German part of the legend (cf. introductory note to Gripisspo), and is paralleled with considerable closeness in the Nibelungenlied; only Oddrun herself and the subsidiary figures of Borgny and Vilmund are Northern additions. The geography, on the other hand, is so utterly chaotic as to indicate that the original localization of the Atli story had lost all trace of significance by the time this poem was composed.
In the manuscript the poem, or rather the brief introductory prose note, bears the heading "Of Borgny and Oddrun," but nearly all editions, following late paper manuscripts, have given the poem the title it bears here. Outside of a few apparently defective stanzas, and some confusing transpositions, the poem has clearly been preserved in good condition, and the beginning and end are definitely marked.
Heithrek was the name of a king, whose daughter was called Borgny. Vilmund was the name of the man who was her lover. She could not give birth to a child until Oddrun, Atli's sister, had come to her; Oddrun had been beloved of Gunnar, son of Gjuki. About this story is the following poem.
Note
Prose. Nothing further is known of Heithrek, Borgny or Vilmund. The annotator has added the name of Borgny's father, but otherwise his material comes from the poem itself. Oddrun, sister of Atli and Brynhild, here appears as proficient in birth-runes (cf. Sigrdrifumol, 8). Regarding her love for Gunnar, Guthrun's brother, and husband of her sister, Brynhild, cf. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 57 and note.
I have heard it toldin olden talesHow a maiden cameto Morningland;No one of allon earth aboveTo Heithrek's daughterhelp could give.
Note
Olden tales: this may be merely a stock phrase, or it may really mean that the poet found his story in oral prose tradition. Morningland: the poem's geography is utterly obscure. "Morningland" is apparently identical with "Hunland" (stanza 4), and yet Oddrun is herself sister of the king of the Huns. Vigfusson tries to make "Mornaland" into "Morva land" and explain it as Moravia. Probably it means little more than a country lying vaguely in the East. With stanza 28 the confusion grows worse.
Cited on Oddrún
This Oddrun learned,the sister of Atli,That sore the maiden'ssickness was;The bit-bearer forthfrom his stall she brought,And the saddle laidon the steed so black.
Cited on Oddrún
She let the horse goo'er the level ground,Till she reached the hallthat loftily rose,(And in she wentfrom the end of the hall;)From the weary steedthe saddle she took;Hear now the speechthat first she spake:
Note
Line 3 (cf. Völundarkvitha, 17) or line 5 (cf. Thrymskvitha, 2), both quoted from older poems, is probably spurious; the manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a new stanza.
"What news on earth,.......Or what has happenedin Hunland now?"A serving-maid spake:"Here Borgny liesin bitter pain,Thy friend, and, Oddrun,thy help would find."
Note
Line 1 in the original appears to have lost its second half. In line 2 the word rendered "has happened" is doubtful. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker of lines 3-4, and a few editors assign them to Borgny herself.
Oddrun spake:"Who worked this woefor the woman thus,Or why so suddenis Borgny sick?"The serving-maid spake:"Vilmund is he,the heroes' friend,Who wrapped the womanin bedclothes warm,(For winters five,yet her father knew not)."
Note
The manuscript does not indicate the speakers. For the woman: conjectural; the manuscript has instead: "What warrior now hath worked this woe?" The manuscript indicates line 3 as beginning a new stanza. Line 5, apparently modeled on line 4 of stanza 13, is probably spurious.
Then no morethey spake, methinks;She went at the kneesof the woman to sit;With magic Oddrunand mightily OddrunChanted for Borgnypotent charms.
Note
Charms: cf. Sigrdrifumol, 8.
Cited on Galdr
At last were borna boy and girl,Son and daughterof Hogni's slayer;Then speech the womanso weak began,Nor said she aughtere this she spake:
Note
Hogni's slayer: obviously Vilmund, but unless he was the one of Atli's followers who actually cut out Hogni's heart (cf. Drap Niflunga), there is nothing else to connect him with Hogni's death. Sijmons emends the line to read "Born of the sister of Hogni's slayer."
"So may the holyones thee help,Frigg and Freyjaand favoring gods,As thou hast saved mefrom sorrow now."
Note
Regarding Frigg as a goddess of healing cf. Svipdagsmol, 52, note. Regarding Freyja as the friend of lovers cf. Grimnismol, 14, note. A line is very possibly missing from this stanza.
Oddrun spake:"I came not hitherto help thee thusBecause thou evermy aid didst earn;I fulfilled the oaththat of old I swore,That aid to allI should ever bring,(When they shared the wealththe warriors had)."
Note
The manuscript does not name the speaker. In line 2 the word rendered "earn" is omitted in the manuscript, but nearly all editions have supplied it. Line 5 is clearly either interpolated or out of place. It may be all that is left of a stanza which stood between stanzas 15 and 16, or it may belong in stanza 12.
Borgny spake:"Wild art thou, Oddrun,and witless now,That so in hatredto me thou speakest;I followed theewhere thou didst fare,As we had been bornof brothers twain."
Note
In the manuscript the order is as follows: 12; 13; 14; 15, 3-4; 10; 11; 16; 17; 18; 19, 1-2; 15, 1-2; 19, 3-4; 20. The changes made here, following several of the editions, are: (a) the transposition of stanzas 10-11, which are clearly dialogue, out of the body of the lament to a position just before it; (b) the transposition of lines 1-2 of stanza 15 to their present position from the middle of stanza 19.
The manuscript does not name the speaker; cf. note on stanzas 10-20.
Oddrun spake:"I remember the evilone eve thou spakest,When a draught I gaveto Gunnar then;Thou didst say that neversuch a deedBy maid was donesave by me alone."
Note
In the manuscript the order is as follows: 12; 13; 14; 15, 3-4; 10; 11; 16; 17; 18; 19, 1-2; 15, 1-2; 19, 3-4; 20. The changes made here, following several of the editions, are: (a) the transposition of stanzas 10-11, which are clearly dialogue, out of the body of the lament to a position just before it; (b) the transposition of lines 1-2 of stanza 15 to their present position from the middle of stanza 19.
The manuscript does not name the speaker; cf. note on stanzas 10-20. The word rendered "evil" in line 1 is a conjectural addition. Apparently Borgny was present at Atli's court while the love affair between Oddrun and Gunnar was in progress, and criticised Oddrun for her part in it. A draught, etc.: apparently in reference to a secret meeting of the lovers.
Then the sorrowing womansat her downTo tell the griefof her troubles great.
Note
In the manuscript the order is as follows: 12; 13; 14; 15, 3-4; 10; 11; 16; 17; 18; 19, 1-2; 15, 1-2; 19, 3-4; 20. The changes made here, following several of the editions, are: (a) the transposition of stanzas 10-11, which are clearly dialogue, out of the body of the lament to a position just before it; (b) the transposition of lines 1-2 of stanza 15 to their present position from the middle of stanza 19.
In the manuscript this stanza follows stanza 9; cf. note on stanzas 10-20. No gap is indicated, but something has presumably been lost. Grundtvig supplies as a first line: "The maid her evil days remembered," and inserts as a second line line 5 of stanza 9.
"Happy I grewin the hero's hallAs the warriors wished,and they loved me well;Glad I wasof my father's gifts,For winters five,while my father lived.
Note
In the manuscript the order is as follows: 12; 13; 14; 15, 3-4; 10; 11; 16; 17; 18; 19, 1-2; 15, 1-2; 19, 3-4; 20. The changes made here, following several of the editions, are: (a) the transposition of stanzas 10-11, which are clearly dialogue, out of the body of the lament to a position just before it; (b) the transposition of lines 1-2 of stanza 15 to their present position from the middle of stanza 19.
The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a new stanza; many editions combine lines 1-2 with stanzas 12 and lines 3-4 with lines 1-2 of stanza 14. The hero: Buthli, father of Oddrun, Atli, and Brynhild.
Cited on Oddrún
"These were the wordsthe weary king,Ere he died,spake last of all:He bade me with red golddowered to be,And to Grimhild's sonin the South be wedded.
Note
In the manuscript the order is as follows: 12; 13; 14; 15, 3-4; 10; 11; 16; 17; 18; 19, 1-2; 15, 1-2; 19, 3-4; 20. The changes made here, following several of the editions, are: (a) the transposition of stanzas 10-11, which are clearly dialogue, out of the body of the lament to a position just before it; (b) the transposition of lines 1-2 of stanza 15 to their present position from the middle of stanza 19.
The manuscript indicates line 3, but not line 1, as the beginning of a new stanza; some editions combine lines 3-4 with lines 3-4 of stanza 15. Making Buthli plan the marriage of Oddrun and Gunnar may be a sheer invention of the poet, or may point to an otherwise lost version of the legend.
"But Brynhild the helmhe bade to wear,A wish-maid brighthe said she should be;For a nobler maidwould never be bornOn earth, he said,if death should spare her.
Note
In the manuscript the order is as follows: 12; 13; 14; 15, 3-4; 10; 11; 16; 17; 18; 19, 1-2; 15, 1-2; 19, 3-4; 20. The changes made here, following several of the editions, are: (a) the transposition of stanzas 10-11, which are clearly dialogue, out of the body of the lament to a position just before it; (b) the transposition of lines 1-2 of stanza 15 to their present position from the middle of stanza 19.
Lines 1-2 have here been transposed from the middle of stanza 19; cf. note on stanzas 10-20. Wish-maid: a Valkyrie, so called because the Valkyries fullfilled Othin's wish in choosing the slain heroes for Valhall. The reference to Brynhild as a Valkyrie by no means fits with the version of the story used in stanzas 16-17, and the poet seems to have attempted to combine the two contradictory traditions; cf. Fafnismol, note on stanza 44. In the manuscript stanzas 10-11 follow line 4 of stanza 15.
Cited on Valkyries
"At her weaving Brynhildsat in her bower,Lands and folkalike she had;The earth and heavenhigh resoundedWhen Fafnir's slayerthe city saw.
Note
In the manuscript the order is as follows: 12; 13; 14; 15, 3-4; 10; 11; 16; 17; 18; 19, 1-2; 15, 1-2; 19, 3-4; 20. The changes made here, following several of the editions, are: (a) the transposition of stanzas 10-11, which are clearly dialogue, out of the body of the lament to a position just before it; (b) the transposition of lines 1-2 of stanza 15 to their present position from the middle of stanza 19.
In stanzas 16-17 the underlying story seems to be the one used in Sigurtharkvitha en skamma (particularly stanzas 32-39), and referred to in Guthrunarkvitha I, 24, wherein Gunnar and Sigurth lay siege to Atli's city (it here appears as Brynhild's) and are bought off only by Atli's giving Brynhild to Gunnar as wife, winning her consent thereto by falsely representing to her that Gunnar is Sigurth. This version is, of course, utterly at variance with the one in which Sigurth wins Brynhild for Gunnar by riding through the ring of flames, and is probably more closely akin to the early German traditions. In the Nibelungenlied Brynhild appears as a queen ruling over lands and peoples. Fafnir's slayer: Sigurth.
"Then battle was foughtwith the foreign swords,And the city was brokenthat Brynhild had;Not long thereafter,but all too soon,Their evil wilesfull well she knew.
Note
In the manuscript the order is as follows: 12; 13; 14; 15, 3-4; 10; 11; 16; 17; 18; 19, 1-2; 15, 1-2; 19, 3-4; 20. The changes made here, following several of the editions, are: (a) the transposition of stanzas 10-11, which are clearly dialogue, out of the body of the lament to a position just before it; (b) the transposition of lines 1-2 of stanza 15 to their present position from the middle of stanza 19.
Cf. note on preceding stanza.
"Woeful for thisher vengeance was,As so we learnedto our sorrow all;In every landshall all men hearHow herself at Sigurth'sside she slew.
Note
In the manuscript the order is as follows: 12; 13; 14; 15, 3-4; 10; 11; 16; 17; 18; 19, 1-2; 15, 1-2; 19, 3-4; 20. The changes made here, following several of the editions, are: (a) the transposition of stanzas 10-11, which are clearly dialogue, out of the body of the lament to a position just before it; (b) the transposition of lines 1-2 of stanza 15 to their present position from the middle of stanza 19.
Cf. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, stanzas 64-70.
"Love to Gunnarthen I gave,To the breaker of rings,as Brynhild might;To Atli ringsso red they offered,And mighty giftsto my brother would give.
Note
In the manuscript the order is as follows: 12; 13; 14; 15, 3-4; 10; 11; 16; 17; 18; 19, 1-2; 15, 1-2; 19, 3-4; 20. The changes made here, following several of the editions, are: (a) the transposition of stanzas 10-11, which are clearly dialogue, out of the body of the lament to a position just before it; (b) the transposition of lines 1-2 of stanza 15 to their present position from the middle of stanza 19.
In the manuscript lines 1-2 of stanza 15 follow line 2, resulting in various conjectural combinations. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza. Rings, etc.: possibly, as Gering maintains, payment offered by Gunnar and Hogni for Brynhild's death, but more probably, as in stanza 20, Gunnar's proffered "marriage gold" for the hand of Oddrun.
"Fifteen dwellingsfain would he giveFor me, and the burdenthat Grani bore;But Atli saidhe would never receiveMarriage goldfrom Gjuki's son.
Note
In the manuscript the order is as follows: 12; 13; 14; 15, 3-4; 10; 11; 16; 17; 18; 19, 1-2; 15, 1-2; 19, 3-4; 20. The changes made here, following several of the editions, are: (a) the transposition of stanzas 10-11, which are clearly dialogue, out of the body of the lament to a position just before it; (b) the transposition of lines 1-2 of stanza 15 to their present position from the middle of stanza 19.
Grani's burden: the treasure won by Sigurth from Fafnir; cf. Fafnismol, concluding prose. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza, as also in stanzas 21 and 22.
Cited on Atli
"Yet could we notour love o'ercome,And my head I laidon the hero's shoulder;Many there wereof kinsmen mineWho said that togetherus they had seen.
Cited on Oddrún
"Atli saidthat never IWould evil plan,or ill deed do;But none may thisof another think,Or surely speak,when love is shared.
"Soon his mendid Atli send,In the murky woodon me to spy;Thither they camewhere they should not come,Where beneath one coverclose we lay.
Note
Murky wood: the forest which divided Atli's realm from that of the Gjukungs is in Atlakvitha, 3, called Myrkwood. This hardly accords with the extraordinary geography of stanzas 28-29, or with the journey described in Guthrunarkvitha II, 36.
Cited on Atli
"To the warriors ruddyrings we offered,That nought to Atlie'er they should say;But swiftly homethey hastened thence,And eager allto Atli told.
Note
In the manuscript lines 3 and 4 stand in reversed order.
"But close from Guthrunkept they hidWhat first of allshe ought to have known.....................................
Note
No gap is indicated in the manuscript; some editors assume the loss not only of two lines, but of an additional stanza. Evidently Guthrun has already become Atli's wife.
"Great was the clatterof gilded hoofsWhen Gjuki's sonsthrough the gateway rode;The heart they hewedfrom Hogni then,And the other they castin the serpents' cave.
Note
If a stanza has been lost after stanza 25, it may well have told of Atli's treacherous invitation to the Gjukungs to visit him; cf. Drap Niflunga, which likewise tells of the slaying of Hogni and Gunnar (the other).
"The hero wiseon his harp then smote,..............For help from mein his heart yet hopedThe high-born king,might come to him.
Note
In the manuscript these three lines follow line 2 of stanza 28. No gap is indicated in the manuscript. In the Volsungasaga Guthrun gives her brother the harp, with which he puts the serpents to sleep. The episode is undoubtedly related to the famous thirtieth Aventiure of the Nibelungenlied, in which Volker plays the followers of Gunther to sleep before the final battle.
Cited on Oddrún
"Alone was I goneto Geirmund then,The draught to mixand ready to make;Sudden I heardfrom Hlesey clearHow in sorrow the stringsof the harp resounded.
Note
In the manuscript the three lines of stanza 27 follow line 2, and line 3 is marked as beginning a new stanza. Geirmund: nothing further is known of him, but he seems to be an ally or retainer of Atli, or possibly his brother. Hlesey: the poet's geography is here in very bad shape. Hlesey is (or may be) the Danish island of Läsö, in the Kattegat (cf. Harbarthsljoth, 37 and note), and thither he has suddenly transported not only Gunnar's death-place but Atli's whole dwelling (cf. stanza 29), despite his previous references to the ride to Hunland (stanzas 3-4) and the "murky wood" (stanza 23). Geirmund's home, where Oddrun has gone, is separated from Hlesey and Atli's dwelling by a sound (stanza 29). However, geographical accuracy is seldom to be looked for in heroic epic poetry.
"I bade the serving-maidsready to be,For I longed the hero'slife to save;Across the soundthe boats we sailed,Till we saw the wholeof Atli's home.
Note
Many editions combine this stanza with lines 3-4 of stanza 28. The sound: cf. note on stanza 28.
"Then crawling the evilwoman came,Atli's mother—may she ever rot!And hard she bitto Gunnar's heart,So I could not helpthe hero brave.
Note
The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza. Atli's mother: the Volsungasaga does not follow this version; Gunnar puts all the serpents but one to sleep with his harp playing, "but a mighty and evil adder crawled to him and drove his fangs into him till they reached his heart, and so he died." It is possible that "Atli" is a scribal error for a word meaning "of serpents."
Cited on Oddrún
"Oft have I wonderedhow after this,Serpents'-bed goddess!I still might live,For well I lovedthe warrior brave,The giver of swords,as my very self.
Note
Serpents'-bed goddess: woman (i. e., Borgny); "goddess of gold" was a frequent term for a woman, and gold was often called the "serpents' bed" (cf. Guthrunarkvitha I, 24 and note).
"Thou didst see and listen,the while I saidThe mighty griefthat was mine and theirs;Each man livesas his longing wills,—Oddrun's lamentis ended now."
Note
Some editions make line 4 a statement of the poet's, and not part of Oddrun's speech.