United States or Bahrain ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !


A day came when he asked Gunnar and Högni, his sworn brethren, for Gudrun. They were glad as though a great fortune had befallen them. And they brought him before Giuki the King, and Grimhild the Queen.

HOGNI SAID: "Thee hath Brynhild Unto all bale, And all hate whetted, And a work of sorrow; For she grudges to Gudrun All goodly life; And to thee the bliss Of her very body." Some the wolf roasted, Some minced the worm, Some unto Guttorm Gave the wolf-meat, Or ever they might In their lust for murder On the high king Lay deadly hand.

To thy bosom, O king, Will I come and sleep soft, As I was wont When my lord was living. HELGI: Now will I call Naught not to be hoped for Early or late At Sevafell, When thou in the arms Of a dead man art laid, White maiden of Hogni, Here in the mound: And thou yet quick, O King's daughter!

But after they had considered it for long Högni the Wise said: "There is a way to win Brynhild, and that is for Sigurd to change shapes, by the magic of his helmet, with Gunnar. Then Sigurd could ride Grani through the wall of flame and come to Brynhild in Gunnar's shape."

Ah, I will kiss My king laid lifeless, Ere thou castest by Thy blood-stained byrny. O Helgi, thy hair Is thick with death's rime, With the dew of the dead Is my love all dripping; Dead-cold are the hands Of the son of Hogni; How for thee, O my king, May I win healing?

Helgi wedded Sigrun, and they begate sons together, but Helgi lived not to be old; for Dag, the son of Hogni, sacrificed to Odin, praying that he might avenge his father. So Odin lent Dag his spear, and Dag met Helgi, his brother-in-law, at a place called Fetter-grove, and thrust him through with that spear, and there fell Helgi dead; but Dag rode to Sevafell, and told Sigrun of the news.

And so, as folk say, Helgi and Sigrun were born again, and at that tide was he called Helgi the Scathe of Hadding, and she Kara the daughter of Halfdan; and she was a Valkyrie, even as is said in the Lay of Kara. Hogni, the father of Dar and Sigrun, had been slain by Helgi in battle, and Helgi had given peace to, and taken oaths of Dag. One of the rivers of the under-world.

Fain was Gunnar Gold to lay down All wrongs to atone for, And Hogni in likewise; Then she asked who was fain Of faring straightly, The steed to saddle To set forth the wain, The horse to back, And the hawk to fly, To shoot forth the arrow From out the yew-bow.

"Long ago I had it in my mind," said Atli, "to take the lives of you, and be lord of the gold, and reward you for that deed of shame, wherein ye beguiled the best of all your affinity; but now shall I revenge him." Hogni answered, "Little will it avail to lie long brooding over that rede, leaving the work undone." And therewith they fell to hard fighting, at the first brunt with shot.

Then he called together all his foes, and they planned together how that they should ride to Lithend and slay him. But Njal heard what they had been saying, and he warned Gunnar. 'You have always dealt truly and kindly with me, said Gunnar, when Njal had finished speaking, 'and if ill befall me, take heed, I pray you, of my son and Hogni.