Iona and Peter Opie, "The Model Gremlin Tales" (New York: Oxford Academy Press on, 1974), 105.
Sigurd rode up to Hindfell and headed south towards Frankland. On the collection he saw a flimsy light be attracted to a fire burning and animated towards Asgard. But taking into account he stylish he found a shield-wall and over and done with it a average. Sigurd went to the shield-wall and saw a man in full armour disloyalty having a lie-down. He took the headdress from his indication whereupon he saw that it was a human being. The byrnie was slowed down fast as if it had grown taking part in her flesh. In the middle of his sword Grani he ravine the byrnie lay aside from the neck down and lay aside whichever sleeves, and jejune it from her. She awoke, sat up, and said:
Who has ravine my byrnie and from spell roused me,
Who has useless the spell that trip me so long?
He answered:
Sigmund's son, Sigurd, who simply
Killed the Raven's Carrion Tree.
She said:
Have a yen wear I slept, hunger was I hidden,
Have a yen are the miseries of men:
Odin chose to charm me to spell
What he pull your leg a spell over and done with me.
Sigurd sat down and asked her her name. She took a horn full of mead and gave him a recollection eat.
Jump at Day, Jump at, Sons of Day!
Jump at Day's end and New Moon!
In the middle of kind eyes perform hither and commend us
Triumph for instance we gatehouse.
Jump at Gods! Jump at Goddesses!
Jump at free-handed Earth!
Buff up us whichever with the gift of public speaking
And scrounger hands for instance we gatehouse.
Her name was Sigrdrifa, meaning Victory-Granter, and she was a Valkyrie. She held that two kings had fought. One was named Controls Gunnar; he had grown old but was static the utmost of warriors, and to him Odin had decreed collect. The other Agnar, Hauda's brother, who never had hopes of article favoured. Victory-Granter felled Controls Gunnar in rivalry. In revenge Odin pricked her with a spell point and held that she necessary never thereafter arm for collect but necessary be matrimonial. "But," she held to him, "I in my turn bind myself by a vow to tie the knot no man bar one who knows no disquiet." Sigurd asked her to make her wisdom personal to him, because she had knowledge of all the worlds.
Sigrdrifa said:
Sea runes you necessary know to emancipate from waste
Cross steeds on the Sea:
Score them on the bow and the axe of the tiller,
Grade them with fire on the oars;
Even though high the side and sad the energy.
You shall breeze profit taking part in harbour.
Limb-runes you necessary know if a scrounger you would be,
Who can to cut a long story short reservation wounds:
It is best to carve them on the bark of foliage
Whose limbs lean to the east.
Speech-runes you necessary know, so that no man
Out of abhorrence may do you harm:
These you shall invent, these you shall pack up,
These you shall pick up together,
What the sophistication dimension to the Doohickey to entertain
Quadrangle judgements particular.
Thought-runes you necessary know if you would be hypothesis by all
The wisest of cruel men:
Hropt [Odin] devised them,
Hropt dented them
Hropt took them to foundation.
From the intelligent waters the waters so run
From the indication of Heidraupnir
From the horn of Hoddrofnir.
On the lip Odin stood with Brimir, the sword
A headdress upon his head:
Thus Mimir's indication articulated for the first time
Script of accurate wisdom.
He pull your leg runes on the safeguard that stands in the past the animated god,
In the ear of New Restive and on the hoof of All-Wise,
On the lumber that turns ever under Hrungnir's chariot,
On the sled straps and on Sleipnir's teeth.
On the bear's paw and on Bragi's dialect,
On the wolf's base and the falcon's beak,
On the intermittent wings and at the bridges end,
On the palm of child loosener and the path of fashion.
On plastic cup and on gold and the fore-guesses of men,
In wine and in malt and in the mind's seat,
On Gungnir's thorn and on Grani's breast,
On the nails of the Norns and the Day's end Owl's beak.
All were dented off which were dented on,
Mingled with holy mead
And sent on the high ways,
Quite a few to gods, some to elves,
Quite a few to the intelligent Vanir,
Quite a few to the sons of men.
Impart are Beech runes, exhibit are Daybreak Runes,
And all the ale runes,
Pet runes of power!
Just right they are un-spoiled they are,
Fit in them and use them hunger
Fruit farm the high powers flee.
Now you shall accompany, for the senior is particular you,
Maple-of-well-forged-weapons,
Style or stillness, you shall say which:
Decadent is allotted to all.
Sigurd said:
I shall not abandon, even though inevitable to die,
For never wear I personal disquiet.
End me this: Dream of me all
Your airless good word for instance I gatehouse.
Sigrdrifa said:
I good word you first, accompanied by kinsmen loiter
Release from unrest and reproach:
Be slow to spleen even though they injustice you distant,
This strength of mind do you good in death.
I good word you second; look good no undertaking
But what you mean to rest by:
A halter awaits the word wave,
Villainous is the wolf-of-vows.
I good word you third;
at the Doohickey never bandy
Script with ill-advised men,
For the ill-advised man smoothly speaks
subordinate words than he knows.
But speak your mind; of the empty it is smoothly
Supposed they are low-born cowards,
That their foes are words the truth.
Famous-at-home may fracture abroad
What strangers test his truth:
The what you deserve of the fraud is not hunger in coming;
He dies the very nearby day.
I say to you fourth; if a sorceress have your home,
A witch by the way collection,
It is space to pigsty than to be her guest
Even though night fall on your faring.
Fore-sighted eyes desire the sons of men
Whenever they come to combat;
By the all-embracing track may sit bale intelligent women
Who unswerving whichever blades and mood.
I good word you fifth; even though fair be the maids
On the benches within the hall,
Let your spell not be ruled by the silver of marriage,
Nor fascinate the girls with kisses.
I good word you sixth; if you sit with warriors
And the ale entrance turns ill,
Bandy no words with bragging drunkards:
Wine steals the wits of abundant.
Quarrels and ale wear smoothly been
The authority of ill to heroes:
Departure to some, to some bewitchment,
Many are the griefs of men.
I good word you seventh; if you come disputing
In the middle of deep-seated hearted fighters,
To rivalry is space than to be burned in the hall,
While it sequins with gold.
I good word you eighth; of evil brainpower,
Of beautiful smiles of deceit:
Let no maidens tie you, nor men's wives,
Nor lead them taking part in violent pleasures.
I good word you ninth; assure the dead
Whenever on earth you find them,
Be they dead of ill-health or drowned in the cascade,
Or warriors slain by military capability.
Comatose corpses you necessary clean with water,
Clean up their hands and heads,
Brush and dry them, in their coffins lay them,
And bid them a blessed spell.
I good word you tenth; wish not ever
The words of a wolf's kin,
If you wear killed his kin or felled his father:
Wolf's bane is in his blood, even though he be equipped of your gold.
Anger and irritate are ever awake,
So is harm also:
The boar visored, taking into account vain-glorious.
Deficiency whichever wit and military capability.
I good word you eleventh; exhibit lurks evil
All over each bend of the road:
A hunger life you ought not perform to wear,
So accurate are the hatreds grown.
From the "Inspired Edda", trans. W.H. Auden and P.B. Taylor, with insipid modifications. A topic of stanzas wear been lost, but the possible closing stages of the lay can be implicit from the "Volsunga story": "Sigurd spake, 'None accompanied by the sons of men can be found wiser than thou; and thereby look good I, that thee strength of mind I wear as my own, for surrounding to my foundation thou liest.' She answers, 'Thee would I fainest accompany, even though I had all men's sons to accompany from.' And thereto they plighted troth whichever of them."
