36. Straight from the grove | came striding Rig,
Rig came striding, | and runes he taught him;
By his name he called him, | as son he claimed him,
And bade him hold | his heritage wide,
His heritage wide, | the ancient homes.
37. . . . . . . . . . .
Forward he rode | through the forest dark,
O'er the frosty crags, | till a hall he found.
38. His spear he shook, | his shield he brandished,
His horse he spurred, | with his sword he hewed;
Wars he raised, | and reddened the field,
Warriors slew he, | and land he won.
39. Eighteen halls | ere long did he hold,
Wealth did he get, | and gave to all,
Stones and jewels | and slim-flanked steeds,
Rings he offered, | and arm-rings shared.
40. His messengers went | by the ways so wet,
And came to the hall | where Hersir dwelt;
His daughter was fair | and slender-fingered,
Erna the wise | the maiden was.
[36. Lines I, 2, and 5 all begin with capitals preceded by periods, a fact which, taken in conjunction with the obviously
defective state of the following stanza, has led to all sorts of conjectural emendations. The exact significance of Rig's
giving his own name to Jarl (cf. stanza 46), and thus recognizing him, potentially at least, as a king, depends on the conditions
under which the poem was composed (cf. Introductory Note). The whole stanza, particularly the reference to the
teaching of magic (runes), fits Othin far better than Heimdall.
37. Something--one or two lines, or a longer passage--has clearly been lost, describing the beginning of Jarl's journey. Yet many
editors, relying on the manuscript punctuation, make 37 and 38 into a single stanza.
39. The manuscript marks both lines 1 and 2 as beginning stanzas.
40. Hersir: "Lord"; the hersir was, in the early days before the establishment of a kingdom in Norway, the local chief, and
hence the highest recognized authority. During and after the time of Harald the Fair-Haired the name lost something of its distinction, the
hersir coming to take rank below the jarl. Erna: "The Capable."]
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36. Kom ţar ór runni Rígr gangandi,
Rígr gangandi, rúnar kendi;
sitt gaf heiti, son kveđsk eiga;
ţann bađ hann eignask óđalvöllu,
óđalvöllu, aldnar byggđir.
37. Reiđ hann meir ţađan myrkvan viđ,
hélug fjöll, unz at höllu kom;
skaft nam at dýja, skelfđi lind,
hesti hleypđi ok hjörvi brá;
víg nam at vekja, völl nam at rjóđa,
val nam at fella, vá til landa.
38. Réđ hann einn at ţat átján búum,
auđ nam skipta, öllum veita
meiđmar ok mösma, mara svangrifja,
hringum hreytti, hjó sundr baug.
39. Óku ćrir úrgar brautir,
kómu at höllu, ţar er Hersir bjó;
mey átti hann mjófingrađa,
hvíta ok horska, hétu Erna.
40. Báđu hennar ok heim óku,
giftu Jarli, gekk hon und líni;
saman bjuggu ţau ok sér unđu,
ćttir jóku ok aldrs nutu.
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