16. This their sister saw, | as soon as her brothers
Had entered the hall,-- | little ale had she drunk:
"Betrayed art thou, Gunnar! | what guard hast thou, hero,
'Gainst the plots of the Huns? | from the hall flee swiftly!
Brother, 'twere far better | to have come in byrnie,
With thy household helmed, | to see Atli's home,
And to sit in the saddle | all day 'neath the sun,
(That the sword-norns might weep | for the death-pale warriors,
And the Hunnish shield-maids | might shun not the sword,)
And send Atli himself | to the den of the snakes;
(Now the den of the snakes | for thee is destined.
Gunnar spake:
17. . . . . . . . . . .
"Too late is it, sister, | to summon the Niflungs,
Long is it to come | to the throng of our comrades,
The heroes gallant, | from the hills of the Rhine."
18. Then Gunnar they seized, | and they set him in chains,
The Burgundians' king, | and fast they bound him.
19. Hogni slew seven | with sword so keen,
And an eighth he flung | in the fire hot;
A hero should fight | with his foemen thus,
As Hogni strove | in Gunnar's behalf.
20. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
The leader they asked | if his life he fain
With gold would buy, | the king of the Goths.
[16. This may be the remains of two stanzas, the manuscript marks line 5 as beginning a new stanza. Editorial conjectures are numerous and varied.
Household: the phrase is the same "helms round the hearth" commented on in stanza 3. Some editions insert a conjectural line after line 3.
Sword-norns, etc.: the line is exceedingly obscure, and the phrase rendered "sword-norns" may mean "corpse-norns." Apparently it refers to the
warrior-women of the Huns, the "shield-maids" of line 5 and of stanza 45. Roman writers refer to the warrior-women among the early Germanic tribes,
and the tradition, closely allied to that of the Valkyries, attached itself readily to the ferocious Huns. Den of snakes: concerning the manner of
Gunnar's death cf. Drap Niflunga. *Note*: Stanza 17 in Bellows original translation is combined with stanza 16 to conform to the ON this has resulted
in a re-numbering of the stanzas from 16 to 26 where the next restructuring occurs.
17. The manuscript indicates no lacuna and does not name the speaker; perhaps a line similar to line 1 of stanza 23 (or 25) should be inserted here.
Rhine: Gunnar's Burgundian home is here clearly localized. After this stanza it is probable that a passage describing the battle has been lost.
18. These two lines, apparently the remains of a full stanza, may belong after stanza 19. Burgundians' king: the phrase may mean "Burgundians'
men," i.e., they bound all the Burgundians who were left alive after the battle. This is the only place in the poems in which the name "Burgundian"
appears; that the poet had no very clear conception of its meaning is indicated by the fact that in stanza 20 he calls Gunnar "king of the Goths."
19. Apparently a Fornyrthislag stanza, though most editions have attempted to expand the lines into Malahattr. The exploits of Hogni (Hagene),
with the names of many of his victims, are told in the Nibelungenlied. The fire: in the Nibelungenlied Kriemhild has the hall set on fire, and
the Burgundians fight amid the flames. Line 4 is clearly defective, and some editors regard the name "Gunnar" as all that is left of the first two
lines of stanza 20.
20. Again apparently the remains of a Fornyrthislag stanza. Editors have attempted various combinations of the lines. Gold: presumably Sigurth's treasure.]
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16. Betr hefðir þú, bróðir, at þú í brynju færir,
sem hjalmum aringreypum at séa heim Atla,
sætir þú í söðlum sólheiða daga,
nái nauðfölva létir nornir gráta,
Húna skjaldmeyjar herfi kanna,
en Atla sjalfan létir þú í ormgarð koma,
nú er sá ormgarðr ykkr of folginn."
Gunnarr kvað:
17. "Seinat er nú, systir, at samna Niflungum;
langt er at leita lýða sinnis til,
ef rosmufjöll Rínar rekka óneissa."
18. Fengu þeir Gunnar ok í fjötur settu
vin Borgunda ok bundu fastla.
19. Sjau hjó Högni sverði hvössu,
en inum átta hratt hann í eld heitan;
svá skal frækn fjándum verjask
[sem] Högni varði hendr [sínar].
20. -- -- Gunnars;
frágu fræknan, ef fjör vildi,
gotna þjóðann, gulli kaupa.
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