Gunnar and Hogni then took all the gold that Fafnir had had. There was strife between the Gjukungs and Atli, for he
held the Gjukungs guilty of Brynhild's death. It was agreed that they should give him Guthrun as wife, and they gave
her a draught of forgetfulness to drink before she would consent to be wedded to Atli. The sons of Atli were Erp and
Eitil, and Svanhild was the daughter of Sigurth and Guthrun. King Atli invited Gunnar and Hogni to come to him, and
sent as messenger Vingi or Knefröth. Guthrun was aware of treachery, and sent with him a message in runes that they
should not come, and as a token she sent to Hogni the ring Andvaranaut and tied a wolf's hair in it. Gunnar had sought
Oddrun, Atli's sister, for his wife, but had her not; then he married Glaumvor, and Hogni's wife was Kostbera; their sons
were Solar and Snćvar and Gjuki. And when the Gjukungs came to Atli, then Guthrun be sought her sons to plead for the
lives of both the Gjukungs, but they would not do it. Hogni's heart was cut out, and Gunnar was cast into the serpent's
den. He smote on the harp and put the serpents to sleep, but an adder stung him in the liver.
[Prose. Niflungs: regarding the mistaken application of this name to the sons of Gjuki, who were Burgundians, cf. Brot, 17 and note.
Draught of forgetfulness: according to the Volsungasaga Grimhild, Guthrun's mother, administered this, just as she did the similar
draught which made Sigurth forget Brynhild. Erp and Eitil: Guthrun kills her two sons by Atli as part of her revenge; the annotator
here explains her act further by saying that Guthrun asked her sons to intercede with their father in favor of Guthrun's brothers,
but that they refused, a detail which he appears to have invented, as it is found nowhere else. Svanhild: cf. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma,
55 and note. Vingi or Knefröth: Atlakvitha (stanza 1) calls the messenger Knefröth; Atlamol (stanza 4) speaks of two messengers,
but names only one of them, Vingi. The annotator has here tried, unsuccessfully, to combine the two accounts. Andvaranaut: regarding
the origin of Andvari's ring cf. Reginsmol, prose after stanzas 4 and 5 and notes; Sigurth gave the ring to Guthrun. Here again the
annotator is combining two stories; in Atlakvitha (stanza 8) Guthrun sends a ring (not Andvaranaut) with a wolf's hair; in Atlamol
(stanza 4) she sends a message written [fp. 449] in runes. The messenger obscures these runes, and Kostbera, Hogni's wife, who attempts to
decipher them, is not clear as to their meaning, though she suspects danger. Oddrun: cf. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 57 and note. Glaumvor:
almost nothing is told of Gunnar's second wife, though she appears frequently in the Atlamol. Kostbera (or Bera), Hogni's wife, is known
only as skilled in runes. Her brother was Orkning. The sons of Hogni and Kostbera, according to the Atlamol (stanza 28), were Solar and Snćvar;
the third son, Gjuki, named after his grandfather, seems to be an invention of the annotator's. Adder: according to Oddrunargratr (stanza 30)
Atli's mother assumed this form in order to complete her son's vengeance.]
|
|
Gunnarr ok Högni tóku ţá gullit allt, Fáfnis arf. Ófriđr var ţá í milli Gjúkunga ok Atla. Kenndi hann Gjúkungum völd um andlát Brynhildar. Ţat var til
sćtta, at ţeir skyldu gifta hánum Guđrúnu, ok gáfu henni óminnisveig at drekka, áđr hon játti at giftast Atla. Synir Atla váru ţeir Erpr ok Eitill, en
Svanhildr var Sigurđar dóttir ok Guđrúnar. Atli konungr bauđ heim Gunnari ok Högna ok sendi Vinga eđa Knéfröđ. Guđrún vissi vélar ok sendi međ rúnum orđ,
at ţeir skyldu eigi koma, ok til jartegna sendi hon Högna hringinn Andvaranaut ok knýtti í vargshár. Gunnarr hafđi beđit Oddrúnar, systur Atla, ok gat eigi.
Ţá fekk hann Glaumvarar, en Högni átti Kostberu. Ţeira synir váru ţeir Sólarr ok Snćvarr ok Gjúki. En er Gjúkungar kómu til Atla, ţá bađ Guđrún sonu sína,
at ţeir bćđi Gjúkungum lífs, en ţeir vildu eigi. Hjarta var skorit ór Högna, en Gunnarr settr í ormgarđ. Hann sló hörpu ok svćfđi ormana, en nađra stakk
hann til lifrar.
|
