22. In the cup were runes of every kind,
Written and reddened, I could not read them;
A heather-fish from the Haddings' land,
An ear uncut, and the entrails of beasts.

23. Much evil was brewed within the beer,
Blossoms of trees, and acorns burned,
Dew of the hearth, and holy entrails,
The liver of swine,-- all grief to allay.

24. Then I forgot, when the draught they gave me,
There in the hall, my husband's slaying;
On their knees the kings all three did kneel,
Ere she herself to speak began:

Grimhild spake:

25. "Guthrun, gold | to thee I give,
The wealth that once | thy father's was,
Rings to have, | and Hlothver's halls,
And the hangings all | that the monarch had.

[21. Stanzas 22-25 describe the draught of forgetfulness which Grimhild gives Guthrun, just as she gave one to Sigurth (in one version of the story) to make him forget Brynhild. The draught does not seem to work despite Guthrun's statement in stanza 24 (cf. stanza 29), for which reason Vigfusson, not unwisely, places stanzas 21-24 after stanza 33. Blood of swine: cf. Hyndluljoth, 39 and note.

22. The Volsungasaga quotes stanzas 22-23. Heather-fish: a snake. Haddings' land: the world of the dead, so called because, according to Saxo Grammaticus, the Danish king Hadingus once visited it. It is possible that the comma should follow "heather fish," making the "ear uncut" (of grain) come from the world of the dead.

23. Dew of the hearth: soot.

24. In the manuscript, and in some editions, the first line is in the third person plural: "Then they forgot, when the draught they had drunk." The second line in the original is manifestly in bad shape, and has been variously emended. I forgot: this emendation is doubtful, in view of stanza 30, but cf. note to stanza 21. The kings all three: probably Atli's emissaries, though the interpolated lines of stanza 20 name four of them. I suspect that line 4 is wrong, and should read: "Ere he himself (Atli) to speak began." Certainly stanzas 25-26 fit Atli much better than they do Grimhild, and there is nothing unreasonable in Atli's having come in person, along with his tributary kings, to seek Guthrun's hand. However, the "three kings" may not be Atli's followers at all, but Gunnar, Hogni, and the unnamed third brother possibly referred to in Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 18.

25. Thy father's: So the manuscript, in which case the reference is obviously to Gjuki. But some editions omit the "thy," and if Atli, and not Grimhild, is speaking (cf. note on stanza 24), the reference may be, as in line 3 of stanza 26, to the wealth of Atli's father, Buthli. Hlothver: the northern form of the Frankish name Chlodowech (Ludwig), but who this Hlothver was, beyond the fact that he was evidently a Frankish king, is uncertain. If Atli is speaking, he is presumably a Frankish ruler whose land Atli and his Huns have conquered.]

22. Váru í horni hvers kyns stafir
ristnir ok rođnir, - ráđa ek né máttak, -
lyngfiskr langr, lands Haddingja
ax óskorit, innleiđ dyra.

23. Váru ţeim bjóri böl mörg saman,
urt alls viđar ok akarn brunnin,
umdögg arins, iđrar blótnar,
svíns lifr sođin, ţví at hon sakar deyfđi.

24. En ţá gleymđu, er getit höfđu,
öll jöfurs jórbjúg í sal;
kómu konungar fyr kné ţrennir,
áđr hon sjalfa mik sótti at máli.

Grímhildr kvađ:

25. "Gef ek ţér, Guđrún, gull at ţiggja,
fjölđ alls féar, at ţinn föđur dauđan,
hringa rauđa, Hlöđvés sali,
ársal allan at jöfur fallinn.