THE LAY OF HERVOR [HERVARARKVITRA]

p. 29

THE LAY OF HERVOR
[HERVARARKVITRA]

SOME students have doubted whether this lay, which to them seems episodic, was composed and recited independently of the saga in which it occurs. They seem to forget that its substance is not merely Hervor conjuring up her father from the dead, and with her malisons compelling him to yield to her out of the grave the precious heirloom of the wondrous invincible sword buried with him: this action is only preparatory of the dire prophecy bound up with the ownership of Tyrfing, the sword which demands the life of a man, every time it is drawn, and must be sheathed in warm blood. The fact that the prophecy of the total annihilation of her progeny, as stated here, does not square with the account of the saga may mean that the very composite saga, rather than the lay, has swerved from the original conception. It will also be observed that the poem is purely dialogic. Both action and motivation, and the description of the nightly scene of dread and gloom, are skillfully and completely achieved by this technique; so that, as in the best ballads, any prose introduction is supererogatory.

The lay has been justly admired.1 There is power and subtlety in the portrayal of the amazon maiden. She is self-centered and undaunted, come what may, and ruthless in her fierce insistence ou fulfilling her destinylittle reck I, ruler of men, whether my sons slay each otheryet withal a strength girt round with weakness. Once she holds the coveted sword in her hand she flees to her ships, unnerved by the horrors of the night. Still the lay is decidedly in the later manner, in style and composition, and can hardly be older than, say, the twelfth century. The text, in regular fornyrthislag, is complete, though there seems to be some confusion in the order of the stanzas. It is found in the two main MSS of the Hervarar saga.

p. 30

From the saga we learn that after the battle with Hiálmar and Orvar Odd on Sáms-isle, the latter interred Angantýr and his brothers in a barrow with all their weapons. Before his death Angantýr had begotten a daughter, Hervor. Like him, she was strong, fierce, and intractable. She wore armor like a man and joined a band of vikings whose chief she soon became. She lays her course to Sáms-isle to win Tyrfing, the wondrous sword. Alone she goes on land.

1 2

***

The SHEPHERD said:

Who by himselfhath come hither on isle?
Go thou straightway,get thee shelter!

HERVOR said:

2
I care not goand get me shelter:
not any one know Iof the island s men.
Ere hence thou hiest,in haste tell me:
where are the howesfor Hiorvarth 3 named?

The SHEPHERD said:

3
Ask not of such, if sage thou art,
friend-of-vikings:4thou rt on ferly ways;
let us fare hence so fastas feet will carry!
Without now is itawful for men.

HERVOR said:

4
This trinket s thineif thou tell me this:
t were hard to hold back theheroes -friend.4

p. 31

The SHEPHERD said:

Thou canst not givesuch golden trinkets,
such fair-shining rings,that I fare with thee.5

5
Tis folly, in faith,to fare thither
for a man alonein this murky dark:
is fire abroad,the barrows open,
burn field and fen:let us flee in haste.

HERVOR said:

6
I scorn to dreada din like this,
though fires do burnall about the isle!
Let not men who are deadunman us, shepherd,
with fear so swiftly,but say thou on!

The SHEPHERD said:

7
Is Hel s gate lifted,the howes do ope,
the edge of the isleis all afire
awful is itto be without:
to thy ships hie theein haste, oh maiden!

HERVOR said:

8
Such nightly blazeye cannot build
that of their firesafraid I grow:
will Hervor s heartnot be horror-struck,
e en though a ghostin grave-door stood.7

p. 32

9
Awake, Angantýr!Wakes thee Hervor,
thy only bairn,born to Sváva;
the bitter brandfrom thy belt gird thou,
which swinking dwarfsfor Sváfrlami wrought.

10
Hervarth, Hiorvarth,Hrani,8 Angantýr!
I awake you all,ye wights neath mold
with helmets and byrniesand bitter swords,
with gory spearsand all gear of war.

11
Have Arngrím s sons,the evil men s,
their corpses becometo clay and mold,9
seeing that noneof the sons of Eyfura 10
with me will speakin Munar Bay.

12
May all of you feelwithin your ribs
as though in ant-hillyour ill bones rotted,11
but the sword ye fetch meforged by Dvalin:12
it befits not ghoststo guard prized arms.

ANGANTÝR said:

13
Hervor, daughter,why doest call me
with cold curses?They will cost thee dear!
Bereft of reasonand raving art thou,
that with wildered thoughtthou wak st the dead.

14
Neither father me buriednor fellow kinsmen:
(thy brothers banesmenthis barrow raised.13)
The twain who liveddid Tyrfing win
now one of the victorswields it at last.

p. 33

HERVOR said:

15
Thou say st not sooth!May so the gods
leave thee whole in howeas thou hast not
Tyrfing with thee:14unwilling art
to give thy daughterher dearest wish,

ANGANTÝR said:

16 15
Hardly humanI hold thee, maiden,
about barrows whohoverest at night,
with graven spear 16and Gothic iron,17
with helmet and byrnie,the hall s 18 gate before,

HERVOR said:

17
Howbeit, humanwas I held to be
ere hither I hied me,your hall to seek:
out of howe hand methe hater-of-byrnies,19
the dwarfs handiwork: t will not do to hide it!

ANGANTÝR said:

18
Under my shoulders hiddenlies Hiálmar s bane,
about its bladeblazes fire:
in this wide worldknow I no woman born
who would dare to wieldthe dreaded sword.

HERVOR said:

19
Would I hold in handif have it I might
the bitter brand,and in battle wield it,
Not a whit fear Ithe fire blazing:
it swiftly sinksas I seek it with eye.

p. 34

ANGANTÝR said:

20
I tell thee, Hervorheed my warning!
what will happen,thou heroes daughter!
I say but sooth:will this sword become
the slayer of allthy sib and kin.

HERVOR said:

21
Thus shall I dealwith you dead men s bones
that in your gravesye get no rest:20
hand me, Angantýr,out of the howe
the sword wherewiththou slewest Hiálmar!

ANGANTÝR said:

22
Witless art thou,and of wanton mind,
like a fool to fling theeinto fire blazing!
Out of howe, rather,shall I hand the sword,
hardy maiden,nor withhold it from thee.

HERVOR said:

23
Well then doest thou,warriors -offspring,
out of the howeto hand Tyrfing
which liefer to me,thou lord-of-battle,
than now to haveall Norroway.

ANGANTÝR said:

24
Thou little knowest,luckless woman,
what ill thou st wroughtwith reckless speech:
I say but sooth:will this sword become
the slayer of allthy sib and kin.

HERVOR said:

25
To my ships on shorenow shall I hie me:
is the hero s daughterhappy in mind.
p. 35 Little reck I,ruler of men,
whether my sonswill slay each other.

ANGANTÝR said:

26
Thou lt have it through lifeand long joy in it;
but keep thou hiddenHiálmar s-slayer,
nor touch its edges:on the twain is poison.
Is that bitter brandbaneful to all.

27
Thou lt have a sonwho hereafter
will wield Tyrfingand trust his strength;
Heithrek 21 will hebe hight of men,
and mightiest growof men under heaven.

28
Farewell, daughter!I would fain give thee
the thews of twelve menif thou ldst but heed me
their lives and strength,the stored-up wealth
which Arngrím s sonsleft after them.

HERVOR said:

29
Shall I hie me hence.Happily may ye
I long to be gonelive in your howe.
But lately I lingered twixt life and death,22
when all about meblazed the fires.

Footnotes

p. 29

1 Though one will hardly agree with that otherwise so sane and sagacious observer, W. P. Ker, that after Voluspó it is the most wonderful of Northern poems. Epic and Romance, p. 73.

p. 30

2 The Hauksbók MS has pieced out the missing lines with this introductory (narrative) half-stanza:

Met the young maidin Munar Bay
with setting of sun,a swain by his herd.

Munar Bay is a fictitious locality recalling the Una Bay in the First Lay of Helgi, 32.

3 One of Angantýr s brothers, interred with him in the grave-mound (howe, barrow).

4 Kenning for warrior.

p. 31

5 A difficult stanza. I have followed the interpretation of the Prose in the distribution of the rôles; which, to be sure, involves the interpretation of eigi as the first person singular subjunctive of eiga.

6 This and the following stanza-duplicating 5 and 6have been transposed here from their original position (in MSS after 13) notwithstanding the obvious difficulty of Hervor s true name and sex being mentioned: they grievously interpose there between Hervor s accusation and Angantýr s justification. Stanza 8 may be taken as spoken by Hervor to herself.

7 In Hauksbók, the following weak stanza supplies the context:

To the forest fastfled then the shepherd,
nor more cared heto the maiden to speak;
but hardier Hervor sher heart then swelled
in derring-do,disdainfully

and went through the fires as though ther were but smoke, until she came to the barrow of the berserkers.

p. 32

8 Three of Angantýr s brothers.

9 I.e., have undergone the second death, complete annihilation; until which time, popular belief held, the dead inhabited their graves in the form of spooks. This is to be remembered also against the stanzas following.

10 Sváfrlami s daughter whom Arngrím had abducted by force.

11 Cf. the curses of Búsla.

12 One of the two dwarfs who forged Tyrfing for Sváfrlami.

13 The lacuna (not indicated in the MSS) is supplied here after the excellent suggestion of S. BuggeHiálmar and Orvar Odd (Sóti) or, rather, the latter alone.

p. 33

14 Hervor wishes him everlasting life in his grave-mound if he had not the swordas she is sure he has! In the original the stanza is not quite clear.

15 For the following stanzas, I adopt Genzmer-Heusler s arrangement.

16 I.e., with a spear in whose iron figures, or characters, (of silver) were inlaid.

17 Indefinite kenning for sword or armor.

18 Here for the burial chamber of the barrow.

19 Kenning for sword,

p. 34

20 In the original, that ye shall lie dead with spooks, which makes little sense. The stanza is imperfectly transmittedwith an excrescent long-lineand the translation therefore only an approximation.

p. 35

21 Cf. The Lay of Hloth and Angantýr, Prose, and note.

22 I.e., the realms of Life and Death.

1 2	***
The SHEPHERD said:
	Who by himselfhath come hither on isle? Go thou straightway,get thee shelter!
HERVOR said:
2	I care not goand get me shelter: not any one know Iof the island s men. Ere hence thou hiest,in haste tell me: where are the howesfor Hiorvarth 3 named?
The SHEPHERD said:
3	Ask not of such, if sage thou art, friend-of-vikings:4thou rt on ferly ways; let us fare hence so fastas feet will carry! Without now is itawful for men.
HERVOR said:
4	This trinket s thineif thou tell me this: t were hard to hold back theheroes -friend.4
p. 31
The SHEPHERD said:
	Thou canst not givesuch golden trinkets, such fair-shining rings,that I fare with thee.5
5	Tis folly, in faith,to fare thither for a man alonein this murky dark: is fire abroad,the barrows open, burn field and fen:let us flee in haste.
HERVOR said:
6	I scorn to dreada din like this, though fires do burnall about the isle! Let not men who are deadunman us, shepherd, with fear so swiftly,but say thou on!
The SHEPHERD said:
7	Is Hel s gate lifted,the howes do ope, the edge of the isleis all afire awful is itto be without: to thy ships hie theein haste, oh maiden!
HERVOR said:
8	Such nightly blazeye cannot build that of their firesafraid I grow: will Hervor s heartnot be horror-struck, e en though a ghostin grave-door stood.7
p. 32
9	Awake, Angantýr!Wakes thee Hervor, thy only bairn,born to Sváva; the bitter brandfrom thy belt gird thou, which swinking dwarfsfor Sváfrlami wrought.
10	Hervarth, Hiorvarth,Hrani,8 Angantýr! I awake you all,ye wights neath mold with helmets and byrniesand bitter swords, with gory spearsand all gear of war.
11	Have Arngrím s sons,the evil men s, their corpses becometo clay and mold,9 seeing that noneof the sons of Eyfura 10 with me will speakin Munar Bay.
12	May all of you feelwithin your ribs as though in ant-hillyour ill bones rotted,11 but the sword ye fetch meforged by Dvalin:12 it befits not ghoststo guard prized arms.
ANGANTÝR said:
13	Hervor, daughter,why doest call me with cold curses?They will cost thee dear! Bereft of reasonand raving art thou, that with wildered thoughtthou wak st the dead.
14	Neither father me buriednor fellow kinsmen: (thy brothers banesmenthis barrow raised.13) The twain who liveddid Tyrfing win now one of the victorswields it at last.
p. 33
HERVOR said:
15	Thou say st not sooth!May so the gods leave thee whole in howeas thou hast not Tyrfing with thee:14unwilling art to give thy daughterher dearest wish,
ANGANTÝR said:
16 15	Hardly humanI hold thee, maiden, about barrows whohoverest at night, with graven spear 16and Gothic iron,17 with helmet and byrnie,the hall s 18 gate before,
HERVOR said:
17	Howbeit, humanwas I held to be ere hither I hied me,your hall to seek: out of howe hand methe hater-of-byrnies,19 the dwarfs handiwork: t will not do to hide it!
ANGANTÝR said:
18	Under my shoulders hiddenlies Hiálmar s bane, about its bladeblazes fire: in this wide worldknow I no woman born who would dare to wieldthe dreaded sword.
HERVOR said:
19	Would I hold in handif have it I might the bitter brand,and in battle wield it, Not a whit fear Ithe fire blazing: it swiftly sinksas I seek it with eye.
p. 34
ANGANTÝR said:
20	I tell thee, Hervorheed my warning! what will happen,thou heroes daughter! I say but sooth:will this sword become the slayer of allthy sib and kin.
HERVOR said:
21	Thus shall I dealwith you dead men s bones that in your gravesye get no rest:20 hand me, Angantýr,out of the howe the sword wherewiththou slewest Hiálmar!
ANGANTÝR said:
22	Witless art thou,and of wanton mind, like a fool to fling theeinto fire blazing! Out of howe, rather,shall I hand the sword, hardy maiden,nor withhold it from thee.
HERVOR said:
23	Well then doest thou,warriors -offspring, out of the howeto hand Tyrfing which liefer to me,thou lord-of-battle, than now to haveall Norroway.
ANGANTÝR said:
24	Thou little knowest,luckless woman, what ill thou st wroughtwith reckless speech: I say but sooth:will this sword become the slayer of allthy sib and kin.
HERVOR said:
25	To my ships on shorenow shall I hie me: is the hero s daughterhappy in mind. p. 35 Little reck I,ruler of men, whether my sonswill slay each other.
ANGANTÝR said:
26	Thou lt have it through lifeand long joy in it; but keep thou hiddenHiálmar s-slayer, nor touch its edges:on the twain is poison. Is that bitter brandbaneful to all.
27	Thou lt have a sonwho hereafter will wield Tyrfingand trust his strength; Heithrek 21 will hebe hight of men, and mightiest growof men under heaven.
28	Farewell, daughter!I would fain give thee the thews of twelve menif thou ldst but heed me their lives and strength,the stored-up wealth which Arngrím s sonsleft after them.
HERVOR said:
29	Shall I hie me hence.Happily may ye I long to be gonelive in your howe. But lately I lingered twixt life and death,22 when all about meblazed the fires.