The Lay Of Hervor
Sacred-Texts Legends 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 destiny--"little reck I, ruler of men, whether my sons slay each other"--yet 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 Hilmar and Orvar Odd on Sms-isle, the latter interred Angantr and his brothers in a barrow with all their weapons. Before his death Angantr 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 Sms-isle to win Tyrfing, the wondrous sword. Alone she goes on land.
12
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 Hiorvarth3 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, Angantr!Wakes thee Hervor,
thy only bairn,born to Svva;
the bitter brandfrom thy belt gird thou,
which swinking dwarfsfor Svfrlami wrought.
10
\"Hervarth, Hiorvarth,Hrani,8 Angantr!
I awake you all,ye wights neath mold
with helmets and byrniesand bitter swords,
with gory spearsand all gear of war.
11
\"Have Arngrm's sons,the evil men's,
their corpses becometo clay and mold,9
seeing that non the sons of Eyfura10
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."
Angantr 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,"
Angantr said:
1615
\"Hardly humanI hold thee, maiden,
about barrows whohoverest at night,
with graven spear16and Gothic iron,17
with helmet and byrnie,the hall's18 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!"
Angantr said:
18
\"Under my shoulders hiddenlies Hilmar'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 hand--if 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
Angantr said:
20
\"I tell thee, Hervor--heed 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, Angantr,out of the howe
the sword wherewiththou slewest Hilmar!"
Angantr 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."
Angantr 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."
Angantr said:
26
\"Thou 'lt have it through lifeand long joy in it;
but keep thou hiddenHilmar'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;
Heithrek21 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 Arngrm's sonsleft after them."
Hervor said:
29
\"Shall I hie me hence.Happily may ye--
I long to be gone--live in your howe.
But lately I lingered'twixt life and death,22
when all about meblazed the fires."
Next
Footnotes
p. 29
1 Though one will hardly agree with that otherwise so sane and sagacious observer, W. P. Ker, that "after "Volusp" it is the most wonderful of Northern poems. Epic and Romance," p. 73.
p. 30
2 The "Hauksbk" 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 Angantr'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 rles; 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 6--have 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 Angantr's justification. Stanza 8 may be taken as spoken by Hervor to herself.
7 In "Hauksbk," 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 Angantr'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 Svfrlami's daughter whom Arngrm had abducted by force.
11 Cf. the curses of Bsla.
12 One of the two dwarfs who forged Tyrfing for Svfrlami.
13 The lacuna (not indicated in the MSS) is supplied here after the excellent suggestion of S. Bugge--Hilmar and Orvar Odd (Sti) or, rather, the latter alone.
p. 33
14 Hervor wishes him everlasting life in his grave-mound if he had not the sword--as 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 transmitted--with an excrescent long-line--and the translation therefore only an approximation.
p. 35
21 Cf. The "Lay of Hloth" and "Angantr," Prose, and note.
22 "I.e.," the realms of Life and Death.
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 destiny--"little reck I, ruler of men, whether my sons slay each other"--yet 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 Hilmar and Orvar Odd on Sms-isle, the latter interred Angantr and his brothers in a barrow with all their weapons. Before his death Angantr 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 Sms-isle to win Tyrfing, the wondrous sword. Alone she goes on land.
12
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 Hiorvarth3 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, Angantr!Wakes thee Hervor,
thy only bairn,born to Svva;
the bitter brandfrom thy belt gird thou,
which swinking dwarfsfor Svfrlami wrought.
10
\"Hervarth, Hiorvarth,Hrani,8 Angantr!
I awake you all,ye wights neath mold
with helmets and byrniesand bitter swords,
with gory spearsand all gear of war.
11
\"Have Arngrm's sons,the evil men's,
their corpses becometo clay and mold,9
seeing that non the sons of Eyfura10
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."
Angantr 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,"
Angantr said:
1615
\"Hardly humanI hold thee, maiden,
about barrows whohoverest at night,
with graven spear16and Gothic iron,17
with helmet and byrnie,the hall's18 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!"
Angantr said:
18
\"Under my shoulders hiddenlies Hilmar'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 hand--if 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
Angantr said:
20
\"I tell thee, Hervor--heed 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, Angantr,out of the howe
the sword wherewiththou slewest Hilmar!"
Angantr 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."
Angantr 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."
Angantr said:
26
\"Thou 'lt have it through lifeand long joy in it;
but keep thou hiddenHilmar'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;
Heithrek21 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 Arngrm's sonsleft after them."
Hervor said:
29
\"Shall I hie me hence.Happily may ye--
I long to be gone--live in your howe.
But lately I lingered'twixt life and death,22
when all about meblazed the fires."
Next
Footnotes
p. 29
1 Though one will hardly agree with that otherwise so sane and sagacious observer, W. P. Ker, that "after "Volusp" it is the most wonderful of Northern poems. Epic and Romance," p. 73.
p. 30
2 The "Hauksbk" 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 Angantr'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 rles; 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 6--have 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 Angantr's justification. Stanza 8 may be taken as spoken by Hervor to herself.
7 In "Hauksbk," 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 Angantr'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 Svfrlami's daughter whom Arngrm had abducted by force.
11 Cf. the curses of Bsla.
12 One of the two dwarfs who forged Tyrfing for Svfrlami.
13 The lacuna (not indicated in the MSS) is supplied here after the excellent suggestion of S. Bugge--Hilmar and Orvar Odd (Sti) or, rather, the latter alone.
p. 33
14 Hervor wishes him everlasting life in his grave-mound if he had not the sword--as 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 transmitted--with an excrescent long-line--and the translation therefore only an approximation.
p. 35
21 Cf. The "Lay of Hloth" and "Angantr," Prose, and note.
22 "I.e.," the realms of Life and Death.
