Hamðismál

Translated by Josefina Troncoso.

 

¹ Grievous deeds sprung from the trodden earth

the weeping of elves, joy-hindered.

Early in the morning,

all the afflictions

of the pain of men

kindle sorrow.

 

²  It was not now

nor yesterday,

a long time has passed

since that,

— few things are so old,

that they are twice as far off in time,—

when Guðrún

born to Gjúki,

incited her young sons

to avenge Svanhildr:

 

³  “Your sister is named Svanhildr,

she who Jörmunrekkr caused

to be trodden over by steeds,

white and black

on the high road,

grey, trained in their places,

the horses of the Goths.

⁴  You have been pushed to the rear,

you great kings;

you are the only ones

of the strands of my family alive.

 

⁵  Alone I have come to stand,

like an aspen on the hill,

deprived of kinsmen

like branches from a fir,

destitute of joy,

like a tree from its leaves,

when a branch-damaging girl

comes on a warm day.”

 

⁶  Then spake Hamðir,

the courageous:

“Little would you, Guðrún,

praise the deed of Högni,

when they awoke Sigurðr

from his sleep,

you sat on the bed,

and the killers laughed.

 

⁷  Your coverlets, the blue-white ones

woven by smiths,

were floating in your husband’s blood;

then died Sigurðr,

you sat over him dead,

to joys you did not give thought,

Gunnar wished it so for you.

 

⁸  You intended to cause harm to Atli

through Erp’s murder

and through Eitill’s death (?),

it was worse still for you;

everyone was to bring about

death to others with

a wound cutting sword,

without hurting themselves.

 

⁹  Then spake Sörli,

— a wise mind he had —:

“I do not wish to bandy

words with mother;

each of you wants

to have the last word forever.

What do you want now, Guðrún,

that you cannot get by weeping?

 

¹⁰  Cry for your brothers

and your sweet boys,

your close kinsmen

brought close to strife;

and you must, Guðrún,

weep for us both,

who are sitting here, doomed on our horses,

we will die far away.”

 

¹¹ They went out of the courtyard

ready to howl,

then the young ones travelled over

the wet mountains

on Hunnish horses

to avenge the killing.

 

¹² They met a very wily person

on the road:

“How will the short, brown-haired one

help us two?”

 

¹³ The half-brother answered,

so said that he would offer

support to his kinsmen,

as one foot does to another.

“How could a foot on one side

help another foot,

or a hand to another

rooted in the same flesh?”

 

¹⁴ Then this said Erpr

only once,

splendidly he rode

on the horse’s back,

“It is not good to show the road

to cowardly men.”

They said the bastard was

very confident.”

 

¹⁵ They pulled a sheathed iron

from the sheaths,

the edges of the sword;

to the joy of the giantess;

they diminished their courage

by a third,

they let the young boy

sink into the ground.

 

¹⁶ They shook their cloaks,

they fastened their swords,

and those born from the gods

put on their splendid garments.

 

¹⁷ The roads lied ahead,

they found the path to disaster

and the nephew

wounded on the gallows,

the wind-cold wolf-tree

west of the farmstead,

the incitement of cranes always dangled about,

it was not desirable to stay there.

 

¹⁸ There was a clash in the hall,

men became merry with ale,

and they did not

hear the horses

before a man full of courage

blew from a horn.

 

¹⁹ They went to tell

Jörmunrekkr,

that men in helmets

were seen:

“Discuss a plan,

the powerful ones have come,

the maiden you trampled

has mighty kin before you.”

 

²⁰ Jörmunrekkr then laughed,

caught a stroke of his beard,

he looked forward to battling,

became more eager with wine;

he shook his brown hair,

saw his gleaming shield,

he let his golden goblet

turn about in his hand.

 

²¹ “Happy I would think to myself,

if I could see

Hamðir and Sörli

in my hall,

those boys I think I should bind

with strong binds,

tie up the good sons of Gjúki

in the gallows.”

 

²² But this said Hróðglöð,

standing on the threshold,

The slender-fingered one

said to that young boy:

“For this is what

they cannot accomplish:

could two men against

two hundred Goths

bind or fight them

in the high fortress?”

 

²³ There was turmoil in the building,

the ale-cups shattered

men lied in blood

flowing from the breast of Goths.

 

²⁴ But then spoke Hamðir

the great of heart:

“You wished, Jörmunrekkr,

for us to come,

brothers born of the same mother,

into your citadel;

you see your own feet,

you see your own hands,

Jörmunrekkr,

thrown into the hot fire.”

 

²⁵ Then roared

the one of divine descent

the lord in his armour,

roaring like a bear:

“Throw stones at the men

since spears will not bite them,

nor will edges or iron

on the sons of Jónakr.

 

²⁶ But then spoke Hamðir,

the great of heart:

“Misfortune you have brought about, brother,

when you opened that skin bag;

often from a bag

dangerous advice can come.”

 

Sörli said:

²⁷ “You would have a mind, Hamðir,

if you had forethought;

a man lacks a great deal

when he lacks common sense!”

 

Hamðir said:

²⁸ He would have been off his head now

if Erpr still lived,

our brother the bold in battle,

whom we have slain by force,

the man so bold in battle,

whom the dísir incited to kill,

the invincible man,

whom I was commanded to slay.

 

Sörli said:

²⁹ “I do not think

we should follow the wolves’ example,

and fight amongst ourselves

like the bitches of the Norns,

those which are greedy

beasts in the wilderness.

 

³⁰ We have fought well,

we stand over slain Goths,

down onto sword edge,

like eagles on a branch;

good glory we would have gained,

should we have died now or yesterday;

man would not live past this evening

after the verdict of the Norns.”

 

³¹ Then Sörli fell

at the end of the hall,

and Hamðir fell

behind the house.