Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II: The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane VI
“Sad am I, sister, | sorrow to tell thee,Woe to my kin | unwilling I worked;In the morn there fell | at FjoturlundThe noblest prince | the world has known,(And his heel he set | on the heroes’ necks.)”
“Now may every | oath thee biteThat with Helgi | sworn thou hast,By the water | bright of Leipt,And the ice-cold | stone of Uth.
“The ship shall sail not | in which thou sailest,Though a favoring wind | shall follow after;The horse shall run not | whereon thou ridest,Though fain thou art | thy foe to flee.
“Vengeance were mine | for Helgi’s murder,Wert thou a wolf | in the woods without,Possessing nought | and knowing no joy,Having no food | save corpses to feed on.”
“Mad art thou, sister, | and wild of mind,Such a curse | on thy brother to cast;Othin is ruler | of every ill,Who sunders kin | with runes of spite.
“Thy brother rings | so red will give thee,All Vandilsve | and Vigdalir;Take half my land | to pay the harm,Ring-decked maid, | and as meed for thy sons.”
“I shall sit not happy | at Sevafjoll,Early or late, | my life to love,If the light cannot show, | in the leader’s band,Vigblær bearing him | back to his home,(The golden-bitted; | I shall greet him never.)
“Such the fear | that Helgi’s foesEver felt, | and all their kin,As makes the goats | with terror madRun from the wolf | among the rocks.
“Helgi rose | above heroes allLike the lofty ash | above lowly thorns,Or the noble stag, | with dew besprinkled,Bearing his head | above all beasts,(And his horns gleam bright | to heaven itself.)”
A hill was made in Helgi’s memory. And when he came to Valhall, thenOthin bade him rule over everything with himself.
Words in this poem
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- whereon adv.
- On which; -- used relatively; as, the earth whereon we live.
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- meed v. t.
- To reward; to repay. Waytt.
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II: The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane VI is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetic Edda, Project Gutenberg ebook #73533, the Henry Adams Bellows translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Anonymous, Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II: The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane VI, in The Poetic Edda (1923), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #73533, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poetic-edda/helgakvitha-hundingsbana-ii-the-second-lay-of-helgi-hundings-6.html, id L15735.
Form and metre
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II: The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane VI is 41 lines in 10 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 89% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.2 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 15% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 3 A-A- sailestA · after · ridestA · flee
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| “Sad am I, sister, | sorrow to tell thee, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Woe to my kin | unwilling I worked; | 9 | ····˘/˘·· |
| In the morn there fell | at Fjoturlund | 9 | ········· |
| The noblest prince | the world has known, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| (And his heel he set | on the heroes’ necks.)” | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| “Now may every | oath thee bite | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| That with Helgi | sworn thou hast, | 7 | ······· |
| By the water | bright of Leipt, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And the ice-cold | stone of Uth. | 7 | ······· |
| “The ship shall sail not | in which thou sailest, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Though a favoring wind | shall follow after; | 11 | ··/˘˘··/˘·· |
| The horse shall run not | whereon thou ridest, | 10 | ·····˘/··· |
| Though fain thou art | thy foe to flee. | 8 | ········ |
| “Vengeance were mine | for Helgi’s murder, | 9 | /˘·····/˘ |
| Wert thou a wolf | in the woods without, | 9 | ········· |
| Possessing nought | and knowing no joy, | 9 | ˘/˘··/˘·· |
| Having no food | save corpses to feed on.” | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| “Mad art thou, sister, | and wild of mind, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Such a curse | on thy brother to cast; | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Othin is ruler | of every ill, | 10 | ···/˘·/˘˘· |
| Who sunders kin | with runes of spite. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| “Thy brother rings | so red will give thee, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| All Vandilsve | and Vigdalir; | 7 | ······· |
| Take half my land | to pay the harm, | 8 | ········ |
| Ring-decked maid, | and as meed for thy sons.” | 9 | ········· |
| “I shall sit not happy | at Sevafjoll, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Early or late, | my life to love, | 8 | /˘······ |
| If the light cannot show, | in the leader’s band, | 11 | ···/˘···/˘· |
| Vigblær bearing him | back to his home, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| (The golden-bitted; | I shall greet him never.) | 11 | ·/˘/˘····/˘ |
| “Such the fear | that Helgi’s foes | 7 | ······· |
| Ever felt, | and all their kin, | 7 | /˘····· |
| As makes the goats | with terror mad | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Run from the wolf | among the rocks. | 8 | ········ |
| “Helgi rose | above heroes all | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Like the lofty ash | above lowly thorns, | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| Or the noble stag, | with dew besprinkled, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Bearing his head | above all beasts, | 8 | /˘······ |
| (And his horns gleam bright | to heaven itself.)” | 10 | ······/˘˘/ |
| A hill was made in Helgi’s memory. And when he came to Valhall, then | 18 | ·······/˘˘········ |
| Othin bade him rule over everything with himself. | 13 | ·······/˘··˘/ |
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