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Sigrdrifumol
30.[1] Brawls and ale full oft have been
An ill to many a man,
Death for some, and sorrow for some;
Full many the woes of men.
An ill to many a man,
Death for some, and sorrow for some;
Full many the woes of men.
31.[2] Then seventh I rede thee, if battle thou seekest
With a foe that is full of might;
It is better to fight than to burn alive
In the hall of the hero rich.
With a foe that is full of might;
It is better to fight than to burn alive
In the hall of the hero rich.
32. Then eighth I rede thee, that evil thou shun,
And beware of lying words;
Take not a maid, nor the wife of a man,
Nor lure them on to lust.
And beware of lying words;
Take not a maid, nor the wife of a man,
Nor lure them on to lust.
33. Then ninth I rede thee: burial render
If thou findest a fallen corpse,
Of sickness dead, or dead in the sea,
Or dead of weapons' wounds.
If thou findest a fallen corpse,
Of sickness dead, or dead in the sea,
Or dead of weapons' wounds.
- ↑ Probably an interpolation.
- ↑ The meaning is that it is better to go forth to battle than to stay at home and be burned to death. Many a Norse warrior met his death in this latter way; the burning of the house in the Njalssaga is the most famous instance.
- ↑ Probably an interpolation.
ished with the lost eight-leaf folio (cf. Introductory Note). The rest of stanza 29, and stanzas 30-37, are added from later paper manuscripts, which were undoubtedly copied from an old parchment, though probably not from the complete Regius. The Volsungasaga paraphrases these additional stanzas.
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