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Oddrunargratr

But swiftly home  they hastened thence,
And eager all  to Atli told.

25.[1] "But close from Guthrun  kept they hid
What first of all  she ought to have known.
..................
..................

26.[2] "Great was the clatter  of gilded hoofs
When Gjuki's sons  through the gateway rode;
The heart they hewed  from Hogni then,
And the other they cast  in the serpents' cave.

27.[3] "The hero wise  on his harp then smote,
..............
For help from me  in his heart yet hoped
The high-born king,  might come to him.

    In the manuscript lines 3 and 4 stand in reversed order.

  1. ↑ No gap is indicated in the manuscript; some editors assume the loss not only of two lines, but of an additional stanza. Evidently Guthrun has already become Atli's wife.
  2. ↑ If a stanza has been lost after stanza 25, it may well have told of Atli's treacherous invitation to the Gjukungs to visit him; cf. Drap Niflunga, which likewise tells of the slaying of Hogni and Gunnar (the other).
  3. ↑ In the manuscript these three lines follow line 2 of stanza 28. No gap is indicated in the manuscript. In the Volsungasaga Guthrun gives her brother the harp, with which he puts the serpents to sleep. The episode is undoubtedly related to the famous thirtieth Aventiure of the Nibelungenlied, in which Volker plays the followers of Gunther to sleep before the final battle.

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