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Poetic Edda

When Sigurth they wakened  from his sleep;
Thy bed-covers white  were red with blood
Of thy husband, drenched  with gore from his heart.

5.[1] "Bloody revenge  didst have for thy brothers,
Evil and sore,  when thy sons didst slay;
Else yet might we all  on Jormunrek
Together our sister's  slaying avenge.

6.[2] "........  ........
The gear of the Hunnish  kings now give us!
Thou hast whetted us so  to the battle of swords."

7.[3] Laughing did Guthrun  go to her chamber,
The helms of the kings  from the cupboards she took,
And mail-coats broad,  to her sons she bore them;
On their horses' backs  the heroes leaped.

8.[4] Then Hamther spake,  the high of heart:

    arrangements, some editors adding two or three lines from the Hamthesmol.

  1. ↑ Bloody: a guess; a word in the original is clearly missing, and the same is true of all in line 3. Thy sons: i.e., by killing her sons Erp and Eitil (cf. Atlamol, 72-74) Guthrun deprived Hamther, Sorli, and the second Erp of valuable allies in avenging Svanhild's death.
  2. ↑ The manuscript indicates no gap, but most editors assume the loss of one, two or even more lines before the two here given.
  3. ↑ The manuscript indicates line 4 as beginning a new stanza.
  4. ↑ Line 1, identical with line 1 of stanza 4, may be interpo-

[540]

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