Page:Poeticedda00belluoft.djvu/260
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Poetic Edda
He was kinsman of Sigurth,— hear well what I say,—The foe of hosts, and Fafnir's slayer.
26.[1] "From Volsung's seed was the hero sprung,And Hjordis was born of Hrauthung's race,And Eylimi from the Othlings came,—And all are thy kinsmen, Ottar, thou fool!
27.[2] "Gunnar and Hogni, the heirs of Gjuki,And Guthrun as well, who their sister was;But Gotthorm was not of Gjuki's race,Although the brother of both he was:And all are thy kinsmen, Ottar, thou fool!
- ↑ Volsung: Sigurth's grandfather and Othin's great-grandson. Hjordis: daughter of King Eylimi, wife of Sigmund and mother of Sigurth. Othlings: cf. stanza 11.
- ↑ Gunnar, Hogni, and Guthrun: the three children of the Burgundian king Gjuki and his wife Grimhild (Kriemhild); Guthrun was Sigurth's wife. Gotthorm, the third brother, who Sigurth at Brynhild's behest, was Grimhild's son, and thus a step-son of Gjuki. These four play an important part in the heroic cycle of Eddic poems. Cf. Gripisspo, introductory note.
stanza 25 into one stanza. Jormunrek: the historical Ermanarich, king of the Goths, who died about 376. According to Norse tradition, in which Jormunrek played a large part, he slew his own sons (cf. Guthrunarhvot and Hamthesmol). In the saga Jormunrek married Sigurth's daughter, Svanhild. Stanzas 25-27 connect Ottar's descent with the whole Volsung-Sigurth-Jormunrek-Gjuki genealogy. The story of Sigurth is the basis for most of the heroic poems of the Edda, of the famous Volsungasaga, and, in Germany, of the Nibelungenlied. On his battle with the dragon Fafnir cf. Fafnismol.
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