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Poetic Edda

which the Norse poets and story-tellers were never able to smooth out, and which have perplexed commentators ever since.

Those who read the Sigurth poems in the Edda, or the story told in the Volsungasaga, expecting to find a critically accurate biography of the hero, will, of course, be disappointed. If, however, they will constantly keep in mind the general manner in which the legend grew, its accretions ranging all the way from the Danube to Iceland, they will find that most of the difficulties are simply the natural results of conflicting traditions. Just as the Danish Helgi had to be "reborn" twice in order to enable three different men to kill him, so the story of Sigurth, as told in the Eddic poems, involves here and there inconsistencies explicable only when the historical development of the story is taken into consideration.

[1]Gripir[2] was the name of Eylimi's[3] son, the brother of Hjordis[3]; he ruled over lands and was of all men the wisest and most forward-seeing. Sigurth once was riding alone and came to Gripir's hall. Sigurth was easy to recognize; he found out in front of the hall a man whose name was Geitir[4]. Then Sigurth questioned him and asked:

1.[5] "Who is it has  this dwelling here,Or what do men call  the people's king?"
  1. ↑ Prose. The manuscript gives the poem no title.
  2. ↑ Gripir: this uncle of Sigurth's was probably a pure invention of the poet's. The Volsungasaga mentions him, but presumably only because of his appearance here.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 On Eylimi and Hjordis see Fra Dautha Sinfjotla and note.
  4. ↑ Geitir, the serving-man, is likewise apparently an invention of the poet's.
  5. ↑ The manuscript does not indicate the speakers anywhere in the poem. Some editors have made separate stanzas out of the two-line speeches in stanzas 1, 3 and 6.

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