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Poetic Edda

Sigurth spake:36. "Evil waits me, well I see it,And gone is Sigurth's wisdom good,If I shall woo for another to winThe maiden fair that so fondly I loved."

Gripir spake:37.^[1] "Ye three shall all the oaths then take,Gunnar and Hogni, and, hero, thou;Your forms ye shall change, as forth ye fare,Gunnar and thou; for Gripir lies not."

Sigurth spake:38. "How meanest thou? Why make we the changeOf shape and form as forth we fare?There must follow another falsehoodGrim in all ways; speak on, Gripir!"

↑ In the Nibelungenlied Siegfried merely makes himself invisible in order to lend Gunther his strength for the feats which must be performed in order to win the redoubtable bride. In the northern version Sigurth and Gunnar change forms, "as Grimhild had taught them how to do." The Volsungasaga tells how Sigurth and Gunnar came to Heimir, who told them that to win Brynhild one must ride through the ring of fire which surrounded her hall (cf. the hall of Mengloth in Svipdagsmol). Gunnar tries it, but his horse balks; then he mounts Grani, but Grani will not stir for him. So they change forms, and Sigurth rides Grani through the flames. Oaths: the blood-brotherhood sworn by Sigurth, Gunnar, and Hogni makes it impossible for the brothers to kill him themselves, but they finally get around the difficulty by inducing their half-brother, Gotthorm (cf. Hyndluljoth, 27 and note) to do it.

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[Gripisspo_37-1] In the Nibelungenlied Siegfried merely makes himself invisible in order to lend Gunther his strength for the feats which must be performed in order to win the redoubtable bride. In the northern version Sigurth and Gunnar change forms, "as Grimhild had taught them how to do." The Volsungasaga tells how Sigurth and Gunnar came to Heimir, who told them that to win Brynhild one must ride through the ring of fire which surrounded her hall (cf. the hall of Mengloth in Svipdagsmol). Gunnar tries it, but his horse balks; then he mounts Grani, but Grani will not stir for him. So they change forms, and Sigurth rides Grani through the flames. Oaths: the blood-brotherhood sworn by Sigurth, Gunnar, and Hogni makes it impossible for the brothers to kill him themselves, but they finally get around the difficulty by inducing their half-brother, Gotthorm (cf. Hyndluljoth, 27 and note) to do it.

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