Page:Poeticedda00belluoft.djvu/480
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Poetic Edda
For the worst of evils born in the world;To death thou hast given Gjuki's children,And laid their lofty house full low."
Brynhild spake:5. "Truth from the wagon here I tell thee,Witless one, if know thou wiltHow the heirs of Gjuki gave me to beJoyless ever, a breaker of oaths.
6.[1] "Hild the helmed in HlymdalirThey named me of old, all they who knew me.............................
- ↑ In Regius these two lines stand after stanza 7, but most editions place them as here. They are not quoted in the Nornageststhattr. Presumably two lines, and perhaps more, have been lost. It has frequently been argued that all or part of the passage from stanza 6 through stanza 10 (6-10, 7-10 or 8-10) comes originally from the so-called Sigrdrifumol, where it would undoubtedly fit exceedingly well. Hild: a Valkyrie name meaning "Fighter" (cf. Voluspo, 31). In such compound names as Brynhild ("Fighter in Armor") the first element was occasionally omitted. Hlymdalir ("Tumult-Dale"): a mythical name, merely signifying the place of battle as the home of Valkyries.
- ↑ Regarding the identification of swan-maidens with Valkyries, and the manner in which men could get them in their power by stealing their swan-garments, cf. Völundarkvitha, introductory prose and note, where the same thing happens. The monarch: perhaps Agnar, brother of Autha, mentioned in Sigrdrifumol (prose and quoted verse following stanza 4) as the warrior for
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