The Story of the Volsungs

CHAPTER XXXVI. Of the Journey of the Giukings to King Atli.

Now tells the tale of Gun­nar, that in the same wise it fared with him; for when they awoke, Glaumvor his wife told him many dreams which seemed to her like to be­to­ken guile com­ing; but Gun­nar ared­ed them all in oth­er wise.

“This was one of them,” said she; “methought a bloody sword was borne in­to the hall here, where­with thou wert thrust through, and at ei­ther end of that wolves howled.”

The king an­swered, “Our dogs shall bite me be­like; blood-​stained weapons oft be­to­ken dogs’ snap­pings.”

She said, “Yet again I dreamed — that wom­en came in, heavy and droop­ing, and chose thee for their mate; may-​hap­pen these would be thy fate­ful wom­en.”

He an­swered, “Hard to arede is this, and none may set aside the fat­ed mea­sure of his days, nor is it un­like that my time is short.” (1)

So in the morn­ing they arose, and were mind­ed for the jour­ney, but some let­ted them here­in.

Then cried Gun­nar to the man who is called Fjornir –

“Arise, and give us to drink good­ly wine from great tuns, be­cause may hap­pen this shall be very last of all our feasts; be­like if we die the old wolf shall come by the gold, and that bear shall no­wise spare the bite of his war-​tusks.”

Then all the folk of his house­hold brought them on their way weep­ing.

The son of Hog­ni said –

“Fare ye well with mer­ry tide.”

The more part of their folk were left be­hind; So­lar and Gno­evar, the sons of Hog­ni, fared with them, and a great cham­pi­on, named Orkn­ing, who was the broth­er of Kost­bera.

So folk fol­lowed them down to the ships, and all fet­ted them of their jour­ney, but at­tained to naught there­in.

Then spake Glaumvor, and said –

“O Vin­gi, most like that great ill hap will come of thy com­ing, and mighty and evil things shall be­tide in thy trav­el­ling.”

He an­swered, “Hear­ken to my an­swer; that I lie not aught: and may the high gal­lows and all things of grame have me, if I lie one word!”

Then cried Kost­bera, “Fare ye well with mer­ry days.”

And Hog­ni an­swered, “Be glad of heart, how­so­ev­er it may fare with us!”

And there­with they part­ed, each to their own fate. Then away they rowed, so hard and fast, that well-​nigh the half of the keel slipped away from the ship, and so hard they laid on to the oars that thole and gun­wale brake.

But when they came aland they made their ship fast, and then they rode awhile on their no­ble steeds through the murk wild-​wood.

And now they be­hold the king’s army, and huge up­roar, and the clat­ter of weapons they hear from thence; and they see there a mighty host of men, and the man­ifold ar­ray of them, even as they wrought there: and all the gates of the burg were full of men.

So they rode up to the burg, and the gates there­of were shut; then Hog­ni brake open the gates, and there­with they ride in­to the burg.

Then spake Vin­gi, “Well might ye have left this deed un­done; go to now, bide ye here while I go seek your gal­lows-​tree! Soft­ly and sweet­ly I base you hith­er, but an evil thing abode there­un­der; short while to bide ere ye are tied up to that same tree!”

Hog­ni an­swered, “None the more shall we wa­ver for that cause; for lit­tle me­thinks have we shrunk aback whenas men fell to fight; and naught shall it avail thee to make us afeard, — and for an ill fate hast thou wrought.”

And there­with they cast him down to earth, and smote him with their axe-​ham­mers till he died.

END­NOTES: (1) Par­al­lel be­liefs to those in the pre­ced­ing chap­ters, and else­where in this book, as to spells, dreams, drinks, etc., among the En­glish peo­ple may be found in “Leech­doms, Wort­cun­ning, and Star­craft of the An­glo-​Sax­ons; be­ing a col­lec­tion of Doc­uments il­lus­trat­ing the His­to­ry of Sci­ence in this Coun­try be­fore the Nor­man Con­quest”. Ed: Rev. T. O. Cock­ayne, M.A. (3 vols.) Long­mans, Lon­don, 1864, 8vo.