Poetic EddaNorse MythologyAncient Myth / ComparativeOld NorseSharePoetic Edda 38Bellows - EnglishMoreVersion - 1 availableBellowsLanguageEnglishEspañol‹Poetic Edda 1Poetic Edda 2Poetic Edda 3Poetic Edda 4Poetic Edda 5Poetic Edda 6Poetic Edda 7Poetic Edda 8Poetic Edda 9Poetic Edda 10Poetic Edda 11Poetic Edda 12Poetic Edda 13Poetic Edda 14Poetic Edda 15Poetic Edda 16Poetic Edda 17Poetic Edda 18Poetic Edda 19Poetic Edda 20Poetic Edda 21Poetic Edda 22Poetic Edda 23Poetic Edda 24Poetic Edda 25Poetic Edda 26Poetic Edda 27Poetic Edda 28Poetic Edda 29Poetic Edda 30Poetic Edda 31Poetic Edda 32Poetic Edda 33Poetic Edda 34Poetic Edda 35Poetic Edda 36Poetic Edda 37Poetic Edda 38Poetic Edda 39Poetic Edda 40Poetic Edda 41Poetic Edda 42Poetic Edda 43Poetic Edda 44Poetic Edda 45Poetic Edda 46Poetic Edda 47Poetic Edda 48Poetic Edda 49Poetic Edda 50Poetic Edda 51Poetic Edda 52Poetic Edda 53Poetic Edda 54Poetic Edda 55Poetic Edda 56Poetic Edda 57Poetic Edda 58Poetic Edda 59Poetic Edda 60Poetic Edda 61Poetic Edda 62Poetic Edda 63Poetic Edda 64Poetic Edda 65Poetic Edda 66Poetic Edda 67Poetic Edda 68Poetic Edda 69Poetic Edda 70Poetic Edda 71Poetic Edda 72Poetic Edda 73Poetic Edda 74Poetic Edda 75Poetic Edda 76Poetic Edda 77Poetic Edda 78Poetic Edda 79Poetic Edda 80Poetic Edda 81Poetic Edda 82Poetic Edda 83Poetic Edda 84Poetic Edda 85Poetic Edda 86›(Iv)Poetic Edda 38ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter1King Helgi was a mighty warrior. He came to King Eylimi and sought the hand of his daughter, Svava. Then Helgi and Svava exchanged vows, and greatly they loved each other. Svava was at home with her father, while Helgi was in the field; Svava was still a Valkyrie as before. 2Hethin was at home with his father, King Hjorvarth, in Norway. Hethin was coming home alone from the forest one Yule-eve, and found a troll-woman; she rode on a wolf, and had snakes in place of a bridle. She asked Hethin for his company. “Nay,” said he. She said, “Thou shalt pay for this at the king’s toast.” That evening the great vows were taken; the sacred boar was brought in, the men laid their hands thereon, and took their vows at the king’s toast. Hethin vowed that he would have Svava, Eylimi’s daughter, the beloved of his brother Helgi; then such great grief seized him that he went forth on wild paths southward over the land, and found Helgi, his brother. Helgi said: 331. “Welcome, Hethin! | what hast thou to tell Of tidings new | that from Norway come? Wherefore didst leave | thy land, O prince, And fared alone | to find us here?” 432. “A deed more evil | I have done Than, brother mine, | thou e’er canst mend; For I have chosen | the child of the king, Thy bride, for mine | at the monarch’s toast.” 533. “Grieve not, Hethin, | for true shall hold The words we both | by the beer have sworn; To the isle a warrior | wills that I go, (There shall I come | the third night hence;) And doubtful must be | my coming back, (So may all be well, | if fate so wills.)” 634. “Thou saidst once, Helgi, | that Hethin was A friend full good, | and gifts didst give him; More seemly it were | thy sword to redden, Than friendship thus | to thy foe to give.” 7Helgi spoke thus because he foresaw his death, for his following-spirits had met Hethin when he saw the woman riding on the wolf. Alf was the name of a king, the son of Hrothmar, who had marked out a battle-place with Helgi at Sigarsvoll after a stay of three nights. Then Helgi spake: 835. “On a wolf there rode, | when dusk it was, A woman who fain | would have him follow; Well she knew | that now would fall Sigrlin’s son | at Sigarsvoll.” 9There was a great battle, and there Helgi got a mortal wound. 1036. Sigar riding | did Helgi send To seek out Eylimi’s | only daughter: “Bid her swiftly | ready to be, If her lover | alive she would find.” 1137. “Hither now | has Helgi sent me, With thee, Svava, | thyself to speak; The hero said | he fain would see thee Ere life the nobly | born should leave.” 1238. “What chanced with Helgi, | Hjorvarth’s son? Hard to me | is harm now come; If the sea smote him, | or sword bit him, Ill shall I bring | to all his foes.” 1339. “In the morn he fell | at Frekastein, The king who was noblest | beneath the sun; Alf has the joy | of victory all, Though need therefor | is never his.” 1440. “Hail to thee, Svava! | thy sorrow rule, Our meeting last | in life is this; Hard the wounds | of the hero bleed, And close to my heart | the sword has come. 1541. “I bid thee, Svava,— | weep not, bride,— If thou wilt hearken | to these my words, The bed for Hethin | have thou ready, And yield thy love | to the hero young.” 1642. “A vow I had | in my dear-loved home, When Helgi sought | with rings to have me, That not of my will, | if the warrior died, Would I fold in my arms | a man unfamed.” 1743. “Kiss me, Svava, | I come not back, Rogheim to see, | or Rothulsfjoll, Till vengeance I have | for the son of Hjorvarth, The king who was noblest | beneath the sun.” 18Of Helgi and Svava it is said that they were born again. ‹Previous chapterPoetic Edda 37Next chapterPoetic Edda 39›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. 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