Siguršr rode up on Hind's Fell and turned south towards Frankland. On the fell he saw a great light, as if fire burned and lighted up to heaven. But when he came there, there stood a shield-burg and a banner above it. Siguršr went into the shield-burg and saw that a person lay there and slept with all battle- weapons. He took first the helm off the head. Then he saw that it was a woman. The byrnie was fast as if it were grown into the flesh. Then he cut with Gram from the byrnie's neck opening downwards, and so out in the direction of both sleeves. Then he took the byrnie off her; yet she awakened and sat up and saw Siguršr and spoke:
1.
"What bit byrnie?
how broke I sleep?
how fell the pale fetters
from me?"
He answered:
2.
"Sigmundr's bairn!
- a short time ago
raven tore corpse-flesh -
Siguršr's blade."
She said:
3.
"I slept long,
I was asleep long -
long are sorrows to folk!
It was Ošinn
who ruled that I might not
brandish staves of sleep."
Siguršr sat down and asked her name. She took a horn full of mead and gave him a memory- draught.
4.
"Hail day!
Hail day's sons!
hail night and daughter!
with unwrathful eyes
look upon us,
and give victory to the sitting ones!
5.
"Hail the Ęsir!
Hail the Asynjur!
hail the much-giving earth!
Words and human wit
give to we two well-famed
and leeches' hands during life!"
She named herself Sigrdrifa and was a valkyrie. She said, that two kings did battle: one hight Helm- Gunnar, he was then old and the greatest army-man, and Ošinn had promised him victory, but
6.
"the other hight Agnarr,
brother of Auša
whom no wight
wished to protect."
Sigrdrifa felled Helm-Gunnar in the battle. But Ošinn stuck her with a sleep-thorn to revenge this and said that she should never afterwards bring victory in battle and said that she should be given in marriage. "But I said to him, that I has sworn an oath there in answer, never to be given to a man who knew fear." He spoke and asked of her to know her wisdom, because she knew tidings from all the worlds. Sigrdrifa said:
7.
"Beer I bring thee,
byrnie-Thing's apple!
blended with main
and main-glor;
it is full of songs
and liking-staves,
good galdrs
and pleasure-runes.
8.
"You shall ken victory-runes
if you will have victory,
and rist on the hilt of the blade,
some on the guard,
some on the grip,
and name Tyr twice.
9.
"You shall ken ale-runes
if you wish that another's woman
not betray your trust, if you trust;
they shall be risted
on horn and on hand's back
and mark Nauthiz on your nail.
10.
"You shall sign the cup,
and this against fear
and cast a leek in the liquid:
then you know
that never will be for you
mead blended with ill.
11.
"You shall know protection-runes
if you will protect
and loose children from women;
they shall be risted
on palms and over the limbs' span
and bid then the disir aid.
12.
"You shall make brine-runes
if you will have protected
sail-mares on the sound;
on mast-stave shall be risted
and on the rudder's blade
and lay fire on the oar:
then high waves fall not,
nor so the blue waves,
but you come whole to the harbour.
13.
"Limb-runes shall you ken,
if you will be a leech,
and know how to deal with wounds;
they shall be risted
on bark and on the leaf of a tree,
from which the limbs bend eastward.
14.
"You shall ken speech-runes,
if you will that no man
pay you back for injury with hate-deeds.
wind them around,
weave them around,
set them all together
at that Thing
where folk shall
fare in full judgement.
15.
"Soul-runes shall you take
if you wish to be
the most sharply-understanding man of all.
Hroptr fully reded them,
fully risted them,
fully understood them,
from that liquid
which had leaked
from the skull of Heišdraupnir
and from the horn of Hoddrofnir.
16.
"On the berg (he) stood
with the edges of (the sword) Brimr,
he had helm on head;
then spoke Mimir's head
wisely the first word,
and said truthful staves.
17.
"(He) said they were risted on the shield which stands before the shining god,
on Arvakr's ear
and on Alsvišr's hoof,
on the wheel which turns
under Hrungnir's wain,
on Sleipnir's teeth
and on the sled's straps,
18.
"on bear's paw
and on Bragi's tongue,
on wolf's claw
and on eagle's beak
on bloodied wings
and on bridge's end,
on loosening palm
and on healing spoor,
19.
"on glass and on gold
and on men's luck,
in wine and in wort
and on the will's seat,
on Gungnir's point
and on Grani's breast,
on norn's nail
and on owl's beak:
20.
"All were scraped off
that were risted on,
and cast into the holy mead
and sent on wide ways;
they are with Ęsir,
they are with alfs,
some with wise Vanir,
some have human men;
21.
"those are beech-runes,
those are protection runes,
and all ale-runes,
and mighty main-runes,
who knows them unconfused
and undestroyed
has them for himself as good luck,
gain, if you take them,
until the doom of the gods!"
22.
"Now you shall choose,
all the choice is offered to you,
keen weapons' maple!
speech and silence
have you yourself in soul -
all evils are full-meted."
Siguršr said:
23.
"I shall not flee,
although you know me fey,
I am not born with cowardice!
I wish to have
all your friendly rede
as long as I live!"
Sigrdrifa said:
24.
"That rede I to you the first,
that to your kinsmen
you be without fault.
Lessen you revenge,
although they give you cause,
that speak (I) to the good of deaths.
25.
"That rede I to you the second,
that you never swear oaths
unless they be true;
grim dooms go
upon breach of trust,
miserable is the warg of oaths.
26.
"That rede I to you the third,
that you at the Thing
do not deal with foolish men;
for the unwise man
often lets be said
truer words than he knows,
27.
"All is difficult
if you are silent concerning it:
then you are thought to be born with cowardice
or that truth is said -
doubtful is what is said at home,
unless it is good-gotten -
let you make away
with his life-breath the next day,
and thus pay folk for lies!28.
"That rede I to you the fourth:
if a woman of ill-deeds dwells,
full of faults, on the way,
to go is better than to guest,
although night overtakes you.
29.
"Fore-seeing eyes
need the sons of men,
where they shall battle the fierce:
often bale-wise women
sit near the way,
they who blunt swords and senses.
30.
"That rede I to you the fifth:
although you see fair
brides on the benches,
do not let the fair kinswomen
rule your sleep,
do not lure women to kisses!
31.
"That rede I to you the sixth:
although among men
ale-talk fares to unfriendliness,
you shall, drunken,
not deal with warriors;
wine steals the wits of many.32.
"Quarrels and ale
have been sorrows
to many men,
bane to some,
bale-staves to some;
many are (the things) that men suffer.33.
"That rede I to you the seventh,
if you deal with causes
against soul-full men,
to battle is better
than to be burned
within wealth-staves.34.
"That rede I to you the eighth,
that you shall look for ill,
and keep far from falsehood-staves;
do not lure you a maid
nor a man's wife
nor egg on forbidden pleasures!35.
"That rede I to you the ninth,
that you hide corpses
where you find them on earth,
whether they are sick-dead,
or are sea-dead,
or became weapon-dead.36.
"Shall ready water
for him who is dead,
for hands and head,
and comb him before
(he) goes in coffin,
and bid blessedly sleep.37.
"That rede I to you the tenth,
that you never trust
oaths of a warg's-get,
whether you are brother's bane,
or you have felled father:
a wolf is in a young son,
though he be glad of gold.38.
"I think causes and hates
are never sleeping,
nor yet sorrows.
The boar needs
to get wits and weapons,
he who shall be foremost among men.39.
"That rede I to you the eleventh,
that you keep yourself from ill
to friends in every way.
It seems not to me
that I know long life for the leader:
Strongly are evils risen."
Note: This translation and others in this collection bearing this notice are the sole work of Stephan Grundy and are here with his permission. They are under his copyright. They are freely reproducible and quotable as long as this notice is attached if these are being reproduced or due credit is given to him for his translation if they are being quoted in another work.