Sigmund took to wife Borghild of Bralund and with her had two sons, Helgi and Hamund. Of Helgi we read in the Eddic poem:
In the morning of time, While eagles screamed, Holy rains fell
From the Mounts of Heaven: Then was Helgi, Proud of heart, Borghild’s son, Born in Bralund.
Night covered the court; Then came the Norns, Who for the atheling Numbered his days: Bade him become Boldest of captains, And among heroes Hold highest renown.
Mighty they were: They laid life’s threads, While the towers Broke in Bralund; Forth they stretched The golden cords, Fixed them midmost
In the hall of the moon.
In the East, in the West, The ends were hidden, The lands of the king Lay between them:
Far to the North
Neri’s kinswoman (the Norn) Fastened the one end, Bade it hold firmly.
The ravens perched in the trees were already yearning for the time when Helgi should become a man and give them their fill of carrion corpses. Once Sigmund had been away from home fighting the battles of the realm; on his return he went in to his son, gave him a leek, and dubbed him Helgi, at the same time giving him as naming gifts Ringstad, Solfjall, Snjofjall, Sigarsvoll, Ringstead, Hatun, and Himinvang, and a goodly sword besides. Helgi was then given over as a foster child to a man named Hagal. Sigmund presently became involved in warfare with king Hunding. When Helgi reached the age of fifteen, Sigmund sent him out in disguise to spy upon Hunding’s retinue. At first all went well with Helgi, but as he was about to leave Hunding’s court he could not refrain from revealing his true name. He asked a certain goatherd to say to Heming, Hunding’s son, that he whom they had treated as a guest and whom they supposed to be Hamal, Hagal’s son, was none other than Helgi himself. Hunding sent men to Hagal’s estate to search for Helgi, and he had no other recourse than to don the garb of a bondwoman and to busy himself in turning the mill. One of Hunding’s men, to be sure, found that the bondwoman had rather sharp eyes and that she put a good deal of force into her grinding; but Hagal said that this was no wonder, since she was a shield-maiden before Helgi made her a captive. Some time later Helgi set sail in his ships of war; engaging in battle with Hunding, Helgi laid his enemy low, and thereby gained the surname of Hundingsbane. After the victory he lay with his fleet in the bay of Brunavag. Presently the Valkyrie Sigrun, daughter to king Hogni, came riding through the air to his ship and entered into speech with him. She asked him his name, and then told him that she already knew of the mighty deeds he had done. “I saw you beforetime,” she said, “on the long ships, as you stood in the blood-red prow and the cold waves played about you.” Sigrun then left him; but the four sons of Hunding challenged Helgi to battle in order to avenge the death of their father, and Helgi slew them all at the mountains of Loga. Wearied from the struggle, he sat down to rest at the foot of Arastein (Eagle Rock). There Sigrun came riding toward him a second time, threw her arms about his neck, kissed him, and told him that she was hard bestead. Her father Hogni had promised her in marriage to the hateful Hodbrod, king Granmar’s son, of Svarinshaug. Helgi undertook to free her from the compact and for that purpose gathered a great force of ships against Hodbrod; Sinfjotli was one of the company. At sea they encountered a perilous storm. Lightning played about them and shafts of fire shot down on the ships. Then they saw Sigrun come riding through the air with eight other Valkyries, and she stilled the tempest so that they made land in safety. The sons of king Granmar were sitting on a mountain side near Svarinshaug as the ships sailed in toward the shore. One of them, named Gudmund, leaped on a horse and rode to spy on the strangers from a hill overlooking the haven; he arrived just as the Volsungs were furling their sails. Gudmund asked who they might be, and for answer Sinfjotli raised a red shield aloft at the yardarm. They berated each other until at length Helgi came forward and said that battle would be more becoming to them than bandying words. Gudmund thereupon rode home with a summons to war, and the sons of Granmar mustered a large army. Many kings made common cause with the brothers, among them Hogni, Sigrun’s father, with his sons Bragi and Dag; and Alf the Elder besides. The battle was joined at Frekastein (Wolf Stone). All of the sons of Granmar fell and all of their captains but Dag, who made his peace by swearing fealty to the Volsungs. After the battle Sigrun went out among the slain and there found Hodbrod at the point of death. She gave thanks to Helgi for the deed he had done. Helgi was grieved to think that he had caused the death of her father and her brother, and she herself wept; but he consoled her with the assurance that no man could escape his destiny. Helgi took Sigrun to wife and made Granmar’s kingdom subject to his own rule. But he did not reach old age. Dag, the brother of Sigrun, offered sacrifice to Odin to obtain vengeance for his father’s death, and Odin lent his own spear to him. With it he thrust Helgi through the body at Fjoturlund and then rode home to tell Sigrun what he had done. Sigrun put him in mind of the sacred vows he had sworn to Helgi and which he had now broken; then she spoke these words:
Let not the ship sail on That glides beneath you, Though the winds follow Fair as your wishes!
Let not the horse run fleet That runs beneath you, Though he might carry you Far from your foes!
Let not the sword be edged That your arm lifts aloft, Save when it sings
About your own head!
Meet would that vengeance be For Helgi’s death,
If you were a wolf
In the forest wilderness, Wanting all worldly goods, Wanting all joys,
Finding no provender, Filled with no carrion.
Dag declared that his sister was mad thus to curse her own brother. He laid the blame for all that had passed upon Odin and offered to give her red gold rings and one half of his kingdom; but she answered that nothing could atone for Helgi’s death. A cairn was thrown over the body of Helgi, and when he entered into Valhalla Odin invited him to sit in counsel with himself; but on Hunding, Helgi laid commands to carry out the meanest tasks. One evening Sigrun’s handmaiden, chancing to pass Helgi’s mound, saw him riding toward the cairn followed by many men; she asked whether she was only seeing visions, whether the Twilight of the Gods had come inasmuch as the dead were riding, or whether the Heroes had got leave to revisit the earth. Helgi answered that the Heroes had been granted leave for their homecoming, and these tidings the handmaiden brought back to Sigrun. Sigrun went out to the cairn, glad of heart to see Helgi once more. “Yet,” she asked him, “why is your hair covered with rime, why are you flecked with blood, and why are your hands cold as ice?” “You alone are the cause,” he replied, “since you weep such bitter tears each night before you go to rest; each tear falls on my breast, icy cold, burning, freighted with woe. But though we lack lands and joys, we shall yet drink with one another costly drinks, and no man shall sing dirges for the wounds he sees in my breast.” Sigrun now prepared a couch in the mound so that she might lie down to rest in his arms. Then Helgi said: “Now nothing is beyond the bounds of belief since you, fair, living daughter of a king, rest in my arms, the arms of one who lives no more; but the time has come for me to ride forth on the reddening roadway; westward I must journey across the bridge of Heaven before Salgofnir (the cock of Valhalla) wakens the victorious men (the Heroes).” Helgi then rode away, but the next evening Sigrun awaited his return in vain. Sigrun lived no long time thereafter, so great was her sorrow and affliction.
Helgi Hundingsbane and Sigrun were none other than Helgi Hjorvardsson and Svava, Eylimi’s daughter, born again in other bodies. It is said that Helgi Hundingsbane and Sigrun were likewise born anew. In this reincarnation he bore the name of Helgi Haddingjaskati, and she bore the name of Kara, daughter of Halfdan.
In the morning of time, While eagles screamed, Holy rains fell
From the Mounts of Heaven: Then was Helgi, Proud of heart, Borghild’s son, Born in Bralund.
Night covered the court; Then came the Norns, Who for the atheling Numbered his days: Bade him become Boldest of captains, And among heroes Hold highest renown.
Mighty they were: They laid life’s threads, While the towers Broke in Bralund; Forth they stretched The golden cords, Fixed them midmost
In the hall of the moon.
In the East, in the West, The ends were hidden, The lands of the king Lay between them:
Far to the North
Neri’s kinswoman (the Norn) Fastened the one end, Bade it hold firmly.
The ravens perched in the trees were already yearning for the time when Helgi should become a man and give them their fill of carrion corpses. Once Sigmund had been away from home fighting the battles of the realm; on his return he went in to his son, gave him a leek, and dubbed him Helgi, at the same time giving him as naming gifts Ringstad, Solfjall, Snjofjall, Sigarsvoll, Ringstead, Hatun, and Himinvang, and a goodly sword besides. Helgi was then given over as a foster child to a man named Hagal. Sigmund presently became involved in warfare with king Hunding. When Helgi reached the age of fifteen, Sigmund sent him out in disguise to spy upon Hunding’s retinue. At first all went well with Helgi, but as he was about to leave Hunding’s court he could not refrain from revealing his true name. He asked a certain goatherd to say to Heming, Hunding’s son, that he whom they had treated as a guest and whom they supposed to be Hamal, Hagal’s son, was none other than Helgi himself. Hunding sent men to Hagal’s estate to search for Helgi, and he had no other recourse than to don the garb of a bondwoman and to busy himself in turning the mill. One of Hunding’s men, to be sure, found that the bondwoman had rather sharp eyes and that she put a good deal of force into her grinding; but Hagal said that this was no wonder, since she was a shield-maiden before Helgi made her a captive. Some time later Helgi set sail in his ships of war; engaging in battle with Hunding, Helgi laid his enemy low, and thereby gained the surname of Hundingsbane. After the victory he lay with his fleet in the bay of Brunavag. Presently the Valkyrie Sigrun, daughter to king Hogni, came riding through the air to his ship and entered into speech with him. She asked him his name, and then told him that she already knew of the mighty deeds he had done. “I saw you beforetime,” she said, “on the long ships, as you stood in the blood-red prow and the cold waves played about you.” Sigrun then left him; but the four sons of Hunding challenged Helgi to battle in order to avenge the death of their father, and Helgi slew them all at the mountains of Loga. Wearied from the struggle, he sat down to rest at the foot of Arastein (Eagle Rock). There Sigrun came riding toward him a second time, threw her arms about his neck, kissed him, and told him that she was hard bestead. Her father Hogni had promised her in marriage to the hateful Hodbrod, king Granmar’s son, of Svarinshaug. Helgi undertook to free her from the compact and for that purpose gathered a great force of ships against Hodbrod; Sinfjotli was one of the company. At sea they encountered a perilous storm. Lightning played about them and shafts of fire shot down on the ships. Then they saw Sigrun come riding through the air with eight other Valkyries, and she stilled the tempest so that they made land in safety. The sons of king Granmar were sitting on a mountain side near Svarinshaug as the ships sailed in toward the shore. One of them, named Gudmund, leaped on a horse and rode to spy on the strangers from a hill overlooking the haven; he arrived just as the Volsungs were furling their sails. Gudmund asked who they might be, and for answer Sinfjotli raised a red shield aloft at the yardarm. They berated each other until at length Helgi came forward and said that battle would be more becoming to them than bandying words. Gudmund thereupon rode home with a summons to war, and the sons of Granmar mustered a large army. Many kings made common cause with the brothers, among them Hogni, Sigrun’s father, with his sons Bragi and Dag; and Alf the Elder besides. The battle was joined at Frekastein (Wolf Stone). All of the sons of Granmar fell and all of their captains but Dag, who made his peace by swearing fealty to the Volsungs. After the battle Sigrun went out among the slain and there found Hodbrod at the point of death. She gave thanks to Helgi for the deed he had done. Helgi was grieved to think that he had caused the death of her father and her brother, and she herself wept; but he consoled her with the assurance that no man could escape his destiny. Helgi took Sigrun to wife and made Granmar’s kingdom subject to his own rule. But he did not reach old age. Dag, the brother of Sigrun, offered sacrifice to Odin to obtain vengeance for his father’s death, and Odin lent his own spear to him. With it he thrust Helgi through the body at Fjoturlund and then rode home to tell Sigrun what he had done. Sigrun put him in mind of the sacred vows he had sworn to Helgi and which he had now broken; then she spoke these words:
Let not the ship sail on That glides beneath you, Though the winds follow Fair as your wishes!
Let not the horse run fleet That runs beneath you, Though he might carry you Far from your foes!
Let not the sword be edged That your arm lifts aloft, Save when it sings
About your own head!
Meet would that vengeance be For Helgi’s death,
If you were a wolf
In the forest wilderness, Wanting all worldly goods, Wanting all joys,
Finding no provender, Filled with no carrion.
Dag declared that his sister was mad thus to curse her own brother. He laid the blame for all that had passed upon Odin and offered to give her red gold rings and one half of his kingdom; but she answered that nothing could atone for Helgi’s death. A cairn was thrown over the body of Helgi, and when he entered into Valhalla Odin invited him to sit in counsel with himself; but on Hunding, Helgi laid commands to carry out the meanest tasks. One evening Sigrun’s handmaiden, chancing to pass Helgi’s mound, saw him riding toward the cairn followed by many men; she asked whether she was only seeing visions, whether the Twilight of the Gods had come inasmuch as the dead were riding, or whether the Heroes had got leave to revisit the earth. Helgi answered that the Heroes had been granted leave for their homecoming, and these tidings the handmaiden brought back to Sigrun. Sigrun went out to the cairn, glad of heart to see Helgi once more. “Yet,” she asked him, “why is your hair covered with rime, why are you flecked with blood, and why are your hands cold as ice?” “You alone are the cause,” he replied, “since you weep such bitter tears each night before you go to rest; each tear falls on my breast, icy cold, burning, freighted with woe. But though we lack lands and joys, we shall yet drink with one another costly drinks, and no man shall sing dirges for the wounds he sees in my breast.” Sigrun now prepared a couch in the mound so that she might lie down to rest in his arms. Then Helgi said: “Now nothing is beyond the bounds of belief since you, fair, living daughter of a king, rest in my arms, the arms of one who lives no more; but the time has come for me to ride forth on the reddening roadway; westward I must journey across the bridge of Heaven before Salgofnir (the cock of Valhalla) wakens the victorious men (the Heroes).” Helgi then rode away, but the next evening Sigrun awaited his return in vain. Sigrun lived no long time thereafter, so great was her sorrow and affliction.
Helgi Hundingsbane and Sigrun were none other than Helgi Hjorvardsson and Svava, Eylimi’s daughter, born again in other bodies. It is said that Helgi Hundingsbane and Sigrun were likewise born anew. In this reincarnation he bore the name of Helgi Haddingjaskati, and she bore the name of Kara, daughter of Halfdan.
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