But he[1] cried across all in no craven’s voice,
25hardy hero: “Who holds the door?”
“Sigeferth my name is, Secgas’ prince,
wide-heralded hero: heavy my trials,
hard wars that I waged; there awaits thee now
such[2] as thyself would serve to me!”
30Then din by the door[3] from death-blows sounded;
in hands of heroes were hewn the shields,
the bone-helms[4] burst; and the burg-floor groaned,
until in the grim fight Garulf fell
first of the earls of earth-dwellers there,[5]
35Guthlaf’s[6] son, and good men beside him.
Sank still the slain: wide circled the raven
sallow-brown, swarthy: the sword-light gleamed
as if Finn’s whole burg were blazing with fire.[7]
Never heard I that worthier warring men,
40conquerors sixty, more splendidly fought,
- ↑ By Klaeber’s reading, Garulf.
- ↑ Literally, “which of the two,”—life or death.
- ↑ Ms. “In the hall,” with false rime, and therefore changed by editors to “by the wall.”
- ↑ Variant of “shields” in the preceding verse.
- ↑ That is, as ten Brink explains, of those who dwelt in that part of the earth,—the Frisians.
- ↑ To avoid a clash with v. 18, above, Möller changed to Guthulf (war-wolf). Ten Brink suspects a tragic motive and retains Guthlaf. Father and son would thus be opposed and repeat the tragedy of the Hildebrand Lay.
- ↑ Valhalla was lighted by swords. See Uhland, Mythus v. Thor, p.
166.—Swords were named for their light-giving power; they shine after
death of the owner,—as in the case of that sailor who has slain five and
twenty dragons (Salomon and Saturn, 156 f):—
His sword well-burnished shineth yet,
and over the barrow beam the hilts. . . .
