This is all of the famous Hávamál of the Elder Edda except the so-called Runic Chapter, which will be given in the second part in connection with the myth of Odin. Hear now what the valkyrie has to say to Sigurd Fafnisbane in

SIGRDRÍFUMÁL (the Lay of Sigdrifa).

Sigurd rode up the Hindarfiall, and directed his course southward toward Frankland. In the fell he saw a great light, as if a fire were burning, which blazed up to the sky. On approaching it, there stood a skialdborg, and over it a banner. Sigurd went into the skialdborg, and saw a warrior lying within it asleep, completely armed. He first took the helmet off the warrior’s head, and saw that it was a woman. Her corselet was as fast as if it had grown to her body. With his sword, Gram, he ripped the corselet from the upper opening downwards, and then through both sleeves. He then took the corselet off from her, when she awoke, sat up, and, on seeing Sigurd, said:

1. What has my corselet cut?
Why from my sleep have I started?
Who has cast from me
The fallow bands?
SIGURD:
1. Sigmund’s son
(Recently did the raven
Feed on carrion)[21]
And Sigurd’s sword.
SHE:
2. Long have I slept,
Long been with sleep oppressed,
Long are mortals’ sufferings!
Odin is the cause
That I have been unable
To cast off torpor.

Sigurd sat down and asked her name. She then took a horn filled with mead, and gave him the minnis-cup (cup of memory).

SHE:
3. Hail to Day!
Hail to the sons of Day!
To Night and her daughter, hail!
With placid eyes
Behold us here,
And here sitting give us victory.
4. Hail to the gods!
Hail to the goddesses!
Hail to the bounteous earth!
Words and wisdom
Give to us noble twain,
And healing hands while we live.

She was named Sigdrifa, and was a valkyrie. She said that two kings had made war on each other, one of whom was named Hialmgunnar; he was old and a great warrior, and Odin had promised him victory. The other was Agnar, a brother of Aud, whom no divinity would patronize. Sigdrifa overcame Hialmgunnar in battle; in revenge for which Odin pricked her with a sleep-thorn, and declared that thenceforth she should never have victory in battle, and should be given in marriage. But, said she, I said to him that I had bound myself by a vow not to espouse any man who could be made to fear. Sigurd answers, and implores her to teach him wisdom, as she had intelligence from all worlds:

SIGDRIFA:
5. Beer I bear to thee,
Column of battle!
With might mingled,
And with bright glory:
’Tis full of song,
And salutary saws,
Of potent incantations,
And joyous discourses.
6. Sig-runes thou must know,
If victory (sigr) thou wilt have,
And on thy sword’s hilt rist them;
Some on the chapes,
Some on the guard,
And twice name the name of Tyr.
7. Öl-(ale-)runes thou must know,
If thou wilt not that another’s wife
Thy trust betray, if thou
In her confide.
On the horn must they be risted,
And on the hand’s back,
And Naud[22] on the nail be scored.
8. A cup must be blessed,
And against peril guarded,
And garlick in the liquor cast;
Then I know
Thou wilt never have
Mead with treachery mingled.
9. Biarg-(help-)runes thou must know,
If thou wilt help
And loose the child from women;
In the palm they must be graven,
And round the joints be clasped,
And the dises prayed for aid.
10. Brim-(sea-)runes thou must know,
If thou wilt have secure
Afloat thy sailing steeds.
On the prow they must be risted,
And on the helm-blade,
And with fire to the oar applied.
No surge shall be so towering,
Nor waves so dark,
But from the ocean thou safe shalt come,
11. Lim-(branch-)runes thou must know.
If thou a leech would be,
And wounds know how to heal.
On the bark they must be risted,
And on the leaves of trees,
Of those whose boughs bend eastward.
12. Mál-(speech-)runes thou must know,
If thou wilt that no one
For injury with hate requite thee.
Those thou must wind,
Those thou must wrap round,
Those thou must altogether place
In the assembly,
Where people have
Into full court to go.
13. Hug-(thought-)runes thou must know,
If thou a wiser man wilt be
Than every other.
Those interpreted,
Those risted,
Those devised Hropt,[23]
From the fluid
Which had leaked
From Heiddraupner’s[24] head,
And from Hoddropner’s horn.
14. On a rock he stood,
With edged sword,
A helm on his head he bore.
Then spake Mimer’s head
Its first wise word,
And true sayings uttered.
15. They are, it is said,
On the shield risted
Which stands before the shining god,
On Aarvak’s[25] ear,
And on Alsvinn’s hoof,
On the wheel which rolls
Under Rogner’s[26] car,
On Sleipner’s teeth,
And on the sledge’s bands.
16. On the bear’s paw,
And on Brage’s tongue,
On the wolf’s claws,
And the eagle’s beak,
On bloody wings,
And on the bridge’s end,
On the releasing hand.
And on healing’s track.
17. On glass and on gold,
On amulets of men,
In wine and in ale,
And in the welcome seat,
On Gungner’s point,
And on Grane’s breast,
On the norn’s nail,
And the owl’s neb.
18. All were erased
That were inscribed,
And mingled with the sacred mead,
And sent on distant ways;
They are with the gods,
They are with the elves;
Some with the wise vans,
Some human beings have.
19. Those are bôk-runes
Those are biarg-runes,
And all öl-(ale-)runes,
And precious megin-(power-)runes
For those who can,
Without confusion or corruption,
Turn them to his welfare.
Use, if thou hast understood them,
Until the powers perish.
20. Now thou shalt choose,
Since a choice is offered thee,
Keen armed warrior!
My speech or silence:
Think over it in thy mind.
All evils have their measure.
SIGURD:
21. I will not flee,
Though thou shouldst know me doomed:
I am not born a craven.
Thy friendly councils all
I will receive,
As long as life is in me.
SIGDRIFA:
22. This I thee counsel first:
That toward thy kin
Thou bear thee blameless.
Take not hasty vengeance,
Although they raise up strife:
That, it is said, benefits the dead.
23. This I thee counsel secondly:
That no oath thou swear,
If it not be true.
Cruel bonds
Follow broken faith:
Accursed is the faith-breaker.
24. This I thee counsel thirdly:
That in the assembly thou
Contend not with a fool;
For an unwise man
Oft utters words
Worse than he knows of.
25. All is vain,
If thou holdest silence;
Then wilt thou seem a craven born,
Or else truly accused.
Doubtful is a servant’s testimony,
Unless a good one thou gettest.
On the next day
Let his life go forth,
And so men’s lies reward.
26. This I counsel thee fourthly:
If a wicked sorceress
Dwell by the way,
To go on is better
Than there to lodge,
Though night may overtake thee.
27. Of searching eyes
The sons of men have need,
When fiercely they have to fight:
Oft pernicious women
By the wayside sit,
Who swords and valor deaden.
28. This I thee counsel fifthly:
Although thou see fair women
On the benches sitting,
Let not their kindred’s silver[27]
Over thy sleep have power.
To kiss thee entice no woman.
29. This I thee counsel sixthly:
Although among men pass
Offensive tipsy talk,
Never, while drunken, quarrel
With men of war:
Wine steals the wits of many.
30. Brawls and drink
To many men have been
A heart-felt sorrow;
To some their death,
To some calamity:
Many are the griefs of men!
31. This I thee counsel seventhly:
If thou hast disputes
With a daring man,
Better it is for men
To fight than to be burnt
Within their dwelling.
32. This I thee counsel eighthly:
That thou guard thee against evil,
And eschew deceit.
Entice no maiden,
Nor wife of man,
Nor to wantonness incite.
33. This I thee counsel ninthly:
That thou corpses bury,
Wherever on the earth thou findest them;
Whether from sickness they have died,
Or from the sea,
Or are from weapons dead.
34. Let a mound be raised
For those departed;
Let their hands and head be washed,
Combed, and wiped dry,
Ere in the coffin they are laid;
And pray for their happy sleep.
35. This I thee counsel tenthly:
That thou never trust
A foe’s kinsman’s promises,
Whose brother thou hast slain,
Or sire laid low:
There is a wolf
In a young son,
Though he with gold be gladdened.
36. Strifes and fierce enmities
Think not to be lulled,
No more than deadly injury.
Wisdom and fame in arms
A prince not easily acquires,
Who shall of men be foremost.
37. This I counsel thee eleventhly:
That thou at evil look,
What course it may take.
A long life, it seems to me,
The prince may [not] enjoy;
Fierce disputes will arise.

Sigurd said: A wiser mortal exists not, and I swear that I will possess thee, for thou art after my heart. She answered: Thee I will have before all others, though I have to choose among all men. And this they confirmed with oaths to each other.

Here ends the lay of Sigdrifa.

The reader may find some of these rules of Hávamál and Sigrdrífumál somewhat inconsistent with our ideas of a supreme deity; but are not many of these principles laid down in the Odinic morality worthy of a Christian age and of a Christian people, and do they not all reveal a profound knowledge of human nature in all its various phases?

These rules of life, says Professor Keyser, were variously understood, and as variously carried out into practice. But on the whole we find them reflected in the popular character of the Norsemen, such as history teaches it to us during heathendom. Bravery, prudence, and a love of independence are its brightest features, although bravery often degenerated into warrior fierceness, prudence into dissimulation, and the love of independence into self-will. If on the one hand we find a noble self-command, devoted faithfulness in friendship and love, noble-hearted hospitality and generosity, a love of right and of legal order, we also see on the other hand, unyielding stubbornness, a fierce spirit of revenge, a repulsive arrogance, a far-reaching self-interest, and an excessive dependence upon the formalities of the law. A cold and unmoved exterior often concealed a soul torn by the bitterest grief, or stirred up by the wildest passions. A passionate outburst of joy or of grief was considered undignified. Few words, but energetic action, was esteemed in conduct, and complaint was silenced in order that vengeance could strike the more surely and heavily. Under a tranquil, indifferent mien were concealed the boldest and most deep-laid plans, and the real intention first came to light in the decisive moment. On the whole, there was certainly an impress of rigidity, insensibility and self-goodness stamped upon the popular character, but this stamp was more upon the outside than in its innermost character, more the result of inordinate prudence than of an evil disposition; and through all its failings there shines forth a dignity of soul which ennobled power and held up glory in this life and in after ages as the highest object of human undertakings.[28]

The part assigned to the Norsemen in the grand drama of European history was to free the human mind from the Cæsarian thraldom of Rome, in which it had so long been chained; to show what marvels self-government and free institutions can accomplish, and thus hand down to us, their descendants, a glorious heritage of imperishable principles, which we must study and in a great measure be guided by.

We retain in the days of the week the remembrance of this religion, which was brought to England more than fourteen hundred years ago by the Goths, who came to give that country a new name and a new fate in the world. The Goths taught the people of Britain to divide tho week into their Sun-day, Moon-day, Tys-day, Odin’s-day, Thor’s-day, and Frey’s or Freyja’s-day. The name of Saturday the English owe to the Roman god Saturnus; but the last day of the week was known among the early Norsemen, and is still known among them, as Laugar-dag, Lör-dag, that is Washing-day. It is possible, as E. C. Otté quaintly remarks, that our Anglo-Saxon forefathers may have wished to change this name when, in later times, they had ceased to have only one washing-day out of the seven, like their northers ancestors.

We are now prepared to present the Norse mythology, and we shall divide it into three divisions: The Creation and Preservation, The Life and Exploits Of the Gods, and Ragnarok and Regeneration. These three divisions we dedicate respectively to Urd, Verdande, and Skuld, the three norns, Was, Is, and Shall Be, which uphold the world’s structure and preside over the destinies of gods and men.