Gunnar

“ GUNNAR'S WOOING So Gunnar rode, and they all rode. But when they came to the Thing they were so well arrayed that none could match them in bravery; and men came out of every booth to wonder at them. Gunnar rode to the booths of the men of Rangriver, and was there with his kinsmen. Many men came to see Gunnar, and ask tidings of him; and he was easy and merry to all men, and told them all they wished to hear. ”

“ Gunnar's friendship with the pacific Njal and his warlike sons endured till Gunnar's death. That came from enmities first stirred by the thieving of Hallgerda's thieving thrall. She had ordered it, and in shame Gunnar gave her a slap in the face, the sole act of irritation recorded of this generous, forbearing, peerless Viking, who once remarked: "I would like to know whether I am by so much the less brisk and bold than other men, because I think more of killing men than they?" ”

“ That thy brother's wounds Thou shouldest see a-bleeding, That his bloody hurts Thine hands should bind."
"No man blameth thee, Gunnar, Thou hast fulfilled death's measure But naught Atli feareth All thine ill will; Life shall he lay down Later than ye, And still bear more might Aloft than thy might.
"I shall tell thee, Gunnar, Though well the tale thou knowest, In what early days Ye dealt abroad your wrong: Young was I then, Worn with no woe, Good wealth I had In the house of my brother! ”

“ Then Gunnar rode home, and when he had gone away, Hallbjorn said, "Here I see how much man differs from man. Gunnar made thee good offers, but thou wouldst take none of them; or how dost thou think to strive with Gunnar in a quarrel, when no one is his match in fight. But now he is still so kind-hearted a man that it may be he will let these offers stand, though thou art only ready to take them afterwards. Methinks it were best that thou farest to see Gizur the White and Geir the Priest now this very hour." ”

“ Gunnar answered, "Never gettest thou that wealth; and men of might must thou meet here, or ever we lay by life if thou wilt deal with us in battle; ah, belike thou settest forth this feast like a great man, and wouldst not hold thine hand from erne and wolf!" ”

“ Gunnar is thy foster-brother; little I know thee if thou say him nay.
Gunnar. [To Sigurd.] Thou hast been my friend where’er we fared; thou wilt not thwart me now!
Dagny. And to depart from the land, leaving Hiördis with hate in her heart—no, no, that must we not!
Gunnar. I have done Örnulf a great wrong; until it is made good, I cannot be at peace with myself.
Sigurd. [Vehemently.] All else will I do for thee, Gunnar, but not stay here! [Mastering himself.] I am King Æthelstan’s sworn henchman, and I must be with him in England ere the winter is out. ”

“ With the hand of a cunning harper he dealeth with the strings, And his voice in their midst goeth upward, as of ancient days he sings, Of the days before the Niblungs, and the days that shall be yet; Till the hour of toil and smiting the warrior hearts forget, Nor hear the gathering foemen, nor the sound of swords aloof: Then clear the song of Gunnar goes up to the dusky roof, And the coming spear-host tarries, and the bearers of the woe Through the cloisters of King Atli with lingering footsteps go. ”

“ Then said Brynhild, Budli's daughter: "No one provokes thee, Gunnar! complete is thy work of death. Little does Atli thy hatred fear; his life will outlast thine, and his might be ever greater.
34. Gunnar! will tell thee, though thou well knowest it, how early we resolved on crimes. I was o'er-young and unrestrained, with wealth endowed, in my brother's house.
35. Nor did I desire to marry any man, before ye Giukungs rode to our dwelling, three on horseback, powerful kings: would that journey had never been! ”

“ All bleeding on a dish they laid it, and it to Gunnar bare. Calmly said Gunnar, the warrior Niflung: 'Here have I the heart of the bold Högni, unlike the heart of the timid Hialli; for it little trembles as in the dish it lies: it trembled less while in his breast it lay. So far shalt thou, Atli! be from the eyes of men as thou wilt from the treasures be. In my power alone is all the hidden Niflung's gold, now that Högni lives not. ”

“ The diction is, as a rule, perfect in its propriety and often striking in its beauty. And, above all, Gunnar is a hero, his fight a heroic fight, his courage, his generosity, his humanity (a few sentences to wife and hound are wonderfully chosen) , and even his weaknesses are such as to move the heart. His fall is like the fall of all noble and fighting things ”

“ These dreadful things Thrust her toward murder: —"Listen, Gunnar, For thou shalt lose My wide lands, Yea, me myself! Never love I my life, With thee for my lord— "I will fare back thither From whence I came, To my nighest kin And those that know me There shall I sit Sleeping my life away, Unless thou slayest Sigurd the Hun King, Making thy might more E'en than his might was! "Yea, let the son fare After the father, And no young wolf A long while nourish! For on earth man lieth Vengeance lighter, And peace shall be surer If the son live not." ”

“ In Gunnar perish:
And the black-felled bears
With fierce teeth shall bite
For the glee of the dog kind,
If again comes not Gunnar."
Then good men never shamed,
Greeting aloud,
Led the great king of men
From the garth of his home;
And cried the fair son
Of Hogni the king:
Fare happy, O Lords,
Whereso your hearts lead you!"
Then the bold knights
Let their bit-griping steeds
Wend swift o'er the fells,
Tread the murk-wood unknown,
All the Hunwood was shaking
As the hardy ones fared there;
O'er the green meads they urged
Their steeds shy of the goad.
Then Atli's land saw they ”

“ Gunnar and Njal rode both together from the Thing, and then Njal said to Gunnar, "Take good care, messmate, that thou keepest to this atonement, and bear in mind what we have spoken about; for though thy former journey abroad brought thee to great honour, this will be a far greater honour to thee. Thou wilt come back with great glory, and live to be an old man, and no man here will then tread on thy heel; but if thou dost not fare away, and so breakest thy atonement, then thou wilt be slain here in the land, and that is ill knowing for those who are thy friends." ”

“ Then Gunnar turned head And spake unto Hogni: "What rede from thee, high one, Since such things we hear? No gold know I On Gnitaheath, That we for our parts Have not portion as great. "Seven halls we have Fulfilled of swords, And hilts of gold Each sword there has; My horse is the best, My blade is the keenest; Fair my bow o'er the bench is, Gleams my byrny with gold; Brightest helm, brightest shield, From Kiar's dwelling ere brought— Better all things I have Than all things of the Huns." ”

“ At the big horse-fight, stirred up Otkell's son
To avenge his father; for should he be slain
Two in one stock would prove old Njal's foretelling,
And Gunnar's place be emptied either way
For those high helpless men who cannot fill it.
O mistress, you have hurt us all in this:
You have cut off your strength, you have maimed yourself,
You are losing power and worship and men's trust.
When Gunnar dies no other man dare take you.
HALLGERD
You gather poison in your mouth for me.
A high-born woman may handle what she fancies
Without being ear-pruned like a pilfering beggar. ”

“ The lad laid him down and fell asleep at once, but Gunnar took the shepherd's horse and laid his saddle on him; he took his shield, and girded him with his sword, Oliver's gift; he sets his helm on his head; takes his bill, and something sung loud in it, and his mother, Rannveig, heard it. She went up to him and said, "Wrathful art thou now, my son, and never saw I thee thus before".
Gunnar goes out, and drives the butt of his spear into the earth, and throws himself into the saddle, and rides away. ”

“ Hiördis. [Thoughtfully.] Thou wilt put to sea? Ay, so it may be best for us both.
Gunnar. Even from the day we sailed from Iceland, I saw that it would go ill with us. Thy soul is strong and proud; there are times when I well-nigh fear thee; yet, it is strange—chiefly for that do I hold thee so dear. Dread goes forth from thee like a spell; methinks thou couldst lure me to the blackest deeds, and all would seem good to me that thou didst crave. [Shaking his head reflectively.] Unfathomable is the Norn’s rede; Sigurd should have been thy husband. ”

“ Shall ye come to see me." "Sit thee down, Gunnar, A word must I say to thee Of the life's ruin Of thy lightsome bride— —Nor shall thy ship Swim soft and sweetly For all that I Lay life adown. "Sooner than ye might deem Shall ye make peace with Gudrun, For the wise woman Shall full in the young wife The hard memory Of her dead husband. "There is a may born Reared by her mother, Whiter and brighter Than is the bright day; She shall be Swanhild, She shall be Sunbeam. "Thou shalt give Gudrun Unto a great one, Noble, well-praised Of the world's folk ”

“ Gudrun answered full of wrath, "Thou wouldst be wise if thou shouldst hold thy peace rather than revile my husband: lo now, the talk of all men it is, that none has ever abode in this world like unto him in all matters soever; and little it beseems thee of all folk to mock him who was thy first beloved: and Fafnir he slew, yea, and he rode thy flaming fire, whereas thou didst deem that he was Gunnar the King, and by thy side he lay, and took from thine hand the ring Andvari's-loom;—here mayst thou well behold it!" ”

“ Gunnar. Now, truly, are all things to my very mind! I have found thee again, Sigurd, my brave brother, as kind and true as of old. I have Örnulf’s son under my roof, and the old man himself follows speedily after; is it not so?
Thorolf. So he promised.
Gunnar. Then all I lack is that Egil should be here.
Thorolf. ’Tis plain thou lovest the boy, thou namest him so oft.
Gunnar. Truly I love him; he is my only child; and he is like to grow up fair and kindly.
47Hiördis. But no warrior.
Gunnar. Nay—that thou must not say.
Sigurd. How couldst thou send him from thee——
Gunnar. ”

“ GUNNAR COMES INTO THE STORY There was a man whose name was Gunnar. He was one of Unna's kinsmen, and his mother's name was Rannveig (1) . Gunnar's father was named Hamond (2) . Gunnar Hamond's son dwelt at Lithend, in the Fleetlithe. He was a tall man in growth, and a strong man — best skilled in arms of all men. He could cut or thrust or shoot if he chose as well with his left as with his right hand, and he smote so swiftly with his sword, that three seemed to flash through the air at once. He was the best shot with the bow of all men, and never missed his mark. ”

“ But when they showed proofs of his death to his brother, and bade him tell the whereabouts of the hoard, Gunnar laughed a proud laugh and declared that now the secret rested with him alone, and it should never be revealed.
So, in his fury of disappointment, the king ordered him to be thrown, with chained hands, into a den full of poisonous serpents; and his harp was flung in after him. Then did Gunnar sit smiling in their midst, and played with his toes upon the instrument until all the creatures, save one, were fast asleep. ”

“ Gunnar asks if Njal were at home; and he was told that he was at home; then he let them saddle his horse, and those brothers rode over to Bergthorsknoll.
Njal was glad at their coming, and begged them to stay there that night, and Gunnar told him of his voyages.
Njal said he was a man of the greatest mark, "and thou hast been much proved; but still thou wilt be more tried hereafter; for many will envy thee."
"With all men I would wish to stand well," says Gunnar.
"Much bad will happen," said Njal, "and thou wilt always have some quarrel to ward off." ”

“ HIORDIS. Well can I guess what it had to do with; but this I tell thee, foster-father, never shall it be said that Gunnar let himself be cowed because thou camest in arms to the isle. Hadst thou come alone, a single wayfarer, to our hall, the quarrel had more easily been healed.
GUNNAR. Ornulf and his sons come in peace.
HIORDIS. Mayhap; but otherwise will it sound in the mouths of men; and thou thyself, Gunnar, didst show scant trust in the peace yesterday, in sending our son Egil to the southland so soon as it was known that Ornulf's warship lay in the fiord.
SIGURD (to GUNNAR) . ”

“ Now at the next Thing there was great dispute over this suit, but in the end it was settled to Gunnar’s honour, and Gizur the white and Geir the priest gave pledges that they would keep the peace. But there were other men who thought they had been wronged by Gunnar, and laid plots to anger him, so that he might be outlawed and forced to leave the country. ”

“ So Gunnar sailed from the east with much goods. He had ten ships, and ran in with them to Heidarby in Denmark. King Harold Gorm's son was there up the country, and he was told about Gunnar, and how too that there was no man his match in all Iceland. He sent men to him to ask him to come to him, and Gunnar went at once to see the king, and the king made him a hearty welcome, and sat him down next to himself. ”

“ Through the gates that the Dwarf-folk builded and the well-belovèd door."
So there lieth Giuki the King, mid steel and the glimmer of gold,
As the sound of the feastful Niblungs round his misty house is rolled:
But Gunnar is King of the people, and the chief of the Niblung land;
A man beloved for his mercy, and his might and his open hand;
A glorious king in the battle, a hearkener at the doom,
A singer to sing the sun up from the heart of the midnight gloom.
On a day sit the Kings in the high-seat when Grimhild saith to her son:
"O Gunnar, King belovèd, a fair life hast thou won ”