To rush wide-eyed through the flaming fire
With courage undismayed.
Rather by far will I give to thee
The accursed sword, though unwillingly,
My little, tender maid.

Hervoer:

O son of the vikings, well hast thou done
In giving me Tyrfing from out the tomb;
And happier am I today
That I now grasp Tyrfing within my hands
Than if I were queen of the broad Northlands,
And conqueror of Noroway.

Angantyr:

Vain is thy rapture, my luckless maid!
Thy hopes are false. All too soon will fade
The flush of joy from thy face.
Try, child, to listen; I am warning thee!--
This sword is the sword of destiny,
The destroyer of all thy race!

Hervoer:

Away, away to my 'ocean-steed'!
The daughter of princes is glad indeed,
O glad at heart today!
And what care I for the destiny
Of children as yet undreamed by me?--
Let them quarrel as they may!

Angantyr:

Thou shalt have and enjoy without sorrow or pain
The blade which proved to be Hjalmar's bane,
If thou draw it not from its sheath.
Worse than a plague is this cursed thing.
Touch not its edges, for poisons cling
Above it and beneath.

Farewell, yet fain would I give to thee
The life that has passed from my brothers and me,
O daughter, 'tis truth I say!
--The strength and vigour and hardihood,
--All that we had that was great and good,
That has vanished and passed away!

Hervoer:

Farewell, farewell to all you dead!
Farewell! I would that I were sped!
Farewell all you in the mound!...
Surely in terror I drew my breath
Between the Worlds of Life and Death
When the grave fires girt me round!

[Footnote 1: Two lines are missing from the MS. at this
point.]

Then she returned towards her ships; but when dawn came, she saw that
they had departed. The vikings had been scared by the rumblings
and the flames on the island. She got a ship to carry her away;
but nothing is told of her voyage till she came to Guthmund in
Glasisvellir, where she remained all through the winter, still calling
herself Hervarth.

VI. One day Guthmund was playing chess, and when the game was almost
up, he asked if anyone could advise him as to his moves. So Hervarth
went up to him and began to direct his moves; and it was not long
before Guthmund began to win. T