The Great Lacuna

The Great Lacuna
In the Poetic Edda

Translation by Lee M. Hollander
of The Great Lacuna
in the Poetic Edda, from which the following is taken.

Introduction

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A. 3

The flickering flames upflared to the skies,
the earth quivered with awful fire;
but few 4 then dared of the folk-warders
to ride through the fire unflinchingly.

His Grani Sigurth with sword did urge:
the fire was quenched before the king,
the flames bated before the bold one,
the byrnie glistened, by Regin given.

C. 5

"Will not ever after on earth be forgotten
how Sigurth slew the grim serpent;
but thy brother brooked in nowise
to ride through the fire unflichingly."

D. 6

From the talk turned him the trusted thane,
the son of Sigmund, sorrowing greatly
at his sides so that his sark did rive,
of iron woven, on the atheling.

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Introduction

There is a gap of eight manuscript pages in Codex Regius after Stanza 31, line 2 of The Lay of Sigrdrifa. Then follows all that is left of a Lay of Sigurth (Brot). This is the so-called Great Lacuna. 1 Of the poems thus lost to us, only The Lay of Sigrdrifa can be pieced out from several paper manuscripts - of unknown source - although it too is fragmentary. For the remainder we are dependent on the paraphrase of the Volsunga saga (Chaps. 21-29) which in all likelihood renders the substance of the missing pages. 2 Unfortunately scholars have found it impossible to arrive at any agreement about what the Regius pages contained, because the author of the Volsunga saga has demonstrably rounded out his narrative with passages from the Thidhreks saga and paraphrases of The Lay of Gripir.

However, we may be fairly sure that a major portion had as subject the winning of Brynhild for Gunnar, Sigurth's ride through the wall of flames (see Stanzas A and B above), and the deception practiced on her; another portion, the famous quarrel between the bathing queens, when Brynhild for the first time learns of the deception (these stanzas no doubt contained some magnificent lines), the continuation of the quarrel on the next morning (see Stanza C), and Sigurth's vain attempt to console Brynhild - also a powerful scene (see Stanza D). Then there was, possibly, a lay dealing with Guthrun's anxious dreams of her winning, but soon losing, Sigurth and of her remarriage to Atli.

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Notes

1. As the manuscript consists altogether of 45 pages it is evident that about one sixth of the whole is lost, or approximately 300 stanzas. However, one must reckon on more or less extensive prose passages.

2. The four stanzas given below are quoted in the Volsunga saga.

3. Gunnar attempts vainly to ride through the wall of flames. Then Sigurth urges on his steed Grani: the Volsunga saga. Chap. 27.
4. That is, no one.

5. On the morrow after their quarrel Guthrun endeavors to reconcile Brynhild and to convince her that her husband Gunnar is second to no one; but Brynhild answers that it was Sigurth who slew the dragon and that this weighs more heavily with her than all of Gunnar's power: the Volsunga saga, Chap. 28.

6. Brynhild rejects all attempts on the part of Sigurth to console her: the Volsunga saga, Chap. 29.

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The Poetic Edda
Translated by Lee M Hollander © 1962
ISBN 0-292-76499-5
LCCCN 61-10045
Fifth paperback printing 1994
University of Texas Press
Box 7819, Austin, Texas, 78713-7819

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