The complete text
Frá dauða Sinfjǫtla
On the Death of Sinfjötli
About these two editions
These are complete reading editions of the poem and its accompanying prose, rather than a facsimile of Codex Regius. Bellows sometimes orders, divides, or supplements stanzas differently, so the two editions do not always share stanza numbers. Editorial introductions and footnotes are omitted; follow the source links for that commentary.
Original wording is retained. Obvious transcription errors in stanza numbering have been corrected. Spelling and names differ from the modern retelling.
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Old Norse
Normalized Old Norse · Guðni Jónsson edition · Source ↗
Völsungsson var konungr á Frakklandi. var elztr hans sona, annarr , þriði Hámundr. , kona , átti bróður, er hét . . . . . . En , stjúpson hennar, ok . . . . . . báðu einnar konu báðir, ok fyrir þá sök drap hann.
En er hann kom heim, þá bað hann fara á brott, en bauð henni fébætr, ok þat varð hon at þiggja. En at erfinu bar öl. Hon tók eitr mikit, horn fullt, ok bar .
En er hann sá í hornit, skilði hann, at eitr var í, ok mælti til : "Göróttr er drykkrinn, ái."
tók hornit ok drakk af. Svá er sagt at var harðgörr, at hvárki mátti hánum eitr granda útan né innan, en allir synir hans stóðust eitr á hörund útan.
bar annat horn ok bað drekka, ok fór allt sem fyrr. Ok enn it þriðja sinn bar hon hánum hornit ok þó ámælisorð með, ef hann drykki eigi af. Hann mælti enn sem fyrr við .
Hann sagði: "Láttu grön sía þá, sonr."
drakk ok varð þegar dauðr. bar hann langar leiðir í fangi sér ok kom at firði einum mjóvum ok löngum, ok var þar skip eitt lítit ok maðr einn á. Hann bauð Sigmundi far of fjörðinn. En er bar líkit út á skipit, þá var bátrinn hlaðinn. Karl mælti, at skyldi fara fyrir innan fjörðinn. Karl hratt út skipinu ok hvarf þegar.
konungr dvalðisk lengi í Danmörk í ríki Borghildar, síðan er hann fekk hennar. Fór þá suðr í Frakkland til þess ríkis, er hann átti þar. Þá fekk hann , dóttur konungs. Þeira son var .
konungr fell í orrostu fyrir Hundingssonum, en giftist þá Álfi, syni Hjálpreks konungs. Óx þar upp í barnæsku. ok allir synir hans váru langt um fram alla menn aðra um afl ok vöxt ok hug ok alla atgervi. var þó allra framastr, ok hann kalla allir menn í fornfræðum um alla menn fram ok göfgastan herkonunga.
English translation
Henry Adams Bellows · First published 1923 · Source & commentary ↗
, the son of , was a king in the land of the Franks; was his eldest son, the second was , and the third . , 's wife, had a brother who was named -----. , her stepson, and ----- both wooed the same woman, wherefore slew him. And when he came home, bade him depart, but offered her atonement-money, and this she had to accept.
At the funeral feast brought in ale; she took poison, a great horn full, and brought it to . But when he looked into the horn, he saw that it was poison, and said to : "Muddy is the drink, Father!" took the horn and drank therefrom. It is said that was so hardy that poison might not harm him, either outside or in, but all his sons could withstand poison only without on their skin.
bore another horn to and bade him drink, and all happened as before. And yet a third time she brought him a horn, and spoke therewith scornful words of him if he should not drink from it. He spoke as before with . The latter said: "Let it trickle through your beard, Son!" drank, and straight way was dead. bore him a long way in his arms, and came to a narrow and long fjord, and there was a little boat and a man in it. He offered to take across the fjord. But when had borne the corpse out into the boat, then the craft was full. The man told to go round the inner end of the fjord.
Then the man pushed the boat off, and disappeared.
King dwelt long in in 's kingdom after he had married her. Thereafter went south into the land of the Franks, to the kingdom which he had there. There he married , the daughter of King ; their son was . King fell in a battle with the sons of , and then married the son of King . There grew up in his boyhood.
and all his sons were far above all other men in might and stature and courage and every kind of ability. , however, was the fore most of all, and all men call him in the old tales the noblest of mankind and the mightiest leader.