Note 33 — The First Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane

Here begins the long dialogue between Gothmund, one of Granmar’s sons, and Sinfjotli, Helgi’s half-brother. Two lines (stanza 33, lines 3–4) are quoted by the annotator in the prose note following stanza 16 of the second Helgi Hundingsbane lay, and the dialogue, in much abbreviated form, together with Helgi’s admonition to Sinfjotli to cease talking, is closely paralleled in stanzas 22–27 of that poem. It has been suggested that this whole passage (stanzas 33–48) is an interpolation, perhaps from “the Old Volsung lay.” This may be, but it seems more probable that the poet used an older poem simply as the basis for this passage, borrowing a little but making up a great deal more. The manuscript indicates no gap in stanza 33.