Note 26 — The Lay of Helgi the Son of Hjorvarth

Something is clearly wrong with this stanza, and the manuscript indicates line 6 as the beginning of a new one. Perhaps a line (between lines 4 and 5) has been lost, or perhaps the lines in parenthesis are interpolations. Hrimgerth here refers to Svava, or to the protectress with whom the annotator has identified her, as having saved Helgi and his ships from the vengeance of the giantesses. In the original line 1 includes Helgi’s name, which makes it metrically incorrect.