Note 45 — The Second, or Old, Lay of Guthrun

With these two lines the poem abruptly ends; some editors assign the speech to Atli (I think rightly), others to Guthrun. Ettmüller combines the lines with stanza 38. Whether stanzas 38–45 originally belonged to Guthrun’s lament, or were interpolated here in place of the lost conclusion of that poem from another one dealing with Atli’s dreams (cf. note on stanza 37), it is clear that the end has been lost.