SIGURD: 1. Sigmund’s son (Recently did the raven Feed on carrion)[21] And Sigurd’s sword. SHE: 2. Long have I slept, Long been with sleep oppressed, Long are mortals’ sufferings! Odin is the cause That I have been unable To cast off torpor. Sigurd sat down and asked her name. She then took a horn filled with mead, and gave him the _minnis-cup_ (cup of memory). SHE: 3. Hail to Day! Hail to the sons of Day! To Night and her daughter, hail! With placid eyes Behold us here, And here sitting give us victory. 4. Hail to the gods! Hail to the goddesses! Hail to the bounteous earth! Words and wisdom Give to us noble twain, And healing hands while we live. She was named Sigdrifa, and was a valkyrie. She said that two kings had made war on each other, one of whom was named Hialmgunnar; he was old and a great warrior, and Odin had promised him victory. The other was Agnar, a brother of Aud, whom no divinity would patronize. Sigdrifa overcame Hialmgunnar in battle; in revenge for which Odin pricked her with a sleep-thorn, and declared that thenceforth she should never have victory in battle, and should be given in marriage. But, said she, I said to him that I had bound myself by a vow not to espouse any man who could be made to fear. Sigurd answers, and implores her to teach him wisdom, as she had intelligence from all worlds: SIGDRIFA: 5. Beer I bear to thee, Column of battle! With might mingled, And with bright glory: ’Tis full of song, And salutary saws, Of potent incantations, And joyous discourses. 6. Sig-runes thou must know, If victory (_sigr_) thou wilt have, And on thy sword’s hilt rist them; Some on the chapes, Some on the guard, And twice name the name of Tyr. 7. Öl-(ale-)runes thou must know, If thou wilt not that another’s wife Thy trust betray, if thou In her confide. On the horn must they be risted, And on the hand’s back, And Naud[22] on the nail be scored.