It will be seen that up to this point, in spite of the loss of the names, there can be little doubt that the subject of the ballad is the story of Hethin and Hˆgni. After this however the narrative deviates from any other known version of this story. It would rather seem that--as in the German Kudrun--two stories, originally distinct, have been brought together in one poem. NOTES The numbers refer to chapters (sagas) and strophes (ballads, etc.) THE TH¡TTR OF NORNAGEST _The Th·ttr of Nornagest._ A _th·ttr_ is a portion (episode) of a longer saga, in this case the _Saga of Olaf Tryggvason_ which is found in the _FlateyjarbÛk_. I. _King Olaf Tryggvason_, one of the most famous kings of Norway (_r._ 995-1000). He compelled the country to accept Christianity. For accounts of his life and times, see the _Story of Olaf Tryggvison_ in the _Heimskringla_, vol. I, pp. 221-378; and also the longer _Saga of King Olaf Tryggwason_, translated by Sephton. _Trondhjem_, originally the name, not of a town, but of the entire district round the Trondhjem Fjord. _A man came to him._ Cf. the _Saga of Olaf Tryggvason_ (_Heimskringla_), ch. 71. _Guest._ Here a pun is intended, the word _Gestr_ in Icelandic signifying a 'guest' as well as a 'stranger.' _The Contentious._ The word in the text, '_˛ingbÌtr_,' seems to mean 'sharp in debate,' and to refer to his ready wit and astuteness in litigation. _Guest said that he had been prime-signed._ To 'prime-sign' signified to make the _prima signatio_ or sign of the Cross over a person, preliminary to baptism. People so 'prime-signed' were admitted to certain parts of the Mass and to social intercourse in Christian communities. See the _Saga of Egil Skallagrimsson_, ch. 50 "King Athelstan [of England] was a good Christian.... He asked Thorolf and his brother to let themselves be prime-signed; for this was a common practice with both merchants and soldiers who took service under Christians. Men who were prime-signed had free intercourse with both Christians and heathens, and followed whatever religion they liked best. Thorolf and Egil did as the King asked them, and both were prime-signed." _Svein Forkbeard_, King of Denmark from 986 (?) to 1014, and of England also during the last year of his life. _The Emperor Otto_, i.e. Otto II, 973-983. _Dane-work_, i.e. the Danish Wall still partially preserved, which divided Jutland from the land of the Saxons and stretched from near the city of Slesvig to the marsh-land along the River Treene. _King Harold Gormsson_ appears to have reigned for about fifty years and to have died probably in 986. He was nick-named Harold 'Bluetooth' (or perhaps 'Blacktooth'). About 974 he fought the Emperor Otto II, and Earl Haakon of Norway aided him. Both Harold and Haakon were forced to accept Christianity, but Haakon afterwards renounced it. _Earl Haakon the Heathen_, i.e. Earl Haakon the Great, or the Bad, who ruled over Norway, 975-995.