_Ulfasker._ A corruption of _Elfasker_. Cf. _GrÌplur_, str. 25, and note to _Skerries of the Elf_, p. 229 above. _Dragon_, a common term for a large type of warship in the Viking Age. _Scoundrels._ The text has _Bl·menn_, i.e. lit. 'Black men', negroes. But in the Romantic Sagas, owing probably to the influence of stories relating to the Saracens, pirates are described as _Bl·menn_, even in stories relating exclusively to the North. Cf. _The Ballad of Hj·lmar and Angantyr_ (refrain), p. 184, above. II. _I am going to be Othin's guest_, is a euphemism for 'be slain,' and is equivalent to 'go to Valhalla,' the abode of slain warriors which belonged to Othin. See the _Saga of Egil SkallagrÌmsson_, ch. 81, where Thorgerth, Egil's daughter, says that she will have no supper till she "sup with Freyja." _No blade would wound Hrˆngvith._ It is not uncommon to hear that a warrior, usually an unsympathetic character, was immune through spells from wounds inflicted by weapons; cf. _Beowulf_, l. 804, where this is stated of Grendel. III. _Hebrides._ The word _Suthreyjar_, here translated Hebrides, properly means all the islands off the west coast of Scotland. The modern form of the word is _Sodor_, surviving in the name of the diocese of 'Sodor and Man.' _Ghosts._ It will be seen from the context that the word _draugr_ here translated 'ghost,' is in reality the animated corpse of the dead man. This is a common feature of Norse stories (e.g. the _Saga of Grettir the Strong_, ch. 18). IV. _Valland_, i.e. France, lit. the 'Land of the _Valar_,' i.e. of the Celts or Romans. In Anglo-Saxon literature the French are sometimes called _Galwalas_, i.e. the 'Walas (Welsh) of Gaul'. See also the _Th·ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 9 and note. _And he added_, etc. Are we to assume a lacuna here? The composition of this saga is however far from perfect. In certain passages (e.g. at the beginning of this chapter) one is inclined to suspect that someone has tried to combine two different texts of the story. _Finger nails_, etc. Cf. the physiological fact of the growth of the finger nails after death, and the legend of Charlemagne according to which his beard grew through a stone table after his death. _Gunnlˆth._ Other documents appear to make Hromund a Norwegian, and this is what we should gather from _Landn·mabÛk_ quoted above (p. 231, note). See _Hversu Noregr Bygist_, ch. 2. _Mistletoe_, the name of the sword again connects this story with that of Balder who is stated in _Vˆlusp·_, str. 32 and _Gylfaginning_, ch. 49 to have been killed by a piece of mistletoe. V. _Dagny_, the wife of IngjÛld, who was the friend of GrÌm Lothinkinni. See the _Saga of GrÌm Loinkinni_, ch. 3. _H·logaland._ See _Hervarar Saga_, ch. 1 and note; and also the Sagas of _Ketil HÊng_ and _GrÌm Loinkinni_. _Voli and Bild_, etc. At this point the writer of the saga has omitted part of the dialogue in which Olaf threatens to hang Hromund. Cf. _GrÌplur_, p. 383, str. 20, 21.