Chapter xxxi.

Of the Lamentation¹ of Gudrun over Sigurd’s dead, as it is told told in ancient Songs. 43

Gudrun of old days

Drew near to dying

As she sat in sorrow

Over Sigurd;

Yet she sighed not

Nor smote² hand on hand,

Nor wailed³ she aught

As other women.

Then went earls to her.

Full of all wisdom,

Fain help to deal

To her dreadful heart:

Hushed was Gudrun

Of wail⁴, or greeting,

But with a heavy woe⁵

Was her heart a-breaking.

Bright and fair

Sat the great earls’ brides,

Gold arrayed

Before Gudrun;

Each told the tale

Of her great trouble,

The bitterest bale

She erst abode⁶.

Then spake Giaflaug,

Giuki’s sister:

“Lo upon earth

I live most loveless

Who of five mates

Must see the ending,

Of daughters twain

And three sisters,

Of brethren eight,

And abide⁷ behind lonely.”

Naught⁸ gat Gudrun

Of wail and greeting,

So heavy was she

For her dead husband,

So dreadful-hearted

For the King laid dead there.

Then spake Herborg

Queen of Hunland —

“Crueller tale

Have I to tell of,

Of my seven sons

Down in the Southlands,

And the eighth man, my mate,

Felled in the death-mead.

“Father and mother,

And four brothers,

On the wide sea

The winds and death played with;

The billows beat

On the bulwark⁹ boards.

“Alone must I sing o’er them,

Alone must I array them,

Alone must my hands deal with

Their departing;

And all this was

In one season’s wearing,

And none was left

For love or solace¹⁰.

“Then was I bound

A prey¹¹ of the battle,

When that same season

Wore to its ending;

As a tiring may

Must I bind¹² the shoon

Of the duke’s high dame¹³,

Every day at dawning.

“From her jealous hate

Gat I heavy mocking,

Cruel lashes¹⁴

She laid upon me,

Never met I

Better master

Or mistress worser

In all the wide world.”

Naught gat Gudrun

Of wail or greeting,

So heavy was she

For her dead husband,

So dreadful-hearted

For the King laid dead there.

Then spake Gullrond,

Giuki’s daughter —

“O foster-mother,

Wise as thou mayst be,

Naught canst thou better

The young wife’s bale.”

And she bade uncover

The dead King’s corpse¹⁵.

She swept the sheet

Away from Sigurd,

And turned his cheek

Towards his wife’s knees —

“Look on thy loved one

Lay lips to his lips,

E’en as thou wert clinging

To thy king alive yet!”

Once looked Gudrun —

One look only,

And saw her lord’s locks

Lying all bloody¹⁶,

The great man’s eyes

Glazed¹⁷ and deadly,

And his heart’s bulwark

Broken by sword-edge.

Back then sank Gudrun,

Back on the bolster¹⁸,

Loosed was her head array,

Red did her cheeks grow,

And the rain-drops ran

Down over her knees.

Then wept Gudrun,

Giuki’s daughter,

So that the tears flowed

Through the pillow;

As the geese withal

That were in the homefield,

The fair fowls¹⁹ the may owned,

Fell a-screaming.

Then spake Gullrond,

Giuki’s daughter —

“Surely knew I

No love like your love

Among all men,

On the mould abiding²⁰;

Naught wouldst thou joy in

Without or within doors,

O my sister,

Save beside Sigurd.”

Then spake Gudrun,

Giuki’s daughter —

“Such was my Sigurd

Among the sons of Giuki,

As is the king leek²¹

O’er the low grass waxing,

Or a bright stone

Strung on band,

Or a pearl of price

On a prince’s brow.

“Once was I counted

By the king’s warriors²²

Higher than any

Of Herjan’s mays;

Now am I as little

As the leaf may be,

Amid wind-swept wood

Now when dead he lieth.

I miss from my seat,

I miss from my bed,

My darling of sweet speech.

Wrought²³ the sons of Giuki,

Wrought the sons of Giuki,

This sore sorrow,

Yea, for their sister,

Most sore sorrow.

“So may your lands

Lie waste on all sides,

As ye have broken

Your bounden oaths!

Ne’er shalt thou, Gunnar,

The gold have joy of;

The dear-bought rings

Shall drag thee to death,

Whereon thou swarest

Oath unto Sigurd.

Ah, in the days by-gone

Great mirth in the homefield

When my Sigurd

Set saddle on Grani,

And they went their ways

For the wooing of Brynhild!

An ill day, an ill woman,

And most ill hap²⁴!”

Then spake Brynhild,

Budli’s daughter —

“May the woman lack

Both love and children,

Who gained greeting

For thee, O Gudrun!

Who gave thee this morning

Many words!”

Then spake Gullrond,

Giuki’s daughter —

“Hold peace of such words

Thou hated of all folk!

The bane of brave men

Hast thou been ever,

All waves of ill

Wash over thy mind,

To seven great kings

Hast thou been a sore sorrow,

And the death of good will

To wives and women.”

Then spake Brynhild,

Budli’s daughter —

“None but Atli

Brought bale upon us,

My very brother

Born of Budli.

When we saw in the hall

Of the Hunnish people

The gold a-gleaming

On the kingly Giukings;

I have paid for that faring

Oft and Full,

And for the sight

That then I saw.”

By a pillar she stood

And strained its wood to her;

From the eyes of Brynhild,

Budli’s daughter,

Flashed out fire,

And she snorted forth²⁵ venom²⁶,

As the sore wounds she gazed on

Of the dead-slain Sigurd.

1 lamentation   

n.悲叹，哀悼

参考例句：

• This ingredient does not invite or generally produce lugubrious lamentation. 这一要素并不引起，或者说通常不产生故作悲伤的叹息。 来自哲学部分
• Much lamentation followed the death of the old king. 老国王晏驾，人们悲恸不已。 来自辞典例句

2 smote   

v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Figuratively, he could not kiss the hand that smote him. 打个比方说，他是不能认敌为友。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• \"Whom Pearl smote down and uprooted, most unmercifully.\" 珠儿会毫不留情地将这些\"儿童\"踩倒，再连根拔起。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学

3 wailed   

v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She wailed over her father's remains. 她对着父亲的遗体嚎啕大哭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The women of the town wailed over the war victims. 城里的妇女为战争的死难者们痛哭。 来自辞典例句

4 wail   

vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸

参考例句：

• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。
• One of the small children began to wail with terror.小孩中的一个吓得大哭起来。

5 woe   

n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌

参考例句：

• Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
• A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸，自认福是福。

6 abode   

n.住处，住所

参考例句：

• It was ten months before my father discovered his abode.父亲花了十个月的功夫，才好不容易打听到他的住处。
• Welcome to our humble abode!欢迎光临寒舍！

7 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

8 naught   

n.无，零 [=nought]

参考例句：

• He sets at naught every convention of society.他轻视所有的社会习俗。
• I hope that all your efforts won't go for naught.我希望你的努力不会毫无结果。

9 bulwark   

n.堡垒，保障，防御

参考例句：

• That country is a bulwark of freedom.那个国家是自由的堡垒。
• Law and morality are the bulwark of society.法律和道德是社会的防御工具。

10 solace   

n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和

参考例句：

• They sought solace in religion from the harshness of their everyday lives.他们日常生活很艰难，就在宗教中寻求安慰。
• His acting career took a nosedive and he turned to drink for solace.演艺事业突然一落千丈，他便借酒浇愁。

11 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

12 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

13 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

14 lashes   

n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• Mother always lashes out food for the children's party. 孩子们聚会时，母亲总是给他们许多吃的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Never walk behind a horse in case it lashes out. 绝对不要跟在马后面，以防它突然猛踢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

16 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

17 glazed   

adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神

参考例句：

• eyes glazed with boredom 厌倦无神的眼睛
• His eyes glazed over at the sight of her. 看到她时，他的目光就变得呆滞。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

19 fowls   

鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马

参考例句：

• A great number of water fowls dwell on the island. 许多水鸟在岛上栖息。
• We keep a few fowls and some goats. 我们养了几只鸡和一些山羊。

20 abiding   

adj.永久的，持久的，不变的

参考例句：

• He had an abiding love of the English countryside.他永远热爱英国的乡村。
• He has a genuine and abiding love of the craft.他对这门手艺有着真挚持久的热爱。

21 leek   

n.韭葱

参考例句：

• He is always confusing wheat with leek.他对麦苗和韭菜总是辨别不清。
• He said the dumplings with the stuffing of pork and leek were his favourite.他说他喜欢吃猪肉韭菜馅的饺子。

22 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

23 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

24 hap   

n.运气；v.偶然发生

参考例句：

• Some have the hap,some stick in the gap.有的人走运, 有的人倒霉。
• May your son be blessed by hap and happiness.愿你儿子走运幸福。

25 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

26 venom   

n.毒液，恶毒，痛恨

参考例句：

• The snake injects the venom immediately after biting its prey.毒蛇咬住猎物之后马上注入毒液。
• In fact,some components of the venom may benefit human health.事实上，毒液的某些成分可能有益于人类健康。