[1]. Helgi appears to have stayed with Hunding under the name of Hamal, but now, thinking himself safe, he sends word of who he really is. Hunding: it has been suggested that the compiler may have inserted this name to fit what he thought the story ought to be, in place of Hæming, or even Hadding. If stanzas 1–4 are a fragment of the Karuljoth (Lay of Kara), this latter suggestion is quite reasonable, for in that poem, which we do not possess, but which supplied material for the compilers of the Hromundar saga Greipssonar, Helgi appears as Helgi Haddingjaskati (cf. final prose note). Nothing beyond this one name connects stanzas 1–4 with Hunding. [[312]]
[Prose]. Hagal: Helgi’s foster-father, who naturally protects him.
[2]. The manuscript indicates line 2 as the beginning of the stanza, the copyist evidently regarding line 1 as prose. This has caused various rearrangements in the different editions. Blind: leader of the band sent to capture Helgi.
[3]. The manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a stanza. Barley: the word literally means “foreign grain,” and would afford an interesting study to students of early commerce.
[4]. Possibly two stanzas with one line lost, or perhaps the lines in parenthesis are spurious; each editor has his own guess. Sigar and Hogni: it seems unlikely that Hagal refers to the Hogni who was Sigrun’s father, for this part of the story has nothing whatever to do with Sigrun. As Hagal is, of course, deliberately [[313]]lying, it is useless to test any part of his speech for accuracy.
[Prose]. No division indicated in the manuscript. Brunavagar (“Bruni’s Sea”): mentioned only in this section. Strand-slaughtering: a killing on the shore of cattle stolen in a raid. Hogni and Sigrun: cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 17 and note; the annotator’s notion of Sigrun as the reincarnated Svava (cf. Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, concluding prose note) represents a naive form of scholarship. There is nothing in stanzas 5–12 which clearly identifies Sigrun as a Valkyrie, or which, except for the last line of stanza 12, identifies the speaker as Sigrun. Some editors, therefore, call her simply “the Valkyrie,” while [[314]]Vigfusson, who thinks this section is also a remnant of the Karuljoth, calls her Kara.
[6]. The manuscript does not indicate the speakers. Hamal: Helgi’s assumption of this name seems to link this section (stanzas 5–12) with stanza 1. Hlesey (“Island of Hler”—i.e., Ægir, the sea-god): generally identified as the Danish island of Läsö; cf. Harbarthsljoth, 37 and note.
[7]. Guth: a Valkyrie (cf. Voluspo, 31); the birds of her sisters are the kites and ravens.
[8]. The manuscript indicates line 5 as the beginning of a new stanza; some editors reject lines 1–2, while others make lines 5–6 into a fragmentary stanza. Ylfings: cf. introductory prose and note. Bragalund (“Bragi’s Wood”): a mythical place. Bears: presumably Berserkers, regarding whom cf. Hyndluljoth, 23. [[315]]
[10]. Helgi’s meaning in lines 3–4 is that, although he has already declared himself an Ylfing (stanza 8, line 1), there are many heroes of that race, and he does not understand how Sigrun knows him to be Helgi.