SAGA-BOOK - Viking Society Web Publications

Treatment of Sources in the Volsunga saga 341
VIII
A number of changes and additions introduced by the
compiler affect to some extent his portrayal of several of
the main characters.
There can be no doubt that in the Saga Fafnir's terrorinspiring
qualities are emphasized more than in the Iay.!"
Fafnir implies that exceptional courage is needed to attack
him: eoa hver er cett pin, er pu vart svd djarfr at pu porir
at bera vdpn d mik? (VS 31/8-9), whereas the equivalent
passage in Fm. reads hverra ertu manna mggr / er pu d
Fdfni rautt / pinn inn frdna mceki (Fm. 1/1-3). Compare
also Regin's statement in Fm., manna peira, / er mold
trooa, / pik kvea ek oblauoastan alinn (Fm. 23/4-6), with the
much more pointed er engi var fyrr svd djarfr at d hans
ggtu porai sitja (VS 33/3), a further reference to the courage
needed to approach Fafnir. Fafnir himself stresses the
dread he inspires: HafOir pu eigi fdtt pat, hversu alli f6lk
er hrati via mik ok via minn cegishjdlm? (VS 31/17-18), of
which there is no trace in the source (Fm. 5). Again,
Fafnir's description of his own redoubtability in VS
32/II-15 could hardly be an unstrengthened paraphrase of
the source, Fm. 16, IS, even if the latter is defective. He
goes as far as to stress how dangerous he is, though dying,
citing the old adage, not in the source (Fm. 20), that a
mortally wounded man avenges himself (VS 32/20).
In this general context the compiler's omission of
Fafnir's admittance of Sigurd's superiority is also relevant
(Fm. 22/6, d. VS 32/10).
Only on one occasion does Fafnir appear in a slightly
milder light in the Saga: his words to Sigurd in Fm. II,
which can hardly be other than a threat are (inappropriately)
turned into a piece of seemingly well-meant advice
(VS 31/33-34): Fdtt viU pu at minum dcemum gera, en
drukna muniu. ef [)1t ferr um sjd 6varliga, ok biG heldr d
landi unz logn er.
"Cf. Wieselgren, op, cit., I 36 f.