SAGA-BOOK - Viking Society Web Publications

Treatment of Sources in the Vplsunga saga 347
XII
It has already been mentioned that the compiler shows
not a little consistency in the construction of his narrative
(d. (35) above). The following considerations will serve
to support the contention that he is in fact surprisingly
consistent and logical in his handling of the material.
The compiler avoids referring to the Volsungs by any
other name and thus avoids any possible confusion, e.g.
the Ylfingar of HH 34/5 and HH 48/8 are changed to
V plsungar (VS 16/10 and 17/n), the Niflunga of Br. 16/10
is rendered as yor (VS 59/30, the sentence is remodelled),
and that in Akv. n/2 is simply omitted (VS 67/30).
Niflung in VS is the name of Hogni's son (spelt Hniflung
in FE).
In HH 14-15 the shield-maidens arrive after the fighting
is over. It must have seemed illogical to the compiler for
such female warriors to appear at the end of, rather than
during, hostilities, and accordingly he attempts to
dissociate them altogether from the battle with the words,
not in the source, ok er Helgi jerr frd orrustu, pa jann hann
vio sk6g einn (konur margar ...). If, as is likely, the
phrase 6r ulj ioi (or its equivalent in the MS used by the
compiler, there is some doubt as to the precise reading) of
HH 16/2 means 'from the field of battle', the fact that the
compiler cuts it out is an instance of his consistency, since
he has already changed the scene of the encounter between
Helgi and the shield-maidens (VS 15/4).
Helgi's vantage point, from which he observes the
approach of his allies, is referred to in the source as both
Brandey and Tronoeyrr (HH 23/3 and 24/4 respectively).
To avoid confusion the compiler omits altogether the
second of the names (VS 15/26). For reasons best known
to himself he has changed the first of the names to
Rauoabjprg (VS 15/21).
Sigrun originally comes down from the sky to help Helgi
when his ship is in danger of foundering (HH 30). As
shown in (3) above, this supernatural element is avoided in