SAGA-BOOK - Viking Society Web Publications

Treatment of Sources in the Volsunga saga 351
the compiler discarded altogether the last half of Fm. 22,
and the transferred first half, if left in its original position,
would rather spoil the effect of Sigurd's last words to
Fafnir (VS 32/30).
Another small, and logical, change in VS seems to be
the transfer of Fm. 4/1-3 to a position between Fm. I and
2. These lines contain Sigurd's statement that no man
knew of his family, and it is more appropriate in its new
position at the beginning of Sigurd's speech in which he
refused to tell Fafnir his name, than in the speech in which
Sigurd does in fact reveal his identity (VS 31/10).
The compiler places the content of Fm. 18 before that
of Fm. 16-17, thus linking the two halves of Fafnir's
speech telling of the terror he inspired. They were
originally separated by a retort from Sigurd, which is just
as appropriate in its new position (VS 32/rr-I8).
Again, the compiler places Fm. 21/1-3 between the two
halves of Fm. 20, thereby breaking up a single speech of
Fafnir's - whether for better or worse must be left to the
judgement of the individual, though here the Saga reads
completely naturally (VS 32/9-23).
The compiler does not use both the scenes in which Sigurd
overhears the conversation of the birds, but only the first.
It is, however, the second of the two that contains the
reference to the sleeping valkyrie and since he cannot omit
the reference, the compiler transfers what he needs from
the stanzas concerned (Fm. 42-44) to the first scene, viz.
immediately after Fm, 34 (VS 34/9-10).
The content of Sg. 14/7-8, in which Gunnar summons
Hogni, comes after the compiler's paraphrase of Sg. IS,
with the effect that Gunnar's remarks to Hogni on how
much Brynhild means to him are (not inappropriately)
turned into a brief soliloquy (VS 57/17-19).
Sg. 36, 38, 39 (37 is altogether omitted) are much
abbreviated, but the order in which they occur in the Saga
(VS 59/38 - 60/2) seems to be more logical than the original
sequence in CR.