After King Sigurd lived a daughter hight Aslaug, who was fostered at Heimer's in Hlymdaler. From her mighty races are descended. It is said that Sigmund, the son of Volsung, was so powerful, that he drank venom and received no harm therefrom. But Sinfjotle, his son, and Sigurd, were so hard-skinned that no venom coming onto them could harm them. Therefore the skald Brage has sung as follows:
When the tortuous serpent, Full of the drink of the Volsungs,[96] Hung in coils On the bait of the giant-slayer,[97]
Upon these sagas very many skalds have made lays, and from them they have taken various themes. Brage the Old made the following song about the fall of Sorle and Hamder in the drapa, which he composed about Ragnar Lodbrok:
Jormunrek once, In an evil dream, waked In that sword-contest Against the blood-stained kings. A clashing of arms was heard In the house of Randver's father, When the raven-blue brothers of Erp The insult avenged.
Sword-dew flowed Off the bed on the floor. Bloody hands and feet of the king One saw cut off. On his head fell Jormunrek, Frothing in blood. On the shield This is painted.
The king saw Men so stand That a ring they made 'Round his house. Sorle and Hamder Were both at once, With slippery stones, Struck to the ground.
King Jormunrek Ordered Gjuke's descendants Violently to be stoned When they came to take the life Of Swanhild's husband. All sought to pay Jonaker's sons With blows and wounds.
This fall of men And sagas many On the fair shield I see. Ragnar gave me the shield.
[Footnote 96: The drink of the Volsungs = venom; the tortuous venom-serpent = the Midgard-serpent.]
Why is gold called Frode's meal? The saga giving rise to this is the following:
Odin had a son by name Skjold, from whom the Skjoldungs are descended. He had his throne and ruled in the lands that are now called Denmark, but were then called Gotland. Skjold had a son by name Fridleif, who ruled the lands after him. Fridleif's son was Frode. He took the kingdom after his father, at the time when the Emperor Augustus established peace in all the earth and Christ was born. But Frode being the mightiest king in the northlands, this peace was attributed to him by all who spake the Danish tongue, and the Norsemen called it the peace of Frode. No man injured the other, even though he might meet, loose or in chains, his father's or brother's bane. There was no thief or robber, so that a gold ring would be a long time on Jalanger's heath. King Frode sent messengers to Svithjod, to the king whose name was Fjolner, and bought there two maid-servants, whose names were Fenja and Menja. They were large and strong. About this time were found in Denmark two mill-stones, so large that no one had the strength to turn them. But the nature belonged to these mill-stones that they ground whatever was demanded of them by the miller. The name of this mill was Grotte. But the man to whom King Frode gave the mill was called Hengekjapt. King Frode had the maid-servants led to the mill, and requested them to grind for him gold and peace, and Frode's happiness. Then he gave them no longer time to rest or sleep than while the cuckoo was silent or while they sang a song. It is said that they sang the song called the Grottesong, and before they ended it they ground out a host against Frode; so that on the same night there came the sea-king, whose name was Mysing, and slew Frode and took a large amount of booty. Therewith the Frode-peace ended. Mysing took with him Grotte, and also Fenja and Menja, and bade them grind salt, and in the middle of the night they asked Mysing whether he did not have salt enough. He bade them grind more. They ground only a short time longer before the ship sank. But in the ocean arose a whirlpool (Maelstrom, mill-stream) in the place where the sea runs into the mill-eye. Thus the sea became salt.