Oddrun's Sorrow

Did the sound of the harp reach Gunnar's beloved?

In *Oddrun's Lament*, Oddrun helps Borgny through a difficult childbirth. She chants powerful spells, and a boy and a girl are born. Afterwards, Oddrun begins to tell of her own sorrow.

Oddrun loved Gunnar. He offered generous gifts so that they could marry, but her brother Atli refused them. Even so, the two could not stop loving each other.

Atli sends spies into the forest. The lovers offer them gold rings to keep their secret, but the spies report to Atli anyway. In time, Gunnar is thrown into a pit of snakes. He plays the harp, hoping Oddrun will come to his aid.

Far away, Oddrun hears the harp. She sails across the strait with her serving women. But Atli's mother comes crawling up and bites Gunnar's heart. Oddrun cannot save him. She has lost the man she loved as much as herself, and wonders how she can go on living.

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