Hedin and Hogni Prose Edda

Battle is called the Hiadnings’ weather or storm and weapons
Hiadnings’ fires or rods, and there is a story that tells the origin of
this. A king whose name was Hogni had a daughter called Hild.
She was abducted in a raid by a king called Hedin Hiarrandason.
At the time King Hogni was away at a conference of kings. And
when he learned that his kingdom had been raided and his
daughter carried off, then he set out with his army to find Hedin
and got wind of him, that Hedin had sailed north along the coast.
When King Hogni got to Norway he discovered that Hedin had
sailed over the sea to the west. Then Hogni sailed after him all the
way to the Orkneys, and when he got to the place called Hoy, he
found Hedin there with his army. Then Hild went to see her father
and offered him a neck-ring as atonement on Hedin’s behalf, but
in the next breath said that Hedin was ready to fight and that there
was no chance of him giving way to Hogni. Hogni’s reply to his
daughter was curt, and when she got back to Hedin she told him
that Hogni was not interested in a settlement and told him to
prepare for battle. And this is what both sides did, went up on to
the island and marshalled their armies. Then Hedin called out to
his father-in-law Hogni and offered him atonement and a great
deal of gold to make amends. Then Hogni replied:

‘You have offered this too late, if you want atonement, for I
have now drawn Dainsleif, which the dwarfs made, which has to
be the death of someone every time it is unsheathed, and a stroke
from it never fails, and no wound heals if it is inflicted by it.’

Then said Hedin: ‘You can boast like this of your sword, but
not of victory. In my opinion whatever serves its master well is
good.

Then they began the engagement that is known as the Hiadnings’
battle, and fought all that day, and at nightfall the kings
went to their ships. But during the night Hild went to the slain and
woke up by magic all those that were dead. And the next day the
kings went on to the battle-field and fought, and so did all those
that had fallen the previous day. This battle continued day after
day, with all those that fell, and all the weapons that lay on the
battle-field, as well as shields, turning to stone. And when day
came, all the dead men got up and fought, and all the weapons
were usable. It says in poems that the Hiadnings must thus await
Ragnarok. Bragi the poet composed a passage based on this story
in his drápa for Ragnar Lodbrok:

And the Ran who wishes too great drying of veins [Hild]
planned to bring this bow-storm against her father with
hostile intention, when the ring(-sword) shaking Sif [Hild],
filled with malice, brought a neck-ring on to the wind’s
horse [ship] to the battle-trunk [warrior].

This bloody-wound-curing Thrud did not offer the worthy
prince the neck-ring to give him an excuse for cowardice in
the meeting of metals. She always pretended to be against
battle, though she was inciting the princes to join the
company of the quite monstrous wolf’s sister [Hel].

The land-lacking ruler of men [sea-king] does not resist the
stopping of the wolf’s desire [hunger, i.e. he feeds it with
fallen warriors] by battle on the sand — hatred rose up in
Hogni — when indefatigable edge-din-powers [warriors]
attacked Hedin instead of accepting Hild’s neck-rings.

This attack can be perceived on the penny [shield] of
Svolnir’s [Odin’s] hall [Val-hall]. Ragnar gave me the Rae’s
chariot [ship] moon [shield] and a multitude of stories with
it.

And on the island, instead of the Vidrir [warrior] of the
mail-coat’s troll-wife [axe], the victory-preventing witch of
a woman had her way. The brig-elf’s [sea-farer’s] whole
army advanced in anger under their unwavering Hiarrandi’s [Odin’s]
hurdles [shields] from the swift-running Reifnir’s horse [ship].


- Poetic Edda, Skaldskaparmal