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H​ó​lmganga

from H​ó​lmganga by ljóð

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The Saga of Gunnlaug the Worm-Tongue and Rafn the Skald is a 13th century Icelandic work, telling the story of two poets and culminating with a deadly hólmganga.

Lyrics taken from the 1901 translation into English by William Morris and Eirikr Magnusson, from the original Icelandic 'Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu'.

lyrics

Grim and Olaf, great-hearts
In Gondul's din, with thin sword
First did Gunnlaug fell there
Ere at Raven fared he;
Bold, with blood be-drifted
Bane of three the thane was;
War-lord of the wave-horse
Wrought for men folks' slaughter.

Knew I of the hewing
Of Raven's hilt-finned steel-fish
Byrny-shearing----sword-edge
Sharp clave leg of Raven. ----
Of warm wounds drank the eagle,
When the war-rod slender,
Cleaver of the corpses,
Clave the head of Gunnlaug.

Red is the sword, but I now
Am undone by Sword-Odin.
'Gainst shields beyond the sea-flood
The ruin of shields was wielded.
Methinks the blood-fowl blood-stained
In blood o'er men's heads stood there,
The wound-erne yet wound-eager
Trod over wounded bodies.

O thou sword-storm stirrer,
Raven, stem of battle
Famous, fared against me
Fiercely in the spear din.
Many a flight of metal
Was borne on me this morning,
By the spear-walls' builder,
Ring-bearer, on hard Dingness.

credits

from H​ó​lmganga, released August 12, 2018

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ljóð

Dungeon synth with Nordic, Gaelic and Germanic influences, among others.

Also inspired by pen and paper RPGs, crumbling castles, caers, keeps, sharp steel, hot forges, THAC0, Infinity Engine, Appendix N and all that good stuff.

ljóð: from Old Norse - sound/song/poem/charm/spell. ... more

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