plumage, the young men forced them to remain
upon earth and become their wives. The Valkyrs, thus detained,
remained with their husbands nine years, but at the end of that time,
recovering their plumage, or the spell being broken in some other way,
they effected their escape.

"There they stayed
Seven winters through;
But all the eighth
Were with longing seized;
And in the ninth
Fate parted them.
The maidens yearned
For the murky wood,
The young Alvit,
Fate to fulfil."

Lay of Voelund (Thorpe's tr.).

The brothers felt the loss of their wives extremely, and two of them,
Egil and Slagfinn, putting on their snow shoes, went in search of
their loved ones, disappearing in the cold and foggy regions of
the North. The third brother, Voelund, however, remained at home,
knowing all search would be of no avail, and he found solace in the
contemplation of a ring which Alvit had given him as a love-token,
and he indulged the constant hope that she would return. As he was a
very clever smith, and could manufacture the most dainty ornaments of
silver and gold, as well as magic weapons which no blow could break,
he now employed his leisure in making seven hundred rings exactly
like the one which his wife had given him. These, when finished, he
bound together; but one night, on coming home from the hunt, he found
that some one had carried away one ring, leaving the others behind,
and his hopes received fresh inspiration, for he told himself that
his wife had been there and would soon return for good.

That selfsame night, however, he was surprised in his sleep, and
bound and made prisoner by Nidud, King of Sweden, who took possession
of his sword, a choice weapon invested with magic powers, which he
reserved for his own use, and of the love ring made of pure Rhine
gold, which latter he gave to his only daughter, Bodvild. As for the
unhappy Voelund himself, he was led captive to a neighbouring island,
where, after being hamstrung, in order that he should not escape, the
king put him to the incessant task of forging weapons and ornaments
for his use. He also compelled him to build an intricate labyrinth,
and to this day a maze in Iceland is known as "Voelund's house."

Voelund's rage and despair increased with every new insult offered
him by Nidud, and night and day he thought upon how he might obtain
revenge. Nor did he forget to provide for his escape, and during the