In Days of Yore - Helgi Hundingsbane

The expression 'In days of yore.....' seems to be used to tell the reader that what is being said has happened in ancient times. However, like the phrase 'Ar var Alda' (*) used in the Norse Myths, it would seem to be used for what is known as 'The First Time', the 'Time of the Gods'. The phrase 'Ar var Alda' appears in the Helgi Lays where the mention of 'Borgar' seems to be telling us that this is a retelling of a Primal Myth, a myth set down in 'The First Time'. (According to Viktor Rydberg Borgar is the equivalent to the Hindu Bhrigu.)

(*) Ar var Alda is translated as 'Twas in olden times' which is the same as 'In days of yore'. 

Another thing that suggests that this is so is that Helgi Hundingsbane appears at the start of a New Age, an age that brings to an end an era of peace and plenty. That the Raven that spoke to Helgi foresees an era where the ravens will feast on the dead of the battlefield shows us that this is so. We are told of the Raven that 'hunger gnawed him', and that the Warrior-Hero will 'feast the wolves'. 

Another point that is often overlooked is the phrase - 'In his byrnie stands who was born at night, King Sigmund's son....' This is dismissed because it makes no sense, a new-born child standing in his 'byrnie'; we are told that it should not be taken literally. However, it seems that the Wolsunga Royal Line had a special trait in that when born the Warrior-Hero was older than he should be. This is clearly some sort of symbolism, and we should also bear in mind here that a hero being 'born' can sometimes itself not be taken as a physical birth, but as the basis of a Warrior-Initiation - a Rebirth as the 'Twice-Born'. This would also be true of the appearance of the Three Sisters of Wyrd (The Norns) at the 'birth', since at this point the Warrior-Hero would be dealt his Wyrd. 

The reference to Helgi Hundingsbane as an 'Ylfing' tells us that he is of a branch of the Wolsungas - the Wulfingas. He is later called 'Yngvi's Scion' since it seems obvious that the Wulfingas were of the Inglingas or Ingefolk. We are told in 'The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane that he is fostered by Hagal, whose son was Hamal. Hamal is here introduced, and Hamal or Amala is the Divine Ancestor of the Amali which were a Tribe of Goths. I doubt that these things are introduced for no important meaning; the Goths were, according to Aelfric Avary, a tribe of the Ingvaeones, only later being seen as Istvaeones since they moved to the East. The name 'Borgar' is the same as the 'Berig' who led the Goths out of Scandi (Scandza) in a very early Germanic migration. 

That this is a Primal Myth which goes back to 'The First Time' is clearly suggested by the name 'Borgar'; the Myth of Helgi is thus a retelling of the Ur-Myth, or a 're-enactment' of the Ur-Myth. This re-enacting of the Primal Myth transcends Time and Space, and Helgi Hundingsbane arises as the Warrior-Hero-King who takes back the Edel-Lands in the North at this time - hence the breaking of the peace and the waging of war. Here, like Rig-Earl, Helgi is bade take back the 'Edel-Lands', the ancient lands of the North. 

We are also told of Helgi that '...his eyes flash fire, aethlingawise....' which is a Warrior-Hero trait - the eyes show the soul of an individual. Helgi is likened to an 'ash-tree' and to a 'towering deer', the deer being associated with the Wolsunga Tribe. Helgi Hundingsbane is wed to Sigrun ('Victory-Rune') who is a Valkyrie, and who protects the Hero in battle with her Warrior-Maids. What we do have in the Helgi Lays is proof of the heathen idea of 'resurrection'; note that I do not say 'reincarnation' which suggests the 'Way of the Ancestors', where one is reincarnated into the tribe or clan. Using the term, 'resurrection' this suggests that the Warrior-Hero lives an Archetypal Myth, which is itself 'reborn' at each incarnation of the Warrior-Hero on Earth. This 'rebirth' or 'resurrection' is from Valhalla, whence the Warrior-Hero returns after death, to be reborn anew as the next Archetypal Myth.  The Myth of HelgiH is just that - an Archetypal Myth which is 'reborn' again and again at different periods of the Cycle of the Ages. 

The Archetypal Myth of Helgi Hundingsbane was 'reborn' in the spring of 1997 through the power of the Hale-Bopp Comet. It is likely that the tale we are given of this Archetypal Myth took place at the start of the Kali Yuga or Dark Age, or maybe at the start of the Iron Age. Like the incarnation of Ingwe as Hengest, Helgi Hundingsbane incarnates at different times, and this Archetypal Myth leads to the incarnation of Helgi the Haddinga, whose Valkyrie-Wife is Kara. This name itself is important since it can be found as 'Kari' in Njall's Saga, a masculine form of the name, but still meaning 'Time'. This is the equivalent of the Hindu Kali whose name can also mean 'Time' as well as 'Dark', and she is often linked to Kalki (Avatar), hence the link between HELGI and KALKI since the letter-changes are feasible in Indo-European Lore. 

To emphasise the link between Helgi and Kalki the Aryan Root *kal- found in 'kal-ki',

means 'to hide' or 'to cover', whilst the Germanic Root *hal- means the same. So both Kalki and Helgi mean 'The Hidden One'. The name 'Helge' or 'Helga' is said to stem from the IE Root * kailo- meaning 'whole', the Germanic root being *hal- as above. Hence, 'The Hallowed One' is another rendering of Helgi. These meanings are reinforced by the reference to Hagal as his foster-father, a name that is used of the Hagal-Rune. 

"When justice is crushed, when evil is triumphant, then I come back. For the protection of the good, for the destruction of evil-doers, for the establishment of the Reign of Righteousness, I am born again and again, age after age."

Bhagavad Gita 4:7-8