Atlakviða is one of the heroic poems of the Poetic Edda

Poetic Edda

The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends, and from the early 19th century...

. One of the main characters is Atli who originates from Attila the Hun

Attila the Hun

Attila , more frequently referred to as Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in 453. He was leader of the Hunnic Empire, which stretched from the Ural River to the Rhine River and from the Danube River to the Baltic Sea. During his reign he was one of the most feared...

. It is one of the most archaic Eddic poems. It is preserved in the Codex Regius

Codex Regius

Cōdex Rēgius is an Icelandic manuscript in which the Poetic Edda is preserved. It is made up of 45 vellum leaves, thought to have been written in the 1270s. It originally contained a further 8 leaves, which are now missing...

 and the same story is related in the Völsunga saga

Volsunga saga

The Völsungasaga is a legendary saga, a late 13th century Icelandic prose rendition of the origin and decline of the Völsung clan . It is largely based on epic poetry...

. In the manuscript the poem is identified as Greenlandic but most scholars believe that this results from a confusion with Atlamál

Atlamál

Atlamál in grœnlenzku is one of the heroic poems of the Poetic Edda. It relates the same basic story as Atlakviða at greater length and in a different style...

. The metre

Meter (poetry)

In poetry, metre is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse metre, or a certain set of metres alternating in a particular order. The study of metres and forms of versification is known as prosody...

 of the poem alternates irregularly between málaháttr

Málaháttr

Málaháttr is a poetic metre in Old Norse poetry, which is usually described as "conversational style". It is similar to fornyrðislag except in that there are more syllables in a line, usually five.Poems with verses in this metre:* Atlakviða...

and fornyrðislag. This may be an indication that two or more original poems have been merged or that the short and long lines were not felt as constituting two different metres at the time the poem was composed.

Synopsis

Attila, king of the Huns, sends a messenger to Gunnarr

Gunther

Gunther is the German name of a semi-legendary king of Burgundy of the early 5th century...

, king of the Burgundians, and his younger brother Högni

Hagen (legend)

Hagen or Högni is a Burgundian warrior in tales about the Burgundian kingdom at Worms. Hagen is often identified as a brother or half-brother of King Gunther .In the Nibelungenlied, he is called Hagen of Tronje...

. The messenger says that Attila is inviting the brothers to his court and offering them great riches. The brothers are skeptical of the offer since they already have an exceedingly great treasure of gold. Confirming their suspicions is a ring sent by their sister Guðrún

Gudrun

Gudrun is a major figure in the early Germanic literature centered on the hero Sigurd, son of Sigmund. She appears as Kriemhild in the Nibelungenlied and as Gutrune in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen.-Norse mythology:...

, Attila's wife, with a wolf's hair wrapped onto it. Attila obviously plans treachery but Gunnarr still decides to take up the offer, vowing that if he doesn't return no-one will benefit from his riches.

As Gunnarr and Högni arrive at Attila's court they meet Guðrún who tells them that they should not have come. Gunnarr is seized by Attila's men while Högni fights and kills eight men before he is subdued. The Huns ask Gunnarr if he wants to ransom his life by telling them where he has hidden his gold. He tells them that he wants to see Högni's heart. They first cut out the heart of a cowardly man named Hjalli and bring it to Gunnarr but he sees from the cowardly trembling of the heart who its owner was. Then they cut out Högni's heart and he dies laughing. Gunnarr recognizes the heart of his brave brother but tells the Huns that now that he alone knows the location of the gold he can be certain that it will never be disclosed. The Huns then throw him into a snake pit

Snake pit

Snake pits are places of horror, torture and even death in European legends and fairy tales. The Viking warlord Ragnar Lodbrok is said to have been thrown into a snake pit and died there, after his army had been defeated in battle by King Aelle II of Northumbria...

 where he dies playing a harp.

Guðrún prepares a banquet for Attila and his court. When the feast is well underway she tells Attila that he is actually eating the flesh of their two sons. Later she kills Attila in bed, frees his dogs and servants and burns his hall.

External links

• Atlakviða hin Grœnlenzka Sophus Bugge
  Sophus Bugge
  Sophus Bugge was a noted Norwegian philologist and linguist. His scientific work was directed to the study of runic inscriptions and Norse philology. Bugge is best known for his theories and his work on the runic alphabet and the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda. -Background:Elseus Sophus Bugge was...
  
  's edition
• Atlakviða Guðni Jónsson's edition
• Atlakvitha en grönlenzka Henry Adams Bellows' translation and commentary
• Atlakviða: The Lay of Atli Translated by William Morris
  William Morris
  William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
  
   and Eirikr Magnusson
  Eiríkr Magnússon
  Eiríkr or Eiríkur Magnússon was an Icelandic scholar who was Librarian at the University of Cambridge, taught Old Norse to William Morris, translated numerous Icelandic sagas into English in collaboration with him, and played an important role in the movement to study the history and literature of...
  
  
• Atlakviða Benjamin Thorpe
  Benjamin Thorpe
  Benjamin Thorpe was an English scholar of Anglo-Saxon.-Biography:After studying for four years at Copenhagen University, under the Danish philologist Rasmus Christian Rask, he returned to England in 1830, and in 1832 published an English version of Caedmon's metrical paraphrase of portions of the...
  
  's translation