Scandinavia or Iceland

Abstract

Guđrunarkviđa in fyrsta (“The First Lay of Guthrun”) This lament of Guthrun is found in the collection of mythological and heroic poems called the Poetic or Elder Edda. Most of the heroic poems, in the second half of the manuscript, are connected with Sigurd the dragon-slayer; several are uttered by his widow, Guthrun. The story of Sigurd/Siegfried, comparable to Greek myth and tragedy in its passion and horror, is also found in the Saga of the Volsungs and in the Middle High German Nibelungenlied, with significant differences in character and plot. The main characters in the Norse versions are Sigurd, Guthrun, her brothers Gunnar and Hogni, Brynhild, and her brother Atli (Attila). Sigurd married Guthrun, but when he went to woo Brynhild the valkyrie for Gunnar he captured her love. Nevertheless, she married Gunnar, thinking he was the man who had wooed her. In fury at the deception, she persuaded Gunnar and Hogni to treacherously kill Sigurd, and committed suicide herself. Later, Guthrun married Atli, who enticed her brothers to his court and had them killed to obtain the dragon’s treasure. Hogni laughed while his heart was being cut out; thrown in a snake pit, Gunnar played his harp until he was bitten to death. Guthrun punished Atli by serving him the bodies of their two sons, before killing him and burning his hall to the ground. Guđrunarkvida in fyrsta focusses on Guthrun’s grief and Brynhild’s jealousy after the death of Sigurd. The poem’s turning point is the poignant moment when the uncovering of Sigurd’s body unleashes Guthrun’s pent-up tears.