Lay of Atli

Lay of Atli, heroic poem in the Norse Poetic Edda (see Edda), an older variant of the tale of slaughter and revenge that is the subject of the German epic Nibelungenlied, from which it differs in several respects. In the Norse poem, Atli (the Hunnish king Attila) is the villain, who is slain by his wife, Gudrun, to avenge her brothers.

In the Lay of Atli, Gudrun’s brothers Gunnar and Hogni are lured to Atli’s court so that Atli can learn the secret of their treasure. Gunnar and Hogni refuse to tell. Atli has Hogni’s heart cut out while Gunnar laughs in scorn. Gunnar is thrown into a snake pit, then put to death. Gudrun, “the sweet-faced delight of the shield-folk,” takes her revenge by serving the murderers dainties that are actually the roasted hearts of Atli’s sons. Then she stabs the wine-weary Atli and burns down his hall, allowing only the dogs to escape. In the German epic the characters of Atli, Gudrun, Gunnar, and Hogni are represented, respectively, by Etzel, Kriemhild, Gunther, and Hagen.