Guðrúnarhvöt

Guðrún's Incitement

Guðríns eggelse

21 stanzas

Summary

A

Guðrúnarhvöt depicts Guðrún's final act in the heroic cycle. She incites her sons Hamðir and Sörli to avenge their half-sister Svanhildr, who was trampled to death by horses on King Jörmunrekkr's orders.

Guðrún enumerates all her losses: Sigurðr, her brothers, her children. She is the ultimate grieving woman of Germanic legend. The sons ride out knowing they will die.

The poem connects the Sigurðr cycle to the Jörmunrekkr cycle and leads directly into Hamðismál.

The story

Hvat er þat mannaá Múspells löndum,er ek sé gangagullreið mikla?Þess er meirr munaðen mín sorg,er Svanhildr varsoðin i sævi.
What are those menin the lands of Múspellwhom I see ridingthe great gold-journey?That grief is greaterthan my own sorrow,when Svanhildr was drownedin the sea's water.

English translation: own translation.

Þá kvað þat GuðrúnGjúka dóttir,er hon til Hamðishvatti fúss:'Yk mun menná morgin renna,er Jörmunrekkryðr hefr kveðinn.'
Then Guðrún spoke,Gjúki's daughter,when she eagerlyincited Hamðir:'Men will flee youin the morning,when Jörmunrekkrhas condemned you to death.'

English translation: own translation.

Líkjat yðrat Gunnar væri,né hugatat Högna lygi;hann váru þrælarþeira hjörtu,þér munut farafrœkn í bardaga.
You are not likeGunnarr in this,nor do you thinkas Högni thought;those men had heartsof thralls within them,but you shall gobold into battle.

English translation: own translation.

Svanhildr satá sessi mínumgullreið gekkí götu hennar,þat var mínmæta systir,er Jörmunrekkrjóum troðinn.
Svanhildr saton my bench,the golden journey wentalong her path;she was mydearest sister,she whom Jörmunrekkrhad trampled by horses.

English translation: own translation.

Þat var fyrst,er ek fregna þorða,er Sigurðrsádlar reið;svá brannbrynja Gunnar,svá rannrauðr sem blóð.
That was the firstI was told of,that Sigurðrsaddled horses;so burnedGunnarr's byrnie,so ran itred as blood.

English translation: own translation.

Misstu þérSigurðar sonar,þess er þérþótti bezt í heimi;mun eigi þatmaðr annat geta,meðan veröldinvari í heimi.
You lostSigurðr's son,he who to youseemed best in the world;no other manshall become his equalas long asthe world endures.

English translation: own translation.

Þá var þater þér Gunnarrá gull satí garði Atla,er Högnihjörtu braut af brjóstiok lét þauá líni þryta.
Then it waswhen Gunnarrsat on the goldin Atli's court,when Högni's heartwas cut from his chestand they let itbleed upon the linen.

English translation: own translation.

Þá varð GuðrúnGjúka dóttirfarin at finnafleysbyrðingi;hon vildi þávinna dauða sér,áðr gangiyfir grundir haf.
Then Guðrún,Gjúki's daughter,went to finda ship at the shore;she wished thento win herself death,before the seascrossed over the lands.

English translation: own translation.

Guð var henniat ganga lengr,svá at hon náðiat ná landi;þar gat honat ganga lengr,þá er hon fekkat fara til Jónakrs.
God granted herto travel further,so that she managedto reach the land;there she was givento go on longer,until she cameto Jónakr's home.

English translation: own translation.

Svanhildr varsystir mín,er ek elskameira en sjálfa mik;þá var honsend til Jörmunrekkr,at veraat vífs stað hans.
Svanhildr wasmy sister,her I lovedmore than myself;then she was sentto Jörmunrekkr,to behis wife.

English translation: own translation.

Gengr at Bikkiráðit með flærð,þá er Randvérvar ráðinn til lífs;ok kvað Svanhildisofit við hann,var þat lygð,en Jörmunrekkr trúði.
Bikki came forwardwith counsel full of treachery,when Randvérwas sentenced to live;he said that Svanhildrhad slept with him,it was a lie,but Jörmunrekkr believed it.

English translation: own translation.

Lét hon þáSvanhildi taka,ok láta troðaá torgum gandkvíslar,svá er mínmæta systirjóum troðiná þurrum vegi.
He then hadSvanhildr seized,and had her trampledon the market square by horses,so it went with mydearest sister --trampled by horseson the dry road.

English translation: own translation.

Þat er mínmesta mein,er ek sékat søkk at renna;ek em einaf öllu þessu,svá sem ǫspá viðar holti.
This is mygreatest wound,that I seeall sink and fall;I am alone leftof all this,like an aspenat the forest's edge.

English translation: own translation.

Fyllisk mérfúss at dauðasem lauf á lindi,er líðr at vetri;týnda ek sonumok systur,búanda mínumok bróðrum öllum.
I am filledwith longing for deathlike the leaf on the lindenas winter draws near;I have lost sonsand sister,my husbandand all my brothers.

English translation: own translation.

Seggr inn rauðrór röðuls hlíð,hann var Hamðirhugr at fylgjaz;sá reið fyrrien Sörli eftir,at heyra skylduhvöt Guðrúnar.
The red manfrom the sun's hillside,he was Hamðir'sspirit to follow;he rode aheadand Sörli after,to hearGuðrún's incitement.

English translation: own translation.

Reið hann sváá rauðum hesti,svá sem gengrgeiri stunginn;þar mun sannazseggr inn spaki,er þeir komatil garðs Jörmunrekkr.
He rode thuson a red horse,as a man walkspierced through by a spear;there shall be proventhe wise man's words,when they cometo Jörmunrekkr's court.

English translation: own translation.

Hvöt né þörf,hyggja ek at vita,at þér muniðmikinn harm hafa;þat varð at vitiVölsunga sonum,er þeir fórufrœkn til Atla.
No incitement is needed,I believe I know,that you shallsuffer great harm;so it befell the Völsung sonsto their doom,when they wentbold to Atli's hall.

English translation: own translation.

Þú eggjatir osstil þessa verks,svá sem vér munimvígs of þurfa;þú hlótt osstil harðar heiðar,nú muntuníðings verða.
You have incited usto this deed,as if wewere in need of battle;you have driven usto hard honor,now you shallbe called a wretch.

English translation: own translation.

Ykkar man veraí einum morniGuðrúnar grátrat gamni líkast;þá er þér liggiðí lognar æðarok sjá þér tilSvanhildar augu.
Guðrún's weepingshall become for youone morningmost like joy;when you liein quiet veins,and look towardSvanhildr's eyes.

English translation: own translation.

Hví hvattir þérHamði at vígi,né léttirlyst at lífi hans?Sé ek hérskegg Sörla,þeir munu bráttí bryngjum falla.
Why do you inciteHamðir to battle,and do not lightenhis desire to live?I see hereSörli's beard,they shall soonfall in their byrnies.

English translation: own translation.

Eitt er þater ek alla tíðmeina mérmest í heimi:at Jörmunrekkrlifði lengren þær semþurfa skyldu.
There is one thingthat alwaystorments memost in the world:that Jörmunrekkrlived longerthan those whoshould have lived.

English translation: own translation.

Key concepts

  • Guðrún , the grieving mother's final act: sending her last sons to their deaths for vengeance
  • Svanhildr , Sigurðr and Guðrún's daughter whose cruel death triggers the final revenge cycle
  • Jörmunrekkr , the Gothic king (historical Ermanaric) who ordered Svanhildr's death

Interpretive traditions

A What we know

Guðrúnarhvöt is preserved in Codex Regius as the penultimate poem in the manuscript.

The poem's catalogue of Guðrún's losses summarizes the entire heroic cycle and gives her a role as Germanic poetry's most tested woman.

The connection to the historical Gothic king Ermanaric (d. ca. 375) gives the narrative historical depth.

B What we think we know

Whether the poem is an independent composition or an introduction to Hamðismál is debated. The two poems share material and may have circulated as a unit.

The aspen simile for Guðrún's losses (stanzas 13-14) has stylistic similarities with Anglo-Saxon elegiac poetry.

C What we do not know

Whether Guðrún's incitement of her sons reflects a historical practice of revenge rituals cannot be determined with current evidence.

Sources and further reading

Primary sources

  • Neckel, Gustav, och Hans Kuhn. 1983. Edda: Die Lieder des Codex Regius nebst verwandten Denkmälern. 5. uppl. Heidelberg: Winter.

Translations

  • Bellows, Henry Adams (trans.). 1923. The Poetic Edda. New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation. (PD)
  • Larrington, Carolyne (trans.). 2014. The Poetic Edda. Rev. ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Scholarly works

  • Lindow, John. 2001. Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Simek, Rudolf. 1993. Dictionary of Northern Mythology. Translated by Angela Hall. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer.
  • de Vries, Jan. 1956–1957. Altgermanische Religionsgeschichte. 2 vols. Berlin: de Gruyter.
  • Turville-Petre, E. O. G. 1964. Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.