Gunnarr's brother and the unyielding warrior whose heart was cut out by Atli, yet whose courage remained unbroken to the last.
Högni Gjúkason was Gunnarr's brother and one of the mightiest warriors among the Gjukungar. He participated in the killing of Sigurðr and rode with Gunnarr to Atli's hall, despite Guðrún's warning letter and ominous dreams urging them to stay home. Högni was fearless and took pride in never showing dread.
Atli had Högni's heart cut out while he still lived, to break Gunnarr's silence, but Högni laughed as it was done. The Atlakviða describes how his heart still trembled on the plate. Gunnarr, now the sole keeper of the treasure's secret, still refused to speak and died in the snake pit. Högni's courage and his laughter in the face of death remain among the most powerful images in Old Norse heroic poetry.
Sources in the Eddas
Interpretive traditions
A What we know
The motifs of the heart-cutting and Högni's laughter are attested in both versions of the Atli legend and belong to the core of Old Norse heroic ethics.