The Poetic Edda on Gunnar
The > Volume I > Introductory Note
attestation: The stanza describes warfare or combat involving Gunnar, Hrolf.
"22. "Gunnar the Bulwark, | Grim the Hardy, Thorir the Iron-shield, | Ulf the Gaper, Brodd and Hörvir | both did I know; In the household they were | of Hrolf the Old."
attestation: Gunnar is characterized by grimness in the verse.
"22. "Gunnar the Bulwark, | Grim the Hardy, Thorir the Iron-shield, | Ulf the Gaper, Brodd and Hörvir | both did I know; In the household they were | of Hrolf the Old."
The > Volume I > Notes
- attestation: Gunnar, Hogni, and Guthrun were children of the Burgundian king Gjuki and his wife Grimhild; Guthrun was Sigurth's wife
"Gunnar, Hogni, and Guthrun: the three children of the Burgundian king Gjuki and his wife Grimhild (Kriemhild); Guthrun was Sigurth's wife"
The > part in a few of the Eddic poems.
- relationship: The stanza references a wife of Gunnar.
"35. "Wholly Grimhild | thy heart deceives, She will bid thee go | and Brynhild woo For Gunnar's wife, | the lord of the Goths; And the prince's mother | thy promise shall win."
Sigurth spake:"
- relationship: Gunnar is identified as the offspring of Gjuki.
"47. "To Gunnar soon | his bride will say That ill didst thou | thine oath fulfill, When the goodly king, | the son of Gjuki, With all his heart | the hero trusted."
Sigurth spake:"
The > part in a few of the Eddic poems. > Introductory Note
relationship: The stanza references a wife of Gunnar.
"Then follows the episode of the winning of Brynhild for Gunnar (cf. Gripisspo, 37 and note). This was certainly the subject of a poem, possibly of the first part of the "Long" Lay of Sigurth, although it"
attribution: Gunnar delivers a speech in the verse.
"1. "(What evil deed | has Sigurth) done, That the hero's life | thou fain wouldst have?"
Gunnar spake:"
attestation: The stanza describes binding or imprisonment involving Gunnar.
"16. "Gunnar, I dreamed | a dream full grim: In the hall were corpses; | cold was my bed; And, ruler, thou | didst joyless ride, With fetters bound | in the foemen's throng."
attestation: Gunnar is characterized by age in the verse.
"16. "Gunnar, I dreamed | a dream full grim: In the hall were corpses; | cold was my bed; And, ruler, thou | didst joyless ride, With fetters bound | in the foemen's throng."
attestation: Gunnar is characterized by grimness in the verse.
"16. "Gunnar, I dreamed | a dream full grim: In the hall were corpses; | cold was my bed; And, ruler, thou | didst joyless ride, With fetters bound | in the foemen's throng."
attestation: The stanza references rulership or authority involving Gunnar.
"16. "Gunnar, I dreamed | a dream full grim: In the hall were corpses; | cold was my bed; And, ruler, thou | didst joyless ride, With fetters bound | in the foemen's throng."
attestation: The stanza describes an act of creation involving Gunnar.
"18. "Thou hast, Gunnar, | the deed forgot, When blood in your footprints | both ye mingled; All to him | hast repaid with ill Who fain had made thee | the foremost of kings."
attestation: Gunnar is characterized by age in the verse.
"20. "So shall your land | its people lose As ye have kept | your oaths of yore; Gunnar, no joy | the gold shall give thee, (The rings shall soon | thy slayers be,) Who swarest oaths | with Sigurth once."
attestation: The stanza describes warfare or combat involving Gunnar.
"10. In her wrath to battle | she roused herself: "Gunnar, now | thou needs must lose Lands of mine | and me myself, No joy shall I have | with the hero ever."
attribution: Gunnar delivers a speech in the verse.
"19. "If sons we five | shall soon beget, Great, methinks, | our race shall grow; Well I see | whence lead the ways; Too bitter far | is Brynhild's hate."
Gunnar spake:"
attestation: Gunnar is characterized by gladness in the verse.
"31. Then Gunnar, monarch | of men, spake forth: "Thou dost not laugh, | thou lover of hate, In gladness there, | or for aught of good; Why has thy face | so white a hue, Mother of ill? | Foredoomed thou art."
attestation: The stanza contains a narrative element involving Gunnar.
"28. "Above all men | the maiden loved me, Yet false to Gunnar | I ne'er was found; I kept the oaths | and the kinship I swore; Of his queen the lover | none may call me.""
attestation: Gunnar is characterized by beauty in the verse.
"42. Up rose Gunnar, | the people's ruler, And flung his arms | round her neck so fair; And all who came, | of every kind, Sought to hold her | with all their hearts."
attestation: The stanza references rulership or authority involving Gunnar.
"42. Up rose Gunnar, | the people's ruler, And flung his arms | round her neck so fair; And all who came, | of every kind, Sought to hold her | with all their hearts."
attestation: The stanza references wealth or gifts involving Gunnar.
"46. From the speaker gloomily | Gunnar turned, For the jewel-bearer | her gems was dividing; On all her wealth | her eyes were gazing, On the bond-women slain | and the slaughtered slaves."
attestation: Gunnar is characterized by beauty in the verse.
"52. "Sit now, Gunnar! | for I shall speak Of thy bride so fair | and so fain to die; Thy ship in harbor | home thou hast not, Although my life | I now have lost."
attestation: The stanza references wealth or gifts involving Gunnar.
"11. "I remember the evil | one eve thou spakest, When a draught I gave | to Gunnar then; Thou didst say that never | such a deed By maid was done | save by me alone.""
attestation: The stanza describes warfare or combat involving Gunnar.
"9. Not eager were his comrades, | nor the men of his kin, The wise nor the wary, | nor the warriors bold. But Gunnar spake forth | as befitted a king, Noble in the beer-hall, | and bitter his scorn:"
attestation: Gunnar is characterized by wisdom in the verse.
"9. Not eager were his comrades, | nor the men of his kin, The wise nor the wary, | nor the warriors bold. But Gunnar spake forth | as befitted a king, Noble in the beer-hall, | and bitter his scorn:"
attestation: Gunnar is characterized by age in the verse.
"9. Not eager were his comrades, | nor the men of his kin, The wise nor the wary, | nor the warriors bold. But Gunnar spake forth | as befitted a king, Noble in the beer-hall, | and bitter his scorn:"
attestation: Gunnar is characterized by boldness in the verse.
"9. Not eager were his comrades, | nor the men of his kin, The wise nor the wary, | nor the warriors bold. But Gunnar spake forth | as befitted a king, Noble in the beer-hall, | and bitter his scorn:"
attestation: Gunnar is characterized by nobility in the verse.
"9. Not eager were his comrades, | nor the men of his kin, The wise nor the wary, | nor the warriors bold. But Gunnar spake forth | as befitted a king, Noble in the beer-hall, | and bitter his scorn:"
attestation: The stanza references rulership or authority involving Gunnar.
"9. Not eager were his comrades, | nor the men of his kin, The wise nor the wary, | nor the warriors bold. But Gunnar spake forth | as befitted a king, Noble in the beer-hall, | and bitter his scorn:"
attestation: Gunnar is characterized by gladness in the verse.
"11. "The wolves then shall rule | the wealth of the Niflungs, Wolves aged and grey-hued, | if Gunnar is lost, And black-coated bears | with rending teeth bite, And make glad the dogs, | if Gunnar returns not.""
attestation: The stanza references wealth or gifts involving Gunnar.
"11. "The wolves then shall rule | the wealth of the Niflungs, Wolves aged and grey-hued, | if Gunnar is lost, And black-coated bears | with rending teeth bite, And make glad the dogs, | if Gunnar returns not.""
attestation: Gunnar is characterized by swiftness in the verse.
"16. This their sister saw, | as soon as her brothers Had entered the hall,— | little ale had she drunk: "Betrayed art thou, Gunnar! | what guard hast thou, hero, 'Gainst the plots of the Huns? | from the hall flee swiftly!"
attribution: Gunnar delivers a speech in the verse.
"17. "Brother, 'twere far better | to have come in byrnie, With thy household helmed, | to see Atli's home, And to sit in the saddle | all day 'neath the sun, (That the sword-norns might weep | for the death-pale warriors,"
attestation: The stanza describes binding or imprisonment involving Gunnar.
"19. Then Gunnar they seized, | and they set him in chains, The Burgundians' king, | and fast they bound him."
attestation: The stanza describes warfare or combat involving Gunnar.
"34. By the warriors' host | was the living hero Cast in the den | where crawling about Within were serpents, | but soon did Gunnar With his hand in wrath on | the harp-strings smite;"
attestation: Gunnar is characterized by age in the verse.
"34. By the warriors' host | was the living hero Cast in the den | where crawling about Within were serpents, | but soon did Gunnar With his hand in wrath on | the harp-strings smite;"
attestation: The stanza references wealth or gifts involving Gunnar.
"34. By the warriors' host | was the living hero Cast in the den | where crawling about Within were serpents, | but soon did Gunnar With his hand in wrath on | the harp-strings smite;"
attestation: The stanza contains a narrative element involving Gunnar.
"23. . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . . They cut out the heart | from the breast of Hjalli, On a platter they bore it, | and brought it to Gunnar."
attestation: The stanza describes warfare or combat involving Gunnar.
"22. "A sword drawn bloody | from thy garments I saw,— Such a dream is hard | to a husband to tell,— A spear stood, methought, | through thy body thrust, And at head and feet | the wolves were howling."
Gunnar spake:"
- attribution: Gunnar delivers a speech in the verse.
"22. "A sword drawn bloody | from thy garments I saw,— Such a dream is hard | to a husband to tell,— A spear stood, methought, | through thy body thrust, And at head and feet | the wolves were howling."
Gunnar spake:"
attestation: Gunnar is characterized by swiftness in the verse.
"55. "Seize ye now Hogni, | and with knives shall ye hew him, His heart shall ye cut out, | this haste ye to do; And grim-hearted Gunnar | shall ye bind on the gallows, Swift shall ye do it, | to serpents now cast him." "
attestation: The stanza describes cosmological elements involving Gunnar.
"62. A harp Gunnar seized, | with his toes he smote it; So well did he strike | that the women all wept, And the men, when clear | they heard it, lamented; Full noble was his song, | the rafters burst asunder."
attestation: Gunnar is characterized by courage in the verse.
"3. "Not like are ye | to Gunnar of yore, Nor have ye hearts | such as Hogni's was; Vengeance for her | ye soon would have If brave ye were | as my brothers of old, Or hard your hearts | as the Hunnish kings'.""
attestation: The stanza references rulership or authority involving Gunnar.
"3. "Not like are ye | to Gunnar of yore, Nor have ye hearts | such as Hogni's was; Vengeance for her | ye soon would have If brave ye were | as my brothers of old, Or hard your hearts | as the Hunnish kings'.""
The > part in a few of the Eddic poems. > Notes
attestation: Blood-brotherhood was sworn through the ceremonial mingling of blood in one another's footprints
"Footprints: the actual mingling of blood in one another's footprints was a part of the ceremony of swearing blood-brotherhood, the oath which Gunnar and Sigurth had taken."
attestation: The poet throughout seems to have accepted the version where Gunnar and Sigurth besiege Atli and buy peace by receiving Brynhild
"the poet throughout seems to have accepted the version of the story wherein Gunnar and Sigurth besiege Atli, and are bought off by the gift of Atli's sister, Brynhild, to Gunnar as wife"
attestation: In one tradition, Gunnar and Sigurth besieged Atli's city and were bought off by Atli giving Brynhild to Gunnar as wife through false representation
"Gunnar and Sigurth lay siege to Atli's city (it here appears as Brynhild's) and are bought off only by Atli's giving Brynhild to Gunnar as wife, winning her consent thereto by falsely representing to her that Gunnar is Sigurth."
comparison: Gunnar's harp episode is related to the thirtieth Aventiure of the Nibelungenlied, where Volker plays Gunther's followers to sleep before the final battle
"The episode is undoubtedly related to the famous thirtieth Aventiure of the Nibelungenlied, in which Volker plays the followers of Gunther to sleep before the final battle."
attestation: Gunnar's death involved being placed in a den of snakes
"Den of snakes: concerning the manner of Gunnar's death"
attestation: Gunnar is called both king of the Burgundians and king of the Goths, indicating the poet lacked a clear conception of the Burgundian identity
"This is the only place in the poems in which the name "Burgundian" appears; that the poet had no very clear conception of its meaning is indicated by the fact that in stanza 21 he calls Gunnar "king of the Goths.""
attestation: Gunnar demands proof of Hogni's death because he wants to ensure the secret of the treasure perishes with him
"Gunnar demands proof that Hogni is dead because, as stanza 28 shows, he is unwilling to die himself until he is assured that the secret of the treasure will perish with him."
attestation: Gunnar foretells Atli's speedy death after being bound
"Gunnar foretells Atli's speedy death."
attestation: In the Atlamol, Gunnar plays the harp with his feet because his hands are bound
"In Atlamol, 62, Gunnar plays the harp with his feet, his hands being bound"
attestation: Gunnar's death involved being placed in a serpents' den where he played the harp
"Regarding the serpents' den, Gunnar's harp-playing, and the manner of his death"
attestation: The five travelers are Gunnar, Hogni, and three others mentioned in a subsequent stanza
"Five: Gunnar, Hogni, and the three mentioned in stanza 28."
attestation: A stanza describing the casting of Gunnar into the serpents' den has likely been lost
"It is probable that a stanza describing the casting of Gunnar into the serpents' den has been lost after this stanza."
attestation: Gunnar played the harp with his toes because his hands were bound, according to the Volsungasaga
"Toes (literally "sole-twigs"): the Volsungasaga explains that Gunnar's hands were bound."
attestation: Gunnar and Hogni were slain according to the Drap Niflunga
"Gunnar and Hogni: cf. Drap Niflunga."
attestation: Gunnar and Hogni, called kings of the folk, were Guthrun's brothers slain by Atli
"Kings of the folk: Guthrun's brothers, Gunnar and Hogni, slain by Atli."
The > part in a few of the Eddic poems. > Pronouncing Index
- relationship: Gunnar is a son of Gjuki with a major role throughout the Eddic heroic cycle
"Gun′-nar, son of Gjuki"