Poetry
The Greenlandic Lay of Atli
Atlamál
Anonymous · 1150
Opening lines
Frétt hefir öld óvu,
þá er endr of gerðu
seggir samkundu,
sú var nýt fæstum,
Men have heard
of the meeting that warriors
held long ago,
it profited very few,
Translation by Erostrate
Text quoted from heimskringla.no
Synopsis
Atli, who plans the death of his brothers-in-law, has Gunnarr and Högni, sons of Gjúki, invited to his home. Guðrún, his wife, tries to warn her brothers with runes, which the messenger Vingi alters. Kostbera, Högni's wife, deciphers the signs and tells her dreams, in which a white bear appears; Glaumvör, Gunnarr's wife, dreams in her turn. The brothers dismiss these omens and set off with three companions, after Vingi, reminded by Glaumvör of the duty owed to a host, has sworn an oath.
Context
The Codex Regius calls it Greenlandic, and it is usually seen as a twelfth-century composition made in the Scandinavian colony of Greenland: the polar bear in Kostbera's dream, the harsh tone and the modest retinues, about ten men, point in that direction, although Pettit also notes signs of a Danish milieu. The poem treats the same story as the Atlakviða, at greater length and in a different style, and it is the only Eddic poem written entirely in málaháttr. It occupies folios 41 to 44 of the manuscript, where several readings remain uncertain.
Who it is for
A long heroic narrative, slower and more homely than the other Eddic poem on the same material; it is rewarding to read the two poems one after the other.
Prizes and reception
The only piece in the Edda attributed to the Greenlandic colony, and a harsh version of the legend of the Nibelungs.