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ATLI
(AWT-lee)
A
legendary king corresponding to the historical figure of
Attila Common
clue: Mythical
Hun king; King of the Huns; Gudrun's victim; Gudrun's husband;
Hun king, in Scandinavian legend; Hun leader Crossword
puzzle frequency:
once a year
Atli
from an illustration to the Poetic Edda
Atlamál
in grœnlenzku (The Greenlandic Lay of Atli) is one of the
heroic poems of the Poetic Edda. It relates the same basic story
as Atlakviða at greater length and in a different style. The
poem is believed to have been composed in Greenland, most likely
in the 12th century.
Plotting
to kill his brothers-in-law, Atli (Attila the Hun) dispatches
messengers to Gunnarr and Högni, the sons of Gjúki,
with an invitation to his hall. Guðrún, daughter of
Gjúki and Atli's wife, learns about the plot and sends a
runic message to her brothers but the runes are corrupted by one
of the messengers, Vingi. Nevertheless, Kostbera, Högni's
wife, discerns from the runes that something is wrong and warns
Högni. Högni dismisses her fears but she persists and
describes dreadful dreams she has had, interpreting them as
warnings. Högni remains unmoved and explains the dreams
away. Glaumvör, Gunnarr's wife, has also had bad dreams
which she describes to her husband, who also attempts to explain
them away. Eventually Gunnarr admits that their lives may be
short but tells Glaumvör that he cannot evade his doom. The
brothers set out to Atli with only three companions. The women
follow the brothers to a fjord where their ways must part.
Glaumvör reminds Vingi of the sanctity due to a guest and he
swears that there is no deception. Kostbera and Högni say
farewell to each other and the men row away.
As
the brothers and their companions arrive at Atli's door, Vingi
admits to his treachery and is promptly slain. Atli then attacks
the five guests with a force of 30. The battle rages for hours
and Guðrún joins it on the side of her brothers,
throwing away her jewelry. Finally the children of Gjúki
are overpowered, having slain 18 of Atli's warriors. Atli trades
accusations with his wife and orders the execution of Gunnarr and
Högni. Following a comical episode with Hjalli, Atli's cook,
Atli has the brothers executed. Högni dies laughing while
Gunnarr dies playing a harp with his toes.
Atli
discusses matters with Guðrún. She tells him that
things will go badly for him unless he kills her too. He tries to
console her by promising precious gifts and she pretends to
relent, asking Atli for a great ale-feast to commemorate her
brothers. Guðrún then kills their two sons and has the
unsuspecting Atli use their heads as drinking vessels and eat
their roasted hearts. Later Guðrún kills Atli with the
aid of Hniflungr, son of Högni. The final part of the poem
consists of exchanges between Guðrún and Atli. Guðrún
recalls her glorious past when she went harrying with Sigurðr
and her brothers. Atli recalls his marriage proposal to Guðrún
and how she was never content in their marriage, despite all
their riches. In the end he asks Guðrún to give him an
honorable burial and she agrees. She then attempts suicide and
fails. The poem ends on a note that any man who begets such
offspring as Gjúki is fortunate.
This
article is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia
article "Atlimal".
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