Anonymous, Guðrúnarkviða II

Daniel Sävborg (University of Tartu)
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Guðrúnarkviða II

is an eddic poem in

fornyrðislag

metre, preserved in the Codex Regius, GKS no. 2365 4to (c. 1270) where it is placed between the prose chapter

Dráp Niflunga

[The Killing of the Niflungs] and the poem

Guðrúnarkviða III

. Since Sophus Bugge’s edition (1867), it has usually been divided into 44 stanzas of irregular length. The name

Guðrúnar kviða

[without number] is found in the heading of the poem in the manuscript. There is a reference to the poem (concerning different versions of the killing of Sigurðr) in a prose section after

Brot af Sigurðsarkviðo

, where it is called

Guðrúnarkviða in forna

. This section is also used in

Norna-Gests þáttr

, where the poem is called

Guðrúnarrœða

[Guðrún’s speech]. Much of the poem are retold in prose in

2216 words

Citation: Sävborg, Daniel. "Guðrúnarkviða II". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 February 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40937, accessed 28 March 2024.]

40937 Guðrúnarkviða II 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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