Anonymous, Guðrúnarhvöt

Daniel Sävborg (University of Tartu)
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Guðrúnarhvǫt

[Guðrún’s incitement] is an Eddic poem in the

fornyrðislag

metre, preserved in the manuscript Codex Regius nr. 2365 4to (c.1270). In the manuscript, the poem is preceded by a longer prose passage with the heading

Frá Guðrúnu

[About Guðrún] preceded by the poem

Atlamál

, and followed by the last poem in the Edda manuscript, 

Hamðismál

. The standard title is taken from the heading in the manuscript,

Guðrúnar hvǫt

. The poem is since Sophus Bugge’s 1867 edition divided into 21 stanzas of remarkably irregular length, from one to twelve lines.

Guðrúnarhvǫt

is used in

Vǫlsunga saga

, where large parts of it are retold in prose.

The preceding prose called Frá Guðrúnu links together the events in the preceding Atlamál and the following Guðrúnarhvǫt: After

2169 words

Citation: Sävborg, Daniel. "Guðrúnarhvöt". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 February 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40940, accessed 29 March 2024.]

40940 Guðrúnarhvöt 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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