Anonymous, Helgakviða Hundingsbana I

Andrew McGillivray (University of Winnipeg)

Ed. by Ármann Jakobsson, University of Iceland
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.3.4: Icelandic Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Ármann Jakobsson (University of Iceland), Nicole Kennedy (University of Newcastle), Sven Hakon Rossel (Universitat Wien), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1270

Places

Iceland (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poem

Resources

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Helgavkiða Hundingsbana I

[The First Poem of Helgi Hundingsbani] is an Old Norse-Icelandic heroic poem, composed in the eddic metre

fornyrðislag

[old story metre] and divided into 56 stanzas, a mix of narration and direct speech. The oldest version of

Helgavkiða Hundingsbana I

survives in a vellum manuscript from c. 1270, Konungsbók eddukvæða (Codex Regius of Eddic Poetry; GKS 2365 4to), and the poem’s contents are recounted in

Völsunga saga

chapters 8 and 9. The poem has two main narrative threads: the first is the story about the military achievements of Helgi, son of Sigmund, a glorious king; the second the love story of Helgi and the valkyrie Sigrún.

The first nine stanzas of the poem serve as an introduction, both to the poem itself and also to the second part of

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1765 words

Citation: McGillivray, Andrew. "Helgakviða Hundingsbana I". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 02 July 2025 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=41656, accessed 08 July 2025.]

Anonymous, Helgakviða Hundingsbana I

Dates

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