The ''Dráp Niflunga'' is a short prose section in the ''

Poetic Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems in alliterative verse. It is distinct from the closely related ''Prose Edda'', although both works are seminal to the study of Old Norse ...

'' between ''

Helreið Brynhildar ''Helreið Brynhildar'' (Old Norse 'The Hel-ride of Brynhild') is a short Old Norse poem that is found in the ''Poetic Edda''. Most of the poem (except stanza 6) is also quoted in '' Norna-Gests þáttr''. Henry Adams Bellows says in his commen ...

'' and ''

Guðrúnarkviða II ''Guðrúnarkviða II'', ''The Second Lay of Gudrún'', or ''Guðrúnarkviða hin forna'', ''The Old Lay of Gudrún'' is probably the oldest poem of the Sigurd cycle, according to Henry Adams Bellows. The poem was composed before the year 1000 ...

''. Henry Adams Bellows notes in his commentary that the purpose of the section is to serve as a narrative link between the poems. In the preceding sections, both

Sigurd Sigurd ( ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon — known in Nordic tradition as Fafnir () — and who was later murdered. In the Nordic countries, he is referred t ...

and

Brynhildr Brunhild, also known as Brunhilda or Brynhild ( , , or ), is a female character from Germanic heroic legend. She may have her origins in the Visigothic princess and queen Brunhilda of Austrasia. In the Norse tradition, Brunhild is a shiel ...

have died and this section deals with how Brynhild's brother

Atli Atli is an Old Norse masculine personal name, and may refer to: People * Atli the Slender, a 9th-century earl of Sogn, Norway * Atli Viðar Björnsson (born 1980), Icelandic footballer * Atli Dam (1932–2005), five-time prime minister of the Fa ...

becomes

Gudrun Gudrun ( ; ) or Kriemhild ( ; ) is the wife of Sigurd/Siegfried and a major figure in Germanic heroic legend and literature. She is believed to have her origins in Ildico, last wife of Attila the Hun, and two queens of the Merovingian dyn ...

's second husband and with how Atli avenges Brynhild's death by slaying Gudrun's brothers Gunnar and Hogni.

Storyline

This is Henry Adams Bellows' translation of the section:

Notes

References

The Slaying of The Niflungs
Henry Adams Bellows' translation and commentary
The Slaughter of the Niflungs

Benjamin Thorpe Benjamin Thorpe (1782 – 19 July 1870) was an English scholar of Old English language, Anglo-Saxon literature. Biography In the early 1820s he worked as a banker in the House of Rothschild, in Paris. There he met Thomas Hodgkin, who treated hi ...

's translation
The Fall of the Niflungs
Lee M. Hollander's translation
Dráp Niflunga

Sophus Bugge Elseus Sophus Bugge (5 January 1833 – 8 July 1907) was a Norwegian philologist and linguist. His scholarly work was directed to the study of runic inscriptions and Norse philology. Bugge is best known for his theories and his work on the runi ...

's edition of the manuscript text
Dráp Niflunga

Guðni Jónsson Guðni Jónsson (22 July 1901 – 4 March 1974) was an Icelandic professor of history and editor of Old Norse texts. Life and career Guðni was born at Gamla-Hraun at EyrarbakkiPáll Lýðsson"GUÐNI JÓNSSON" Minningargreinar, ''Morgunblaði ...

's edition with normalized spelling {{DEFAULTSORT:Drap Niflunga Eddic poetry Nibelung tradition Völsung cycle