Okay so apparently I’m just rereading the heroic poems of the Edda now and there are so many things I didn’t pick up on when I was studying for my dissertation that I wish I could add in now! Atlamal tells the story of Guthrun’s revenge, just like Atlakvitha does, but the poet hints at another motivation for the murder which is so so interesting. At one point Guthrun rebukes Atli for recounting how she has made him miserable when he killed her mother, which according to Larrington is not attested anywhere else. There is no extant version of this story that even implies Atli killed Grimhildr, and then when Guthrun delivers the killing blow to Atli she describes herself as Grimhildr’s daughter rather than Gjuki’s daughter or even just Guthrun, emphasising the mother/daughter bond and implying this other very strong motivation for her murder completely separate from what Atli had just done to her brothers. This is so cool! I can’t believe I never picked up on this! It’s so clever too because it helps the really tacked on third part of Guthrun’s story feel so much more natural. It’s linked to the rest of Guthrun’s life not just through the theme of vengeance but through the mother/daughter bond. In the Atlamal section she avenges her mother and in the Guthrunarhvot/Hamthismal section she avenges her daughter.Â
