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Atlakvitha

All bloody from the breast  of the bold one cutWith keen-biting sword,  from the son of the king."
23.[1] ..................They cut out the heart  from the breast of Hjalli,On a platter they bore it,  and brought it to Gunnar.
24. Then Gunnar spake forth,  the lord of the folk:"Here have I the heart  of Hjalli the craven,Unlike to the heart  of Hogni the valiant,For it trembles still  as it stands on the platter;Twice more did it tremble  in the breast of the man."
25.[2] Then Hogni laughed  when they cut out the heartOf the living helm-hammerer;  tears he had not...............On a platter they bore it,  and brought it to Gunnar.

    Gunnar demands proof that Hogni is dead because, as stanza 28 shows, he is unwilling to die himself until he is assured that the secret of the treasure will perish with him. He did not, of course, intend that the heart should be cut from the living Hogni.

  1. ↑ Most editions assume a gap (lines 1-2, 2-3 or 3-4). Hjalli: Atli's cook, killed to deceive Gunnar, as Atli hoped to wring the secret of the hoard from Hogni if Gunnar remained silent. In the Atlamol (stanza 59-60) Atli's men prepare to kill Hjalli, but he is spared at Hogni's intercession.
  2. ↑ Helm-hammerer (literally "helmet-smith"): warrior, i.e., Hogni. No gap indicated in the manuscript.

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