Herkja

Overview

The opening prose calls Herkja Atli’s serving woman and former concubine. She says she saw Guthrun and Thjothrek together in bed, then is ordered to undergo the test after Guthrun emerges unhurt. Stanza 10 says only that her hands are burned and she is thrown into a bog; this record does not turn the poem’s punishment into a wider historical or legal claim.

Key facts

Relationships

• Gudrunaccuses of infidelity

  Herkja tells Atli that she saw Guthrun and Thjothrek together in bed.

• Atliheeds her accusation

  Atli is angered by what Herkja says.

• The Boiling-Water Ordealis burned by the ordeal

  Herkja is brought to the kettle and her hands are burned in the boiling water.

• Atlihas her thrown into a bog

  After Herkja is burned, she is thrown into a foul bog.

Story appearances

• The Third Lay of Guthrun: The Boiling CauldronFigure or event in the Third Lay of Guthrun

  Atli’s serving woman and former concubine; she accuses Guthrun and ultimately fails the boiling-water ordeal.

Ancient sources

MythWeave distinguishes ancient-source evidence from later adaptations and modern interpretation.

• Anonymous; translated by Henry Adams Bellows, The Poetic Edda: Guthrunarkvitha III, Introduction, opening prose, and stanzas 1–10: accusation, oath, boiling cauldron, and Herkja’s punishment.