Hlöðskviða

Hlöðskviða or The Battle of the Goths and Huns is sometimes counted among the Eddic poems. It has been preserved as separate stanzas, interspersed among the text in Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks, but it is generally agreed that it was originally a poetic whole.

Heiðrekr, king of the Goths, had two sons, Angantýr and Hlöðr. Only Angantýr was legitimate, so he inherited his father's kingdom. Hlöðr claimed half the inheritance, Angantýr refused to split evenly and war ensued, claiming first Hervör, their sister, then Hlöðr himself as casualties. The poem ends with Angantýr finding his brother dead:

Bölvat es okkr, bróðir,

bani em ek þinn orðinn;

þat mun æ uppi;

illr er dómr norna.

"We are cursed, brother, I am become your slayer; it is yet again true; cruel is the decree of the Norns (Fates)."