The subject of this essay is the poem Hamðismál. This poem recounts the aftermath of the murder of a woman, Svanhildr, and the measures taken by her family to avenge her death. An introduction will be given to the poem in terms of what it is about and the events that led to his murder, as well as the events that took place after his death. The first two stanzas can be seen as an introduction to the story the reader is telling. about to read. It tells of a serious act that took place. A woman named Svanhildur was killed by Jörmunrekk, who was king. An explanation of the scene will be given to help further explain the actions taking place in the poem. Svanhildr's mother was Guðrún, the daughter of Gjúki. She had been married to King Ath Buðlason. He invited Guðrún's two brothers, Högni and Gunnar, to come and live with them in the hall, but when they arrived in the hall, the king had ordered them to be taken and killed. After this, Guðrún killed her two sons by King Ath and made barrels covered with gold and silver from their skulls, in which the king would drink mead mixed with the blood of his sons and roast their hearts, what Ath would do. eat. After this funeral feast everyone went to bed, but Guðrún took his brothers' son, Högni, and they killed Ath and set fire to the hall. After doing this, she attempted suicide by drowning in the sea, but she drifted across the fjord and was found by a man who would become her next husband, King Jónak. With him, she will have three sons, Hamðir, Sörli and Erp. Living with the king was a young girl named Svanhild, she was the daughter of Guðrún whom she had previously had with a man named Sigurð. At one point, King Jörmunrekkr heard that a young ...... middle of paper ...... ing, was not giving in to male domination. This essay dealt with the poem Hamðismál and the actions that take place in it. There are quite a few killings that take place in this 31-stanza poem. It begins with a woman describing an event that happened some time ago in which her daughter was killed by a king named Jörmunrekkr. This woman, Guðrún, sends her two sons Hamðir and Sǫrli to avenge the death of their half-sister, Svanhildr. An account is given of the repercussions of this decision of Guðrún and the fate of his family. Works CitedFaulkes, Anthony. “Hamðismál.” A new introduction to Old Norse. 5th ed. London: Viking Society for Nordic Research:, 2011. 355-358. Print.Young, Jean I.. “SELECTIONS FROM POETIC DICTION.” SELECTIONS FROM POETIC DICTION. Np, and Web. November 27. 2013. .