Innocence Proved in Boiling Water

How did boiling water clear Gudrun's name?

In *The Lay of Gudrun 3*, the servant Herkja tells a story that casts suspicion on Gudrun and King Thjodrek. Atli is furious to hear that the two have shared a bed.

Gudrun swears by a sacred white stone that she has done nothing wrong. She says that she and the king were sharing their sorrows. She also asks for King Saxi to be summoned, for he can consecrate the boiling cauldron. A crowd gathers in the hall.

Gudrun reaches to the bottom of the cauldron and brings out shining stones. Her hand has no burns. She tells the crowd that the sacred boiling water has proved her innocence. Atli is delighted when he sees her hand.

Now Herkja is ordered to face the same test. The boiling water scalds her hand. Afterwards, she is thrown into a filthy marsh. The poem ends by saying that the wrong done to Gudrun has been put right.

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