King Atli ordered Hogni’s heart cut out in the Norse heroic legend of the Völsungs.
Atli captures the brothers Gunnar and Hogni while trying to force them to reveal the location of Sigurd’s treasure. In the Völsunga saga, Atli’s men first take the heart of the frightened servant Hjalli as a substitute. Gunnar rejects it because it trembles, unlike the heart of a courageous warrior. Hogni then laughs while enduring the torture, and his heart is presented as proof of his steadfastness.
The episode also appears in related poems of the Poetic Edda, including the Greenlandic Poem of Atli, though details vary between versions. In some tellings, Hjalli is killed to deceive Gunnar; in others, he is initially spared before Hogni is killed. The name can appear as Hǫgni or Högni in Old Norse transliteration. Hogni is often confused with Gunnar, who is the brother imprisoned in the snake pit and killed afterward.