Volsung
Encyclopedia
In Norse mythology
, Völsung (Old Norse
Vǫlsungr) was the son of Rerir
and the eponymous ancestor of the ill-fortuned Völsung clan (Vǫlsungar), including the greatest of Norse heroes, Sigurð. The Völsung Cycle is a series of legend
s about the clan that were first recorded in medieval
Iceland
and is also the subject matter of the Middle High German
epic poem Nibelungenlied
.
In Iceland
, the tales of the Völsung cycle were expanded with native Scandinavian folklore
, including that of Helgi Hundingsbane
, which originally appears to have been part of a separate tradition, that of the Ylfings, and form the material of the epic poems in the Elder Edda and of Völsunga saga
, which preserves material from lost poems.
According to Völsunga saga, Völsung was murdered by the Geatish king Siggeir
and avenged by one of his sons, Sigmund
, and his daughter Signy
, who was married to Siggeir
. Völsung is also mentioned as Wæls in the Old English epic Beowulf
: a Danish
bard at Hrothgar's court sings about him and his son Sigemund.
himself, and it was Odin's consort Frigg
who made sure that Völsung would be born. Völsung's parents, who were the king and queen of Hunaland
, could not have any children until the goddess sent them an apple of fertility carried by the giantess Hljod
. Völsung's father, Rerir
died shortly after this, but his wife was pregnant for six years, until she had had enough. She commanded that the child be delivered by Caesarean section
, an operation that in those days cost the life of the mother. Völsung was a strong child and he kissed his mother before she died.
He was immediately proclaimed king of Hunaland and when he had grown up he married the same giantess Hljod. Together they had ten sons and one daughter, including the twins Signy
, their daughter, and Sigmund
, the most courageous and beautiful of their sons.
Völsung built himself a great hall in the centre of which stood a large oak tree called the Barnstokkr
. Siggeir
, the King of the Geats
, soon arrived and proposed to Signy. Both Völsung and his sons approved, but Signy was less enthusiastic.
A great wedding was held in the hall, when suddenly a stranger appeared. He was a tall old man with only one eye and could not be anyone but Odin
. He went to the oak tree, took his sword and stuck it deep into the trunk. Odin
told everyone that the sword was meant for the man who could pull the sword from the oak tree. Then he vanished.
Everyone at the wedding tried to pull the sword but only Sigmund succeeded, and he did so effortlessly. Siggeir, his brother-in-law, offered thrice its weight in gold for the sword, but Sigmund scornfully said no. This greatly angered Siggeir, and he swore that one day the sword would be his and he would be revenged on the Völsung family. He returned home the next day, ending the wedding feast early. Before he left he invited the Völsungs to conclude the feast with him when the winter had passed.
Three months later Völsung and his sons sailed to Siggeir's land. They were met by Signy, who warned them that Siggeir intended to ambush them. They refused to turn back, whereupon Signy cried and implored them to go home. Soon they were attacked by Siggeir's army. Völsung fell and his ten sons were taken captive.
For the continued story, see Sigmund
.
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
, Völsung (Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
Vǫlsungr) was the son of Rerir
Rerir
In Völsunga saga, Rerir, the son of Sigi, succeeds his murdered father and avenges his death. He rules the Huns in Hunaland and becomes a powerful ruler. Rerir's son is Völsung....
and the eponymous ancestor of the ill-fortuned Völsung clan (Vǫlsungar), including the greatest of Norse heroes, Sigurð. The Völsung Cycle is a series of legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
s about the clan that were first recorded in medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
and is also the subject matter of the Middle High German
Middle High German
Middle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German...
epic poem Nibelungenlied
Nibelungenlied
The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem in Middle High German. The story tells of dragon-slayer Siegfried at the court of the Burgundians, how he was murdered, and of his wife Kriemhild's revenge....
.
In Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, the tales of the Völsung cycle were expanded with native Scandinavian folklore
Scandinavian folklore
Scandinavian folklore is the folklore of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and the Swedish speaking parts of Finland.Collecting folklore began when Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden sent out instructions to all of the priests in all of the parishes to collect the folklore of their area...
, including that of Helgi Hundingsbane
Helgi Hundingsbane
Helgi Hundingsbane is a hero in Norse sagas. Helgi appears in Volsunga saga and in two lays in the Poetic Edda named Helgakviða Hundingsbana I and Helgakviða Hundingsbana II. The Poetic Edda relates that Helgi and his mistress Sigrún were Helgi Hjörvarðsson and Sváva of the Helgakviða...
, which originally appears to have been part of a separate tradition, that of the Ylfings, and form the material of the epic poems in the Elder Edda and of Völsunga saga
Volsunga saga
The Völsungasaga is a legendary saga, a late 13th century Icelandic prose rendition of the origin and decline of the Völsung clan . It is largely based on epic poetry...
, which preserves material from lost poems.
According to Völsunga saga, Völsung was murdered by the Geatish king Siggeir
Siggeir
Siggeir is the king of Gautland , in the Völsunga saga. In Skáldskaparmál he is given as a Sikling and a relative of Sigar who killed the hero Hagbard...
and avenged by one of his sons, Sigmund
Sigmund
This article is about the mythological hero Sigmund; for other meanings see: Sigmund .In Norse mythology, Sigmund is a hero whose story is told in the Völsunga saga. He and his sister, Signý, are the children of Völsung and his wife Hljod...
, and his daughter Signy
Signy
Signy or Signe is the name of two heroines in two connected legends from Scandinavian mythology which were very popular in medieval Scandinavia. Both appear in the Völsunga saga, which was adapted into other works such as Wagner's Ring, including its famous opera The Valkyrie.The first Signe was...
, who was married to Siggeir
Siggeir
Siggeir is the king of Gautland , in the Völsunga saga. In Skáldskaparmál he is given as a Sikling and a relative of Sigar who killed the hero Hagbard...
. Völsung is also mentioned as Wæls in the Old English epic Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
: a Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
bard at Hrothgar's court sings about him and his son Sigemund.
Synopsis
Völsung was the great-grandson of OdinOdin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
himself, and it was Odin's consort Frigg
Frigg
Frigg is a major goddess in Norse paganism, a subset of Germanic paganism. She is said to be the wife of Odin, and is the "foremost among the goddesses" and the queen of Asgard. Frigg appears primarily in Norse mythological stories as a wife and a mother. She is also described as having the power...
who made sure that Völsung would be born. Völsung's parents, who were the king and queen of Hunaland
Hunaland
Hunaland and its people are mentioned several times in the Poetic Edda, and in the Fornaldarsagas.Its origins are partly the old Frankish kingdom and partly in the Huns....
, could not have any children until the goddess sent them an apple of fertility carried by the giantess Hljod
Hljod
Hljod or Ljod is a giantess in Norse mythology. According to the Völsunga saga Hljod, the daughter of Hrímnir, married the hero Völsung. She bore him ten sons, one of whom was Sigmund, and a daughter, Signy...
. Völsung's father, Rerir
Rerir
In Völsunga saga, Rerir, the son of Sigi, succeeds his murdered father and avenges his death. He rules the Huns in Hunaland and becomes a powerful ruler. Rerir's son is Völsung....
died shortly after this, but his wife was pregnant for six years, until she had had enough. She commanded that the child be delivered by Caesarean section
Caesarean section
A Caesarean section, is a surgical procedure in which one or more incisions are made through a mother's abdomen and uterus to deliver one or more babies, or, rarely, to remove a dead fetus...
, an operation that in those days cost the life of the mother. Völsung was a strong child and he kissed his mother before she died.
He was immediately proclaimed king of Hunaland and when he had grown up he married the same giantess Hljod. Together they had ten sons and one daughter, including the twins Signy
Signy
Signy or Signe is the name of two heroines in two connected legends from Scandinavian mythology which were very popular in medieval Scandinavia. Both appear in the Völsunga saga, which was adapted into other works such as Wagner's Ring, including its famous opera The Valkyrie.The first Signe was...
, their daughter, and Sigmund
Sigmund
This article is about the mythological hero Sigmund; for other meanings see: Sigmund .In Norse mythology, Sigmund is a hero whose story is told in the Völsunga saga. He and his sister, Signý, are the children of Völsung and his wife Hljod...
, the most courageous and beautiful of their sons.
Völsung built himself a great hall in the centre of which stood a large oak tree called the Barnstokkr
Barnstokkr
In Norse mythology, Barnstokkr is a tree that stands in the center of King Völsung's hall. Barnstokkr is attested in chapters 2 and 3 of the Völsunga saga, written in the 13th century from earlier tradition, partially based on events from the 5th century and the 6th century, where, during a...
. Siggeir
Siggeir
Siggeir is the king of Gautland , in the Völsunga saga. In Skáldskaparmál he is given as a Sikling and a relative of Sigar who killed the hero Hagbard...
, the King of the Geats
King of the Geats
Geatish kings , ruling over the provinces of Götaland , appears in several sources for early Swedish history...
, soon arrived and proposed to Signy. Both Völsung and his sons approved, but Signy was less enthusiastic.
A great wedding was held in the hall, when suddenly a stranger appeared. He was a tall old man with only one eye and could not be anyone but Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
. He went to the oak tree, took his sword and stuck it deep into the trunk. Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
told everyone that the sword was meant for the man who could pull the sword from the oak tree. Then he vanished.
Everyone at the wedding tried to pull the sword but only Sigmund succeeded, and he did so effortlessly. Siggeir, his brother-in-law, offered thrice its weight in gold for the sword, but Sigmund scornfully said no. This greatly angered Siggeir, and he swore that one day the sword would be his and he would be revenged on the Völsung family. He returned home the next day, ending the wedding feast early. Before he left he invited the Völsungs to conclude the feast with him when the winter had passed.
Three months later Völsung and his sons sailed to Siggeir's land. They were met by Signy, who warned them that Siggeir intended to ambush them. They refused to turn back, whereupon Signy cried and implored them to go home. Soon they were attacked by Siggeir's army. Völsung fell and his ten sons were taken captive.
For the continued story, see Sigmund
Sigmund
This article is about the mythological hero Sigmund; for other meanings see: Sigmund .In Norse mythology, Sigmund is a hero whose story is told in the Völsunga saga. He and his sister, Signý, are the children of Völsung and his wife Hljod...
.
Modern retellings
The story of Völsung and his children from the marriage of Signy to Siggeir to Sigmund's vengeance on Siggeir is retold in the novelette "Vengeance" by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur, which appeared in the magazine Adventure, June 30, 1925. Brodeur was a professor at Berkeley and became well known for his scholarship on Beowulf and other Norse sagas.External links
- Völsunga Saga in Old NorseOld NorseOld Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
and translated by William MorrisWilliam MorrisWilliam Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
and Eiríkr MagnússonEiríkr MagnússonEiríkr or Eiríkur Magnússon was an Icelandic scholar who was Librarian at the University of Cambridge, taught Old Norse to William Morris, translated numerous Icelandic sagas into English in collaboration with him, and played an important role in the movement to study the history and literature of...
, parallel text. - Völsunga Saga translated by William Morris and Eiríkr Magnússon.
- Timeless Myths: Völsunga Saga.
- The Story of Sigurd: Völsunga Saga retold by Andrew LangAndrew LangAndrew Lang was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him.- Biography :Lang was born in Selkirk...
. - Beowulf in modern English by Francis Barton Gummere.
- Beowulf in modern English by John Lesslie HallJohn Lesslie HallJohn Lesslie Hall , also known as J. Lesslie Hall, was an American literary scholar and poet known for his translation of Beowulf....
. - Nibelungenlied translated by Daniel B. Shumway.
- Dráp Niflunga translated by Henry Adams BellowsHenry Adams BellowsHenry Adams Bellows was a lawyer, state legislator, and jurist born in Rockingham, Vermont. He was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives from Littleton, New Hampshire in 1839. He was subsequently elected again to the House from Concord, New Hampshire in 1856–1857, and served as...
.
See also
- Völsung CycleVolsung CycleThe Völsung Cycle is a series of legends in Norse mythology that were first recorded in medieval Iceland. The original Icelandic tales were greatly expanded with native Scandinavian folklore, including that of Helgi Hundingsbane, which, in turn, originally appears to have been a separate tradition...
- Tyrfing CycleTyrfing CycleThe Tyrfing Cycle is a collection of Norse legends, unified by the shared element of the magic sword Tyrfing. Two of the legends are found in the Poetic Edda, and the Hervarar saga can be seen as a compilation of these legends.-The forging and the curse:...