by Peter Archer
A witch woman came to the court of Siggeir, and Signy took her aside and asked her to change places and to change their appearances so that the king might be deceived. This the witch did, and while the witch woman stayed in the bed of the king, Signy in the guise of the witch went to the house of her brother. She told him she was a wandering woman and asked for shelter.
Sigmund agreed, and that night he and the witch woman lay in one another’s arms in the forest. Then Signy returned to the court and rejoined her husband’s side in her own guise.
Nine months later, Signy brought forth a son named Sinfjotli. This son too, when he was of age, she sent to Sigmund. But this time the boy passed Sigmund’s tests, and Sigmund knew him for a true Volsung.
Sigmund’s Revenge
Sinfjotli remained with Sigmund until he was an adult. Then the two decided it was time to avenge Sigmund’s father. They came to the king’s palace, but they were sighted by the king and Signy’s two young sons, who were playing with a ball, and the boys told their father there were two strange men in the palace.
Signy bade her brother slay the children but he refused. Then Sinfjotli drew his dagger and killed them both. Siggeir called for his men and the two heroes were overwhelmed.
Siggeir, thinking of what was the worst fate he could bestow on them, decided they would be entombed. A great rock tomb was built, but it was divided in half by a stone, and Sigmund was placed on one side of the stone and Sinfjotli on the other. But before the lid was placed on the tomb to seal in the men, Signy threw down some straw to Sinfjotli. Concealed in it was Sigmund’s sword. He thrust it through the rock, and Sigmund caught the point, and between the two they sawed through the barrier.
They freed themselves easily from the tomb, using the sword, and went to Siggeir’s hall wherein he and all his men were sleeping. They kindled a great fire, and the king and his followers woke to billowing clouds of smoke.
“Who has done this?” cried the king.
“I, Sigmund, son of Volsung,” roared Sigmund, “and know that not all the Volsungs are dead.” Then he called, “Come out here, sister, and stand by your kin.”
Signy did as he bade. She looked at Siggeir and said to him, “In vengeance for my father, whom I loved, I ordered the slaying of your sons of my body. And here is Sinfjotli, who is not thy son but mine and my brother’s, son of two Volsungs. Now I am avenged, for none I brought forth of my accursed marriage lives. Now I can die.” So saying, she went back into the smoke and flames and died with her husband and his men.
Suttee
Although Signy’s decision to die in the fire with her treacherous husband may strike us as odd, it would have seemed perfectly sensible to the Vikings who heard the story. The practice of suttee—the burning of a dead man’s wife on his funeral pyre—was, according to H.R. Ellis Davidson, “practiced in Sweden in honor of Odin until the tenth century.”
Helgi
Sigmund and Sinfjotli returned to the land of the Volsungs, and Sigmund took up the throne. He had two sons, Helgi and Hamund. When Helgi was born, the Norns came to his bedside and told his father that his son would be the mightiest of all kings. When Helgi was only fifteen, he became a leader of the army, and Sinfjotli was his supporter.
Helgi was a successful warrior, and he won the love of a woman named Sigrun. He fought many battles in which he was victorious. But Sinfjotli fell, poisoned through the treachery of a woman.
Sigmund at last fell wounded in battle, his sword broken beneath him. Then his wife, Hjordis, came to him and asked him if he might be healed. He replied that “Odin does not will that I draw sword again.” But, he said, “You are great with a man-child. Nourish him well, for he will be the mightiest of our race and keep for him the shards of my sword that it may be forged anew for his hand. When he died, a band of Vikings led by the Alf, son of King Hjalprek of Denmark, happened by the field of battle. They took Sigmund’s treasure, and they also took Hjordis, and when they came back to Denmark, she became Alf’s wife and had much honor in the land.
The Young Sigurd
In the due course of time Hjordis delivered her child, and he was named Sigurd. The boy was raised in the household of the king, and all who met him remarked on his strength and beauty. Sigurd was taught all manner of arts, how to play chess, how to speak in many languages, and the secret of runes.
When Sigurd came of age, he desired a horse. He came to the king and asked for one. “Choose one to your liking,” said the king. Sigurd went out to where the horses were grazing, and there he met an old man, clad in gray. “What are you doing, Sigurd,” asked the man.
“Choosing a horse,” replied the youth.
“Come with me then,” said the man. They went to the river called Busil-tarn, and there on the bank Sigurd beheld a steed gray and young and of great power and beauty. “I choose that one!” he cried.
“You have chosen well,” said the old man. “He is kin to Sleipnir, Odin’s horse, and his name is Grani. There is none like him. May he bear you to fortune.” Though Sigurd did not know it, the old man was Odin himself.
Regin and Andvari’s Hoard
While he was a boy, Sigurd had been raised by a cunning old man named Regin. One day Regin said to him, “It’s a pity you do not have more wealth. I know of a great hoard for the winning, and there is much honor and fame you would win, along with gold.”
Sigurd bade him explain himself, so Regin told him.
Regin was the third of three sons of a man named Hreidmar; the first son was named Fafnir and the second Otter. Regin was skilled in the working of iron and gold, while Otter was a great fisherman who had the form of an otter during the day. But Fafnir was grim and desired all things be his.
There was a dwarf named Andvari, who lived beneath a waterfall, disguised as a pike, and in this guise he ate as many fish as he pleased. He possessed a great hoard of gold that he kept secret. Otter, it happened, was accustomed to hunt fish around that waterfall as well and lay them on the bank. One day, he caught a great salmon and left it on the bank. He devoured it, but as he did so, Loki and Odin happened along. Loki, seeing an otter eating a salmon, cast a stone at the creature and killed it. The gods flayed the otter’s skin and bore it with them. That night they came to Hreidmar’s house and told him what they had done. “Alas!” he cried. “You have slain my son, whom I loved.”
He told them they must pay a ransom, and for that ransom they must fill the otter skin with gold and cover it in red gold and bring it to him.
Red Gold
Red gold is an alloy of pure gold. It is made up of 75 percent gold and 25 percent copper. It was very popular for a time in Russia, for which reason it is sometimes called Russian gold.
The gods knew they needed gold, and Odin knew of the hoard of Andvari. So he sent Loki to get the gold. Loki came to the waterfall and cast a net into the waters. The pike swam into the net, and Loki taunted the pike, saying,
What fish of all fishes
Swims strong in the flood
But hath learned little wit to beware?
Thine head must thou buy
From abiding in Hel
And find me the wan waters’ flame.
Andvari changed from his pike shape to that of a dwarf. Grumbling and cursing his ill luck, he led the Trickster to his hoard. Loki took the hoard down to the last ring. Enraged, the dwarf cried out that the gold from now until forever was cursed; ill fortune would come to all who owned it. They brought the gold in the otter skin back to Hreidmar as wergild for his slain son. Loki warned Hreidmar:
Gold enow, gold enow,
A great wergild, thou hast
That my head in good hap I may hold;
But thou and thy sons
Are naught fated to thrive,
The bane shall it be of you both.
Loki’s words were shortly fulfilled, for Fafnir, greed growing in his heart, slew his father and seized the gold. Lying with it, trusting no man, he became a dragon and now lies still guarding the hoard
that Loki stole from the dwarf.
Sigurd’s Sword
Sigurd listened intently to Regin’s words, and a flame awoke in his heart to go forth and slay the dragon, foul wyrm that it was, and restore to Regin what was rightfully his. But to undertake such a quest, he needed a sword. Regin attempted to forge one for him, but he failed in the attempt. Then Sigurd brought forth the shards of the sword of Sigmund, and these pieces Regin forged together. The sword was called Gram after the wishes of Sigmund.
Now Regin wished Sigurd to slay the wyrm Fafnir, but Sigurd first wished to avenge his father Sigmund. So he gathered an army and traveled to the land of the sons of King Hunding, against whom Sigmund had fallen in battle. There were mighty conflicts, but Sigurd had the mastery, for none could stand before Gram. One of the sons, Lyngi the king, led a great army as well, but Sigurd met him in battle and clave him right through, from the crown of his head through his body. So the Volsungs were avenged upon their enemies.
The Death of Fafnir
Now Sigurd was ready to pit himself against the dragon Fafnir. He and Regin rode to the place where the dragon guarded his hoard. Sigurd knew the blood of dragons was deadly, and he said to Regin, “This wyrm appears to be of great size. How shall I overcome him?”
“Dig a hole,” answered his mentor. “Climb into the hole and when he comes to water, stab at him from beneath.”
“But what about his blood?” protested Sigurd. “It may destroy me even as I am in the hole.”
“If you are afraid of everything,” sneered Regin, “perhaps you had better run home.”
Sigurd said nothing more until they reached the place. Then Regin turned and rode away, for he was very afraid.
An old man appeared to Sigurd, who told him of the advice of his tutor. “Nay, nay!” said the old man. “Dig many holes that will hold the blood of the wyrm and crawl into one of them. Let the wyrm’s blood flow into the other pits when you stab it in the heart. Thus will you slay the beast.”
Now Fafnir crawled down to his watering place. Sigurd, with Gram in his hand, thrust upward and caught the dragon under its left shoulder. The creature shrieked and thrashed at the stroke, and its blood spilled and ran into the pits Sigurd had dug.
Classic Illustration
The great nineteenth–early twentieth-century illustrator Arthur Rackham drew a picture of Sigurd’s fight with Fafnir. The illustration was part of the book Siegfried and the Twilight of the Gods (Siegfried is a German variant of Sigurd).
Fafnir knew he had his death wound, and he spoke then to Sigurd, asking him who he was and how he came there. Sigurd replied warily, and then Fafnir said to him, “Little good will that gold that you seek do you, for it brings a curse on all who possess it.”
“Nonetheless,” said Sigurd, “I ride now to your lair to take your hoard that you have so jealously guarded these years.”
“Ride, then,” said the dying dragon, “and you will find gold enough to last you all the rest of your days. Yet that gold shall be your bane and the bane of everyone who finds and takes it.” And with that, he shuddered in his death agonies and expired.
The Death of Regin
Now Regin came up to Sigurd and praised his deed. But Sigurd said contemptuously, “You observed my battle from the safety of a hedgerow. You took no part in it.”
“If the sword I forged for you was not good enough service,” retorted Regin, “I do not know what other help I might have rendered. But now the wyrm is dead, please, I beg you, cut out its heart and roast it so I may eat it.”
Sigurd cut out the dragon’s heart and began to cook it. The blood sizzled in the pan and some of it spat out on Sigurd’s fingers. He licked them, and at once he could understand the speech of the birds. And the woodpeckers chattered at him, “You are roasting that heart for another, Sigurd, but you should eat it yourself.” Another said, “Regin tried to entrap you. He contrived at your death, while using you to slay his brother.” And another said, “Wiser would it be to slay Regin, take the hoard, and ride over Hindfell where sleeps Brynhild.”
Hearing them, and realizing the truth of their words, Sigurd drew Gram and with a single stroke he swept off the head of Regin. Then he ate some of the dragon’s heart and leaping on his horse he rode along the wyrm’s trail until he reached its lair. There he found a vast pile of gold and jewels. He loaded it in two great boxes and set them on his horse. Then, heeding the advice of the birds, he rode toward Hindfell.
Chapter Twelve
Sigurd and Brynhild
The tale of Sigurd and his destruction of the dragon Fafnir would be impressive for any hero. But Sigurd also forms half of one of the great tragic love stories in northern mythology—the tale of Brynhild.
After defeating Fafnir and ransacking his golden hoard, and after slaying the treacherous Regin, Sigurd rode a long way south until he came to the lands of the Franks. There he came to the gates of a great castle, all hung about with shields and with a brave banner flying from the topmost turret.
Sigurd’s Discovery of Brynhild
Sigurd entered the castle and was challenged by no guard, for the place seemed deserted. Yet at last he came upon a knight, clad in full armor, lying upon a bier. The knight seemed to be sleeping, and no efforts of Sigurd could rouse him.
Then Sigurd took off the sleeping knight’s helm. And behold! It was no man but a woman of great beauty. Now Sigurd took his sword, Gram, with which he had slain Fafnir, and he cut through the armor as easily as if it had been cloth.
Then she awoke and asked him, “Are you then Sigurd Sigmundson, carrying Fafnir’s helm in his hand? And is that sword in your hand Fafnir’s bane?”
He replied, “Sigmund’s son has done the deed. Of the Volsung am I. But I have heard that you are daughter of a mighty king, and folk say you are lovely and full of lore.”
Then Brynhild told Sigurd how she came to be asleep there. She said, “Two kings fought, one of them named Helm Gunnar. To him had Odin promised victory. His foe was Agnar. I smote down Helm Gunnar, for I was a shieldmaiden. Then Odin was angered that I had made false his promise. He struck me with a sleeping thorn. Never again, he said, should I have the victory but instead should be given in marriage. Thereupon I swore that I would never wed until I met one who did not know fear.”
Brynhild and Eowyn
Tolkien drew on Brynhild in shaping the character of Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings. Like Brynhild, Éowyn wishes to be a shieldmaiden and not to be reduced to the lot of women in a male-dominated society. As Brynhild longs for Sigurd, so Éowyn wishes for the love of Aragorn. Toward the end of the novel, however, she recognizes that love is for Aragorn’s position rather than for himself, and she marries Faramir, warden of Ithilien. Again, there are significant parallels to the way in which the story of Sigurd and Brynhild develops.
Sigurd asked Brynhild to teach him her lore. She brought him a cup of ale and said, “I will teach you runes of war; cut them on the hilt of your sword. I will teach you runes of seafaring; cut them on the rudder of your ship. I will teach you word runes; weave them into cloth and cast it about you. And I will teach you ale runes; carve them into your drinking horn.”
Sigurd replied:
Ne’er shall I flee,
Though thou wottest [thinkest] me fey;
Never was I born for blenching,
Thy loved rede [advice] will I
Hold aright in my heart
Even as long as I may live.
Brynhild’s Advice
Brynhild began to teach Sigurd wisdom. “Be kind to friends and kin,” she said, “and do not reward their trespasses against you. Do not allow your mind to dwell overlong on foolish words spoken by men at gatherings of the folk. If you fare by places thronged with evil, take care, and let not fair women beguile you while you are feasting. Never swear a false oath, for harsh is the penalty for oath-breaking. Do not trust one whose father, son, or kin you have slain, for even among the young a wolf may take shape.”
Sigurd was amaze
d at her wisdom and said to her, “Never among the sons of men is there one as wise as you. I would have you for my beloved.”
Brynhild replied, “I would choose you as well, though I had all men’s sons to choose from.” And so they plighted their troth to one another.
Brynhild’s Prophecy
Sigurd rode to Hlymdale where dwelt the mighty chief Heimir, father of Brynhild and her sister Bekkhild. There Sigurd was welcomed and he stayed, hunting and feasting with those of the household. At length, Brynhild came there as well, and she sat with other maidens and told them of the deeds of Sigurd and the slaying of the wyrm Fafnir. And the women wove great tapestries depicting these brave deeds. Sigurd came upon her sitting in a bower and cast his arms around her. “Now it has come to pass,” he said, “even as you promised.” Then he drank from a horn she gave him and kissed her and said, “You are the fairest that was ever born.”
But Brynhild looked sorrowfully at him. “Wiser it would be,” she said, “not to cast love and troth into a woman’s power, for ever they shall break that which they have promised.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
She answered, “It is not allowed by the fates that we should be together. I am a shieldmaiden and must wear a helm and fight in battle. Nor is the prospect displeasing to me.”