Sigmund- Norse HeroHero"Son of Völsung"

The Völsung Lineage

Sigmund was the son of King Völsung, who traced his blood to Odin through Sigi. Völsung built his great hall around the oak Barnstokkr, which stood at its center with branches spreading through the roof and leaves open to the sky. Sigmund was one of ten sons. His twin sister was Signý.

The Sword in Barnstokkr

During Signý's wedding feast to King Siggeir of Gautland, a one-eyed stranger entered the hall: an old man in a broad hat and dark cloak. He thrust a sword into the trunk of Barnstokkr up to the hilt and declared that whoever drew the blade would possess it. Every man at the feast tried and failed. Sigmund stepped forward and pulled it free as if it had been waiting for him.

Siggeir offered to buy the sword for three times its weight in gold. Sigmund refused. What Odin gives, no man may sell.

The Betrayal and the She-Wolf

Siggeir invited the Völsungs to his kingdom, feigning reconciliation. Signý warned her father, but Völsung refused to flee: he had sworn never to run from fire or iron, and would not begin now. The Völsungs sailed to Gautland. Siggeir ambushed them on the shore. Völsung was killed, and his ten sons were captured.

They were bound in stocks deep in the forest. Each night a monstrous she-wolf came and devoured one brother. In the Völsunga saga, she is Siggeir's mother in troll form. For nine nights, one son died. Signý could only send secret messages from her husband's court. On the last night, she had honey smeared on Sigmund's face. When the wolf came, it licked the honey and thrust its tongue into his mouth. Sigmund bit down and held, tearing the tongue out by the roots. The wolf died. Sigmund hid in a forest dugout alone.

Signý's Sacrifice

Sigmund lived as an outlaw, sustained by Signý. She tested her sons by Siggeir, sending them to Sigmund one by one. Each failed: they flinched when kneading dough in which a live serpent had been hidden. Sigmund judged them unworthy, and Signý had them killed.

She exchanged shapes with a sorceress and came to Sigmund's hiding place in disguise. Their son Sinfjotli carried Völsung blood on both sides. When Sinfjotli came to the forest, he kneaded the serpent-filled dough without a tremor.

The Werewolf Years

In the wilderness, father and son found enchanted wolf-skins hanging in a forest dwelling. They put them on and turned into wolves, unable to shed the pelts for days, running on four legs with a wolf's hunger. They agreed to howl for help if either faced more than seven opponents alone.

Sinfjotli broke this pact, killing eleven men without calling for aid. Sigmund attacked him in wolf-rage and bit his son's throat. He healed Sinfjotli with a leaf brought by a raven, after watching a weasel revive its mate with the same herb. They burned the wolf-skins and freed themselves from the curse.

The Burning of Siggeir's Hall

When Sinfjotli was ready, father and son crept into Siggeir's hall. Siggeir's young children spotted them behind the ale-vats, and Siggeir had them sealed alive in a burial mound, separated by a stone slab.

Signý smuggled Sigmund's sword into the mound, hidden in a bundle of straw. In the darkness, they sawed through the stone with the divine blade. They burst free and set Siggeir's hall ablaze.

Signý appeared in the doorway. She told Sigmund the truth of Sinfjotli's parentage. Then she walked back into the fire.

King and Father

Sigmund became king of Húnaland. He married Borghild and had sons, among them Helgi Hundingsbani, celebrated in two Eddic poems. When Sinfjotli killed Borghild's brother in a dispute, she poisoned Sinfjotli at a feast, offering him a horn three times until it killed him. Sigmund carried his son's body to the shore, where a one-eyed ferryman appeared in a small boat, took Sinfjotli aboard, and vanished into the mist.

Sigmund then married Hjördís, daughter of King Eylimi, winning her over the rival suitor Lyngvi, son of Hundingr.

The Shattering of the Sword

Lyngvi raised an army and attacked. Sigmund, old now, fought with his divine sword, cleaving through all opposition. In the thick of battle, a one-eyed man in a broad hat appeared on the field, holding a spear across Sigmund's path. Sigmund struck at the spear, and his sword shattered on Odin's Gungnir.

Hjördís found him dying on the field. He told her to gather the shards: their unborn son would reforge the blade. Sigmund died. The son was Sigurd.