Svanhild- Norse FigureMortal"Fairest of All Women"
Also known as: Svanhildr, Swanhild, Swanild, and Sunilda
Titles & Epithets
Description
Falsely accused of adultery by the counselor Bikki, Svanhild was condemned to be trampled by horses, but her radiant eyes, inherited from Sigurðr, held the beasts still until a bag covered her face. Her death drove Guðrún to one last doomed vengeance.
Mythology & Lore
Parentage and Beauty
Svanhild was the daughter of Sigurðr and Guðrún Gjúkadóttir, born after her father's death. She inherited Sigurðr's piercing, radiant eyes. Few could meet her gaze, and the Völsunga saga calls her the fairest of all women.
Bikki's Treachery
King Jörmunrekr sent his son Randvér, accompanied by the counselor Bikki, to ask for Svanhild's hand. She agreed and traveled to Jörmunrekr's court. During the journey, Bikki whispered to Randvér that he should take Svanhild for himself, since Jörmunrekr was old and Randvér young. Bikki then told Jörmunrekr that his son and intended bride had betrayed him. The king ordered Randvér hanged and Svanhild trampled to death beneath horses.
Death and Vengeance
When Svanhild was brought before the horses, she looked up at them with her father's eyes, and the horses refused to trample her. Bikki ordered a bag placed over her head. Only then did the horses crush her.
In Guðrúnarhvöt, her mother Guðrún incited her surviving sons Hamðir and Sörli to avenge their half-sister. The brothers set out for Jörmunrekr's hall, killing their half-brother Erp along the way over a misunderstanding. They reached Jörmunrekr and hacked off his hands and feet but could not deliver the killing blow: they had slain the third man they needed. Jörmunrekr called for his men to stone them, since bladed weapons could not harm them. The brothers died under the stones.
Relationships
- Slain by