Volsung- Norse HeroHero"King of the Völsungs"
Also known as: Völsung and Völsungr
Description
Founder of the Völsung dynasty and grandson of Odin, who built his great hall around the oak Barnstokkr. He refused to flee from his treacherous son-in-law Siggeir's ambush, declaring he had never run from fire or iron, and died fighting.
Mythology & Lore
Lineage
Völsung is the grandson of Odin through the line of Sigi and Rerir, as told in the Völsunga saga. Sigi, a son of Odin, was outlawed for murder but rose to become a king. His son Rerir continued the line, though Rerir and his wife were long childless until Frigg and Odin sent them a wish-maiden bearing a magical apple. After six years of pregnancy, Völsung was cut from his mother's womb after she died in childbirth. He grew to surpass both his father and grandfather.
Barnstokkr and the Sword
Völsung built his great hall around the trunk of a massive oak called Barnstokkr. The tree grew through the center of the hall with its branches spreading above the roof.
At the wedding feast of Völsung's daughter Signý to King Siggeir of Gautland, a one-eyed stranger entered and thrust a sword into the oak, declaring that whoever drew it forth would have it as a gift. Every man at the feast tried. Only Sigmund, Völsung's son, pulled the blade free. Siggeir offered three times its weight in gold. Sigmund refused. Siggeir smiled and said nothing, and the enmity between them began.
Fire and Iron
Siggeir invited Völsung and his sons to Gautland. Signý sent warnings: her husband meant to kill them. Völsung would not turn back. He had sworn in his youth never to flee from fire or iron, and he would not start now in old age.
The ambush came. Völsung fell fighting, and his ten sons were taken alive and bound in the forest. Each night a great she-wolf came and devoured one of them. Only Sigmund survived, through Signý's cunning, and carried the Völsung line forward.