All Articles

Enchanted Objects

Gungnir Owner: Odin The spear or lance of Odin. Gungnir ("swaying one") was made by the sons of Ivaldi (4 dwarfs).Draupner Owner: Odin Draupner or ...

March 28th, 2001

By Jimmy Joe

Facts and Figures

Facts & Figures provides additional information regarding particular myths or tales, sort of like an appendix at the back of a book. This informati...

September 27th, 2000

By Jimmy Joe

Kudrun

Kudrun or Gudrun Lied was arguably the second greatest German epic in the Middle Ages, after the Nibelungenlied. It was written in Middle High Germ...

June 13th, 2001

By Jimmy Joe

Hildebrandslied

Hildebrandslied was a fragmented, alliterative heroic poem, written in Old High German, probably in the early 9th century. The poem centred around ...

June 13th, 2001

By Jimmy Joe

Waltharius

Waltharius was a heroic poem written in Latin, around the 9th century. The poem was based on an ancient German legend set in the time of Attila (Et...

June 13th, 2001

By Jimmy Joe

Dietrich's Adventures

As I had mentioned in the previous article (Deitrich), there are a number of Middle High German poems, between the 13th and 15th century, about Die...

June 13th, 2001

By Jimmy Joe

Dietrich

Dietrich von Bern (Verona) was based on the historical figure of Theodoric the Great, an Ostrogoth king who ruled Italy after Odoacer, another Ostr...

June 13th, 2001

By Jimmy Joe

Dietrich Legend

The hero Dietrich was a popular hero in German legends and literature. The collection of tales about Dietrich was known as the Dietrichsage – "Saga...

June 13th, 2001

By Jimmy Joe

Gautreks Saga

The Viking romance called Gautrek's Saga is a rather strange tale; in it, this king was actually a minor character. The tale centred more around tw...

May 1st, 2004

By Jimmy Joe

House of Skiold

The House of Skiold (Skjold) is a legendary dynasty in Denmark. Skiold was the founder of the dynasty and the eponym for the Skioldungs (Skjoldungs...

August 27th, 1999

By Jimmy Joe

The Two Helgi

The name Helgi means "Sacred One", which is a name fitting in Norse mythology for a hero and a prince. However, there are many characters in Norse ...

April 4th, 2010

By Jimmy Joe

Helgi Hundingsbani (Helgi Sigmundarson)

This is the legend of Helgi Hundingsbani, which formed part of Volsunga Saga, the myth of the hero Sigurd and the Niflungs (German Nibelungs). Helg...

April 4th, 2010

By Jimmy Joe