Sigurd and the Guikings

Sigurd, like his father (Sigmund) and grandfather Volsung, grew at a rapid pace, both in size and in strength. His stepfather (Alf) gave permission to Sigurd to select any horse he wished from his stable. Sigurd met an old man with one eye (Odin in disguise again) who advised Sigurd to choose the young grey, telling the young hero that this horse was bred by Sleipnir (Odin's horse). Sigurd chose the grey as his horse and named it Grani (Greyfell).

• Ottergild (Otter's Ransom)

• Sigurd, Fafnir's Bane

• Sigurd & Brynhild

• Gudrun

• Fate of Svanhild

Ottergild (Otter's Ransom)

Sigurd had a tutor named Regin, who was his foster-father.

Regin was the son of Hreidmar and brother of Otter and Fafnir.

Regin, hoping to use Sigurd to gain the famous treasure from his brother, told the youth of his family history.

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Otter was able to shape-change into an otter. Loki, who was travelling with Odin and Hoenir, saw Otter by the river, killed him and skinned the otter. Loki wore the pelt over his shoulder.

When Odin, Loki and Hoenir came to Hreidmar's estate and imposed upon the owner for hospitality, Hreidmar discovered that Loki had killed his son. Hreidmar captured the three strangers and chained the three gods. Hreidmar will release the gods on the condition that one of them pay a ransom. Loki agreed to perform the task and was released.

Loki knew that the only ransom that would be able to release Odin and Hoenir was the treasure of Andvari.

Andvari was a dwarf who not only owned a treasure hoard, but also a magic gold ring called Andvaranaut. Andvaranaut could help him find or make more gold. Loki managed to steal the treasure but Andvari escaped with the ring by changing himself into a salmon. Loki managed to capture the dwarf and forced Andvari to give up the Andvaranaut.

As Loki left the dwarf, Andvari hurled a curse upon the Andvaranaut, causing tragedy to fall on any mortal who wore the ring.

Loki returned with the ransom, now known as the Ottergild (meaning Otter's Ransom, which was later called Rhinegold), and the other gods were released. Hreidmar forgot about his grief over his son at the sight of the treasure.

Hreidmar's two sons wanted a share in the treasure, but in his greed, Hreidmar refused to share with Fafnir and Regin. Fafnir, wanting the treasure for himself, murdered his own father and drove Regin away.

The greed of Fafnir transformed the son of Hreidmar into a great dragon. Fafnir lived with his treasure on what was called Gnitaheath or "Glittering Heath".

Sigurd, Fafnir's Bane

After Regin's story, Sigurd agreed to help his foster-father to gain the Ottergild.

To face the dragon, Sigurd needed a great sword. Twice, Regin made Sigurd a sword, and each time the sword broke on the anvil. Finally Hjordis gave her son the shard of Sigmund's broken sword. Regin forged a new with the shard. Sigurd called the sword Gram. With Gram, Sigurd cleaved the anvil in two.

Before Sigurd sought out Fafnir, he gathered an army to avenge his death of his father (Sigmund) and grandfather (Eylimi). Sigurd killed all the sons of Hunding, including Lyngi (Lyngvi) and Hjorward.

Sigurd and Regin then went to Gnitaheath or "Glittering Heath". Sigurd dug a pit to hide in and wait for Fafnir. When Fafnir went to drink from the stream, Sigurd attacked and killed the dragon.

Regin, wanting the treasure for himself, told Sigurd that he would not seek revenge for killing his brother if Sigurd would cut out Fafnir's heart and roast it for him. The dragon's heart would give any man who devours the heart with power over other men. Sigurd agreed.

As Sigurd cooked the heart over a fire, he tested the heart to see if it was cooked, but burned his fingers from the juice (heart-blood). Sigurd instinctively put his fingers in his mouth and immediately understood the language of the bird and some other animals.

The birds told Sigurd that Regin would betray him once he ate the heart, and take the whole treasure for himself.

The bird also told him about Brynhild, a Valkyrie who slept within a Ring of Fire at Hindfell.

Sigurd killed Regin by striking off his head. Sigurd ate Fafnir's heart himself. Among the treasure, he found the magic ring Andvaranaut, the sword Rotti (Hrotti), the Aegishjálmr (Helm of Awe, Aegishjalmr) and the Golden Byrnie (cuirass). Sigurd then left Glittering Heath and journeyed north to Hindfell.

Sigurd & Brynhild

Brynhild was the daughter of Budli. She was a Valkyrie punished by Odin for disobedience. Her punishment was that she was to wed a mortal. She would sleep, surrounded by a circle of fire, at the mountaintop, at the place known as Hindfell. She would sleep until a mortal warrior was brave enough to ride through the flame.

Sigurd sought out Brynhild and went to Hindfell. Sigurd rode Grani through the flame and wakened the beautiful battle-maiden. They fell in love with one another. Sigurd stayed with her until he decided it was time to leave.

It was obvious that they had made love in the mountain, since Brynhild then had a daughter named Aslaug.

Sigurd told Brynhild that he had duties to perform, but he would come back for her. Brynhild agreed and told the hero she would sleep in the Ring of Fire and wait for his return. Sigurd gave the magic ring (Andvaranaut) to Brynhild as a token of his love. But the token was cursed.

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As Sigurd journeyed north, he reached the kingdom south of the Rhine (Burgundy) ruled by Giuki. Giuki had married Grimhild, a wise-woman or witch, and had three sons - Gunnar, Hogni and Guttorm. They also had a beautiful daughter named Gudrun.

Gudrun had a dream of Sigurd, symbolised as a falcon and later a hart or stag, a hero she would marry and love, but who would be killed by her own family and Brynhild. Gudrun also dreamed of her second husband whom she loathed, Atli, brother of Brynhild. Atli was symbolised as a wolf, which would in the end kill her brothers.

When Sigurd arrived at the home of the Giukungs, Gudrun had fallen in love with the hero, but Sigurd was still in love with Brynhild. Gudrun's mother, Grimhild, had a magic potion to make Sigurd forget Brynhild. Because he had no memory of Brynhild, Sigurd fell in love with Gudrun and married her. They had a son named Sigmund, named after Sigurd's father. A couple years later they would have a daughter named Svanhild.

As a brother-in-law, Sigurd swore an oath to Gunnar and helped the Burgundian king win many wars.

Shortly after Sigurd and Gudrun's first child, Grimhild told Gunnar that he must marry a woman who was worthy to be his wife. Gunnar wanted Brynhild for his wife. Gunnar went to Hindfell with Sigurd to woo Brynhild. The problem with Gunnar was that the king was no great hero. Gunnar could not ride his horse through the flame.

Even when the king sat on Grani, Sigurd's horse refused to move at Gunnar's direction. The king asked Sigurd to help him win Brynhild for him. With the magic potion of Grimhild, Sigurd and Gunnar exchanged appearance with one another. Gunnar returned home.

Sigurd, disguised as Gunnar, again rode Grani through the flame and awakened Brynhild. Brynhild was disappointed that it was not Sigurd who woke him but she agreed to marry Gunnar. Brynhild left her daughter from Sigurd, named Aslaug, with Heimir, a chieftain and husband of her sister Bekkhild.

For three days they rode toward Gunnar's home. Each night as the disguised Sigurd slept with Brynhild, Sigurd placed the sword between them. Sigurd exchanged the ring from Gunnar with the magic ring (Andvaranaut), which the hero had given to Brynhild in their first meeting.

When they reached the palace, Sigurd resumed his own appearance. Gunnar happily married Brynhild. It was only after the wedding of Gunnar and Brynhild that the drug worn off, and Sigurd was able to recall that he had promised to marry Brynhild in the mountain, and realised that he had broken his vow with her. Yet Sigurd could do nothing.

Returning to his own wife, Sigurd told Gudrun everything that happened. Sigurd then gave the magic ring (Andvaranaut) to Gudrun. The ring would result in a tragic consequence several years later.

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One day when Sigurd and Gudrun came to visit, Gudrun and Brynhild had a quarrel of whose husband was better. Brynhild told Gudrun that Sigurd was nothing but a vassal. Gudrun foolishly revealed that it was Sigurd who rode through the flame twice, not her husband, and that Sigurd changed his form to resemble Brynhild's husband. Brynhild did not believe her until Gudrun showed her the Andvaranaut, which Brynhild had once received from Sigurd.

Brynhild, who had never stopped loving Sigurd, was enraged to learn that her husband and Sigurd had tricked her. No one could comfort Brynhild. When Sigurd visited her, he revealed that he had been deceived by the magic of Grimhild, causing him to forget her and marry Gudrun, yet it was too late for him to correct matters after Brynhild married Gunnar. Brynhild kept insisting that she wanted to kill Sigurd for his betrayal. Not even when Sigurd offered her his treasure could he reconcile with her. When Sigurd offered to leave Gudrun and make her as his wife, Brynhild flatly rejected the offer.

Brynhild sought vengeance upon Sigurd and the Giukings (Niflungs). That night, Brynhild falsely accused Sigurd that he had taken advantage of her when the two had travelled to Giukungs' home from the mountain. Therefore Sigurd had dishonoured his oath of brotherhood to Gunnar. She told Gunnar to kill his brother-in-law or else she would leave him.

Gunnar, who had always envied the hero's prowess, decided to plot Sigurd's death. But since Gunnar and Hogni were bound by oath to Sigurd, the king could not kill his brother-in-law. Gunnar called upon his younger brother to slay Sigurd.

After two unsuccessful attempts to kill Sigurd, Guttorm decided to wait for Sigurd to sleep. With his sword Guttorm mortally wounded Sigurd. Sigurd woke and speared his sword into Guttorm's back as the killer tried to flee. Gudrun woke to find her husband dying. Sigurd tried to comfort Gudrun, who was pregnant with their son, before he died.

When Gudrun wept for husband, Brynhild laughed and mocked at her sister-in-law's wretched state.

In the Poetic Edda poem called the First Lay of Gudrun, Gudrun sat beside Sigurd's body. Gudrun was so numb and overwhelmed by her grief that she could not weep that her friends thought she would die from sorrow. Each lady tried to convince her to weep by relating to their own experience, but Gudrun was unmoved. Finally one wise woman uncovered Sigurd's body and told her to kiss her husband as if he was alive. Gudrun finally broke down and wept.

At the funeral of Sigurd, however, Brynhild was suffering from her own grief over the hero. Then Brynhild told her husband the truth, that Sigurd had never broken his oath to Gunnar, nor had the hero ever taken advantage of her.

Brynhild foretold the tragedy that would befall upon the Guikings. Gunnar and Hogni would be captured and killed by her brother Atli. Brynhild also revealed Atli's own death by Gudrun, as well as the death of Gudrun's daughter and sons.

At the pyre, Brynhild ordered Sigmund's death, the son of Sigurd and Gudrun (this Sigmund should not be confused with Sigurd's father, who was already dead before Sigurd was born). Brynhild then killed herself, asking her husband that she would be laid in the pyre beside Sigurd, whom she never ceased to love.

Gudrun and the Fall of the Niflungs

Gunnar tried to console his sister for his part in Sigurd's death, as well as the death of her son Sigmund. Gudrun could not be comforted.

One day, finding that she could no longer live with her family, she took her daughter and fled to Denmark seeking refuge in King Alf's court. Alf was Sigurd's stepfather and when Sigurd's mother (Hjordis) had died, the king had remarried to Thora. Both Alf and Thora welcomed Gudrun. Here, Gudrun stayed for many years, finally finding comfort.

Gudrun would have happily stayed in Denmark, but Atli, king of the Huns, went to Gunnar's court to ask for her hand in marriage. Gunnar and his mother Grimhild agreed, mainly because they feared that Atli would invade their land for not preventing the death of Brynhild, who was Atli's sister.

They went to Denmark and tried to persuade her with a gift of gold at first. Gudrun refused to marry Atli and ignored the conciliating pleas from her mother and brothers. Gudrun also warned them that if she was to marry Atli, her new husband would one day destroy their family. They ignored her warning.

Again Gudrun's mother (Grimhild) used her potion, this time to make Gudrun forget about her grief for Sigurd. Without her memory of Sigurd, Gudrun agreed to marry Atli.

It was only after they were married that her memory also returned to her. Gudrun bore two sons to the king of Hunland.

Atli learned of the treasure of Sigurd that should have belonged to Gudrun at his death. Atli wanted to gain possession of Sigurd's cursed treasure from Gunnar. Atli invited Gunnar to come to a feast in Hunland.

Unlike the German tradition (ie. the Nibelungenlied), Gudrun was more loyal to her brothers than her second husband (Atli). Gudrun did not seek to avenge Sigurd upon her brothers.

Gudrun immediately discovered her husband's intention and tried to warn her brothers of the betrayal. When Atli sent a message to lure his brother-in-laws to Hunland, Gudrun carved runes to her message, and also wrapped wolf's hair from the cursed ring, Andvaranaut. But the message was distorted by Atli's messenger, Vingi, who could read runes. So Vingi changed the runes so that they urged Gunnar and Hogni to come to visit her.

Vingi came to Gunnar's court, inviting the brothers to visit their sister and her husband. They received gold from Atli, and Vingi told Gunnar that there would be more gold if he and Hogni would visit their sister. Gunnar and Hogni were suspicious of Atli's generosity. Both Gunnar and Hogni were puzzled about the wolf hair on Gudrun's ring (Andvaranaut), despite the altered message on the ring. The wolf hair signified danger, so they understood that Gudrun was advising her brothers not to visit Atli.

Gunnar's new wife, named Glaumvor, also warned the king not to go. Gunnar and Hogni, however, decided to go, but they sank Sigurd's treasures in the Rhine, before each of them swore an oath never to reveal the location of Sigurd's treasure, which now became known as Rhinegold. The Giukings with their followers then set out for Atli's court.

When they arrived, Atli immeditately demanded the treasure of Sigurd. Gunnar flatly refused, so Atli had the guests ambushed. Fierce battle broke out, and though the Burgundians proved to be great warriors, they were helplessly outnumbered.

Gudrun, saw her brothers' plight, so she went to them and greeted both her brothers with kisses before asking if it was possible them to have peace with her husband. They said peace was not possible, so she donned a mail coat and took up the sword, joining the Burgundians fighting as bravely as her brothers. However her aid wasn't enough to save her brothers. Eventually, all the Burgundian warriors were killed in the fighting except Gunnar and Atli, who bravely fought on until Atli's warriors managed to capture Gunnar and Hogni alive.

Neither brother would reveal the location of the treasure. When threatened with torture, Gunnar told Atli he would reveal the location on the condition that the king cut out his brother's heart. Gunnar told the king that he did not want his brother learning of his betrayal.

Atli had the heart of the thrall, named Hjalli, cut out and brought to Gunnar, pretending this was the heart of Hogni. Gunnar took one look at the heart and was not deceived by Atli's trickery. Gunnar told the king that this was the heart of the coward Hjalli, because it quaked tremendously. So Atli had Hogni murdered and cut out his heart. Gunnar then knew his brother was dead, because Hogni's heart didn't tremble in his hand, since Hogni had been brave.

Then Gunnar laughed at Atli, telling the treacherous king that he would never tell them the secret of the treasure's location. For while Hogni was alive, Gunnar wavered, but now that his brother was dead, he was the only person who could reveal its location. Gudrun came to her husband and cursed him for betraying her and her brothers.

Realising that Gunnar would not reveal the treasure whereabouts, the enraged king ordered Gunnar to be thrown into a pit full of adders.

Gudrun learning of his brother's fate, threw a harp to Gunnar. Since his hand were tied tightly to his body, Gunnar played the harp with his toes so well that all but one adder fell to sleep by his sweet music. But that one adder was enough to kill him. According to Snorri's Prose Edda, the adder had struck the bottom of Gunnar's breastbone, burying its head into Gunnar's liver.

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Atli boasted over the death of Gudrun's brothers, but tried to reconcile with his wife with a gift of gold. Gudrun was satisfied to live with Atli as his wife while Hogni lived. With Hogni's death, Gudrun sought to avenge her brothers.

Gudrun had a huge funeral feast prepared in honour of her brothers and those of Atli's kin who had died. While Atli and his guests became intoxicated with wine, Gudrun went into her sons' room. Gudrun, who could not rest after the death of her brothers, cut the throats of her two sons, Erp and Eitil; her sons that she had borne to Atli. Gudrun mixed their blood with the wine and roasted their hearts on the spits before serving them to the drunken king and his guests.

When Atli asked his wife where their sons were, (rather sweetly) Gudrun told him he had eaten their flesh. Gudrun then took up a sword and stabbed Atli to death. Gudrun bitterly told her dying husband that she still loved Sigurd, and though she could live with being a widow to Sigurd, she could not bear it while being married to him (Atli).

With the help of her nephew, Niflung, son of Hogni, they set the entire hall in flame, killing her husband's drunken guests.

Fate of Svanhild

With the death of her sons and husband whom she had murdered, Gudrun sought to end her life by throwing herself into the sea. She was however saved by King Jonakr, who made her his wife. Gudrun bore three sons: Hamdir, Sorli, and Erp. Gudrun had her daughter Svanhild brought there to live with their new family.

Years later, King Jormunrek wanted to marry Svanhild, daughter of Sigurd and Gudrun, and sent his son Randver to help him woo her.

Before Jormunrek was to marry Svanhild, Jormunrek's treacherous counsellor named Bikki told Randver that it would be better if he was to marry Svanhild, rather than his father. Randver told Svanhild that he was in love with her, which she seemed to readily return. Bikki then told the king of his son's betrayal and Svanhild's unfaithfulness. Jormunrek had his own son hanged. Before Randver's execution, he had plucked all the feathers of his father's favourite hawk so that his father could not produce a new heir for his kingdom. Jormunrek ordered wild horses to trample Svanhild to death, but the horses refused to harm the maiden because her eyes so captivated them. So Bikki covered Svanhild's head with a bag, and only then would the horses trample her to death.

Snorri's version in the Prose Edda was slightly different. Svanhild was bleaching her hair in the forest when Jormunrek and his men were hunting; they came upon her on their horses as she sat there and trampled her to death.

Gudrun, having heard of her daughter's execution, she asked her sons to avenge her daughter Svanhild's death. Erp made a comment that his brother misunderstood. They thought that Erp refused to help them with the vengeance, so they killed Erp. Accoridng to Snorri, Erp was Gudrun's favourite of the 3 sons, and Hamdir and Sorli killed their brother to cause their mother more pain.

Anyway, Hamdir and Sorli attacked Jormunrek, cutting off the king's hands and feet. Before they could behead the king, Jormunrek's men attacked the brothers, but they were driven back. The armour that Hamdir and Sorli wore made then invulnerable to swords, spears and arrows. Then Odin appeared suddenly and advised the king to have them stoned. Jormunrek's men then stoned Hamdir and Sorli to death. Here ended the last of the Giukings.