Family Card - Person Sheet
Family Card - Person Sheet
Misc. Notes
Sigurd “the Dragon Slayer” (Old Norse: Sigurdr, German: Siegfried) was a legendary hero of Norse mythology, as well as the central character in the Volsunga saga, Nibelungenlied and Richard Wagner's opera, Siegfried.
In the Volsung Saga, Sigurd is the posthumous son of Sigmund and his second wife, Hjordis. Sigmund dies in battle when he attacks Odin, and Odin shatters Sigmund's sword. Dying, Sigmund tells Hjordis of her pregnancy and bequeaths the fragments of his sword to his unborn son.
Sigurd agrees to kill Fafnir, who has become a dragon out of greed. Sigurd has Regin make him a sword, which he tests by striking the anvil. The sword shatters, so he has Regin make another. This also shatters. Finally, Sigurd has Regin make a sword out of the fragments that had been left to him by Sigmund. The resulting sword, Gram, cuts through the anvil. To kill Fafnir the dragon, Regin advises him to dig a pit, wait for Fafnir to walk over it, and then stab the dragon. An old man (Odin) advises Sigurd to dig several trenches also to drain the blood, and to bathe in it after killing the dragon; bathing in Fafnir's blood confers invulnerability. Sigurd does so and kills Fafnir; Sigurd then bathes in the dragon's blood, which touches all of his body except part of his shoulder where a leaf has stuck. Regin then asks Sigurd to give him Fafnir's heart. Sigurd tastes Fafnir's blood and gains the power to understand the language of birds. Birds advise him to kill Regin, since Regin is plotting Sigurd's death. Sigurd beheads Regin, roasts Fafnir's heart, and consumes part of it. This gives him the gift of "wisdom" (prophecy).
Sigurd met Brynhild, a "shieldmaiden," after killing Fafnir. She pledges herself to him but also prophecies his doom and marriage to another. (In Volsungsaga, it is not clear that Brynhild is a Valkyrie or in any way supernatural.)
Not only were the elements of this story used by J.R.R. Tolkien in The Hobbit (the story of the cursed golden ring and the dwarven gold), as well as in the story of Túrin Turambar from The Silmarillion (specifically in the death of Glaurung), but there are parallels in several European myths and legends:
• The sword Sigmund draws from Barnstock is similar to the sword drawn by King Arthur from the stone.
• The story of Sigurd eating the heart of the dragon is very similar to the story of Fionn mac Cumhail eating the salmon of knowledge.
• Sigurd's invulnerability and his weak point are similar to those of the Greek hero Achilles.
Additionally, the Norwegian royal family claimed derivation from Sigurd and the Volsungs. Furthermore, because dragons were seen as symbols of Satan in medieval typologies, the story of Sigurd slaying Fafnir was often depicted in Christian churches in Scandinavia.
For a modern retelling/distillation of the legend, see James Baldwin's Story of Siegfried.
In the Volsung Saga, Sigurd is the posthumous son of Sigmund and his second wife, Hjordis. Sigmund dies in battle when he attacks Odin, and Odin shatters Sigmund's sword. Dying, Sigmund tells Hjordis of her pregnancy and bequeaths the fragments of his sword to his unborn son.
Sigurd agrees to kill Fafnir, who has become a dragon out of greed. Sigurd has Regin make him a sword, which he tests by striking the anvil. The sword shatters, so he has Regin make another. This also shatters. Finally, Sigurd has Regin make a sword out of the fragments that had been left to him by Sigmund. The resulting sword, Gram, cuts through the anvil. To kill Fafnir the dragon, Regin advises him to dig a pit, wait for Fafnir to walk over it, and then stab the dragon. An old man (Odin) advises Sigurd to dig several trenches also to drain the blood, and to bathe in it after killing the dragon; bathing in Fafnir's blood confers invulnerability. Sigurd does so and kills Fafnir; Sigurd then bathes in the dragon's blood, which touches all of his body except part of his shoulder where a leaf has stuck. Regin then asks Sigurd to give him Fafnir's heart. Sigurd tastes Fafnir's blood and gains the power to understand the language of birds. Birds advise him to kill Regin, since Regin is plotting Sigurd's death. Sigurd beheads Regin, roasts Fafnir's heart, and consumes part of it. This gives him the gift of "wisdom" (prophecy).
Sigurd met Brynhild, a "shieldmaiden," after killing Fafnir. She pledges herself to him but also prophecies his doom and marriage to another. (In Volsungsaga, it is not clear that Brynhild is a Valkyrie or in any way supernatural.)
Not only were the elements of this story used by J.R.R. Tolkien in The Hobbit (the story of the cursed golden ring and the dwarven gold), as well as in the story of Túrin Turambar from The Silmarillion (specifically in the death of Glaurung), but there are parallels in several European myths and legends:
• The sword Sigmund draws from Barnstock is similar to the sword drawn by King Arthur from the stone.
• The story of Sigurd eating the heart of the dragon is very similar to the story of Fionn mac Cumhail eating the salmon of knowledge.
• Sigurd's invulnerability and his weak point are similar to those of the Greek hero Achilles.
Additionally, the Norwegian royal family claimed derivation from Sigurd and the Volsungs. Furthermore, because dragons were seen as symbols of Satan in medieval typologies, the story of Sigurd slaying Fafnir was often depicted in Christian churches in Scandinavia.
For a modern retelling/distillation of the legend, see James Baldwin's Story of Siegfried.