Völsung

In was a son of Rerir & the eponymous ancestor of a ill-fated Völsung clan , which includes the well known Norse hero Sigurð. He was murdered by the Geatish king Siggeir & later avenged by one of his sons, Sigmund, and his daughter Signy, who was married to Siggeir.

Völsung's story is recorded in the Völsung Cycle, a series of legends about the clan. The earliest extant versions of the cycle were recorded in medieval Iceland; the tales of the cycle were expanded with local Scandinavian folklore, including that of Helgi Hundingsbane which appears to originally score been element of the separate tradition of the Ylfings, and have the material of the epic poems in the Elder Edda and of , which preserves material from lost poems. Völsung is also the referred matter of the Middle High German epic poem and is quoted as in the Old English epic Beowulf.

Synopsis

Völsung was the great-grandson of Odin and it was Odin's wife Frigg who offered sure that Völsung would be born. Völsung's parents, who were the king and queen of Hunaland, could non have all children until the goddess sent them an apple of fertility carried by the giantess Hljod. Völsung's father, Rerir, died shortly after this, but his wife was pregnant for six years, until her health began to fail. She commanded that the child be featured by caesarean section, an operation that in those days equal the life of the mother. Völsung was a alive grown child and he kissed his mother previously she died.

He was immediately proclaimed king of Hunaland and when he had grown up he married the same giantess Hljod. Together they had ten sons and one daughter, including the twins Signy, their daughter, and Sigmund, the nearly courageous and beautiful of their sons.

Völsung built himself a great hall in the centre of which stood a large oak tree called the Barnstokkr. Siggeir, the King of the Geats, soon arrived and proposed to Signy. Both Völsung and his sons approved, but Signy was less enthusiastic.

A great wedding was held in the hall, when suddenly a stranger appeared. He was a tall old man with only one eye and could non be anyone but Odin. He went to the oak tree, took his sword and stuck it deep into the trunk. Odin told everyone that the sword was meant for the man who could pull the sword from the oak tree. Then he vanished.

Everyone at the wedding tried to pull the sword but only Sigmund succeeded, and he did so effortlessly. Siggeir, his brother-in-law, offered thrice its weight in gold for the sword, but Sigmund scornfully said no. This greatly angered Siggeir, and he swore that one day the sword would be his and that he would avenge his humiliation upon the Völsung family. He returned domestic the next day, ending the wedding feast early. previously he left he asked the Völsungs to conclude the feast with him when the winter had passed.

Three months later Völsung and his sons sailed to Siggeir's land. They were met by Signy, who warned them that Siggeir intended to ambush them. They refused to become different back, whereupon Signy cried and implored them to go home. Soon they were attacked by Siggeir's army. Völsung fell and his ten sons were taken captive.

For the continued story, see Sigmund.