The Saga of the Volsungs

by Jackson Crawford

  Sigurð said, "It’s fitting that they keep it until I need it, because they can guard it better than I can."

  Then Regin came to talk to Sigurð a second time and said, "It’s strange that you just want to be some stableboy for these kings and go around like a vagabond."

  Sigurð said, "It isn’t that way at all. I make decisions together with them. And what I want isn’t kept from me."

  And Regin said, "Then ask King Álf to give you a horse."

  Sigurð said, "He will do it right away if I ask." So Sigurð went to see King Álf and King Hjálprek.

  One of them asked Sigurð, "What do you want?"

  {24} Sigurð said, "I’d like a horse to ride for fun."

  King Álf said, "Then choose a horse for yourself, and whatever else you want that is ours."

  The next day Sigurð went to the forest and met an old man with a long beard who was a stranger to him. The man asked Sigurð where he was going. Sigurð said, "I’m on my way to pick out a horse. Help me decide which one."

  The man said, "Let’s go and drive them into the river called Busiltjorn." So they drove the horses into the deepest part of that river, and all the horses swam out again except for one. Sigurð picked this one. He was a young gray stallion, big and handsome, and he had never been ridden before.

  The old man said, "This horse is descended from Sleipnir. He should be brought up well, because he will be a better horse than any other." Then the man disappeared. Sigurð named the horse Grani, and he was indeed the best of all horses. The old man he had met was Óðin.

  Soon Regin said to Sigurð, "You don’t have enough money. It troubles me that you run around like some peasant’s child, but I know of a way you could probably win some treasure, and it’s even more likely that you would be honored and spoken of well if you got it."

  Sigurð asked where this treasure was and who guarded it.

  Regin said, "His name is Fáfnir, and his home is not far from here at a place called Gnitaheið. And when you see it, you will be sure to say that you have never seen more gold in one place, and you would never need more even if you became the oldest and most famous of all kings."

  Sigurð said, "I have heard of this dragon, even though I’m young. And I have heard that no one dares come near him because of his huge size and evil nature."

  Regin said, "That is not true. His size is within the normal range for snakes, and only rumor has made him out to be larger. Your esteemed ancestors would have thought so. And though you may be of the Volsung bloodline, it doesn’t seem that you have their ferocity, since the Volsungs are considered the foremost of all in courage."

  Sigurð said, "It may be that I don’t have much of their boldness or quickness, but you don’t have to make fun of me, since I’m still practically a child. Why do you want this done so badly?"

  {25} Regin said, "There’s a story behind it, and I will tell it to you."

  Sigurð said, "Let me hear."

  Chapter 14. Concerning the Payment for Otter

  [compare Reginsmál (Reginsmal), st. 1–12, in the Poetic Edda]

  "The beginning of this story is that my father was named Hreiðmar, and he was an important and wealthy man. He had a son named Fáfnir, and a second one named Otter, and I was the third and the least of all three in terms of achievements and reputation. But I knew how to work with iron and silver and gold, and I made something new out of everything.

  "My brother Otter had different habits and traits. He was a great fisherman, much better than other men, and he spent his days in the form of an otter, always in the river catching fish in his mouth. He would take his catch to his father, which was a great help to him. He was much like an otter, coming home late and always eating alone and with his eyes closed because he could not stand to see his food becoming less.

  "And Fáfnir was by far the biggest of us and the cruelest, and he wanted to claim everything that there was for himself.

  "There was also a dwarf named Andvari," continued Regin, "he was always in the waterfall that is called Andvari’s Falls, in the form of a pikefish. He fed himself there, as there was an abundance of fish near the waterfall. My brother Otter often went to Andvari’s Falls and caught fish in his mouth and set each one afterwards on the land.

  "One day Óðin, Loki, and Hǿnir were traveling and they came to Andvari’s Falls. Otter had caught a salmon, and he was eating it on the riverbank with his eyes closed. Loki threw a stone and killed him. The Æsir felt very lucky about this and skinned the otter and made a bag out of the skin. That same evening they came as guests to Hreiðmar’s house and showed him what they had caught. We captured them and threatened their lives if they did not fill that bag with gold, and cover it on the outside with gold as well. Then the Æsir sent Loki to acquire the gold. He came to Rán and borrowed her net, and went back to {26} Andvari’s Falls and threw the net in front of the pikefish, and the fish jumped in. Then Loki said:

  "‘What kind of fish is this

  swimming in the water,

  that doesn’t know to avoid a net?

  You head will stay

  on your body, if you

  can get me some gold.’

  "‘I am named Andvari,

  son of Óin,

  I have been in many waterfalls.

  A cruel Norn

  shaped my fate at the beginning,

  cursed me to live in the water.’

  "Loki saw all the gold that Andvari owned. And after he had taken all of it, Andvari still had one single ring, and Loki took that from him as well. The dwarf then hid inside a stone and said that this ring and the gold would cause the death of everyone who owned it.

  "The Æsir gave Hreiðmar the gold. They filled the otter-skin with gold and set the skin on its feet, so that they could cover it with gold from the outside. And when this was done, Hreiðmar reached forward and saw one whisker that was still visible, and told the Æsir to cover it. Óðin took the ring Andvaranaut and covered the whisker with it. Then Loki said:

  "‘The gold is delivered.

  We’ve paid a huge price

  for my head.

  I do not foresee

  happiness for your son.

  This gold will be the death of you both.’

  "Then Fáfnir killed his own father," continued Regin, "in cold blood, and I got none of the treasure. He became so evil that he slept outside {27} and allowed no one to enjoy the treasure except himself. Soon he turned into the worst kind of serpent and rested there on the treasure. Then I went to the king and became his smith. And this is the end of my story, that I missed out on compensation both for my brother and my father. And ever since then, gold has been called ‘payment for the otter,’ and this is the reason."

  Sigurð said, "You have been through a terrible loss, and your kinsmen have been very evil. Now make a sword with your cunning skill, a sword with no equal, so that I can perform great deeds if my courage serves me, and if you want me to kill this great dragon."

  Regin said, "I will make it, and trust that you will kill Fáfnir with it."

  Chapter 15. Regin’s Sword-Craft

  Now Regin made a sword and gave it to Sigurð. Sigurð took the sword and said, "This is your sword-craft, Regin," and swung it at the anvil. The sword broke. He threw it away and told Regin to make a better one.

  Regin made a second sword and gave it to Sigurð. Sigurð looked at it, and Regin said, "This one will be to your liking, though you’re a hard man to work for." Then Sigurð tested this sword, and it broke like the first one.

  Sigurð said to Regin, "You’re going to be like your earlier kinsmen and prove untrue." Then he went to see his mother. She greeted him well, and they took to talking and drinking. Sigurð said, "Have I heard correctly that King Sigmund gave you the sword Gram in two pieces?"

  She said, "That is true."

  Sigurð said, "Give it to me. I want to have it."

  She said he was likely to win fame, and she gave him the sword.

  Now Sigurð went to
Regin and asked him to make as good a sword as he could make from these fragments. Regin became angry and went to his shop with the fragments and thought Sigurð was being very presumptuous about his work.

  Now Regin made another sword. And when he took it from the furnace, it seemed to his apprentice as though flames were flickering from its blade. Regin asked Sigurð to accept this sword, and he said that {28} he did not know how to make a sword at all, if this one failed. Sigurð swung it at the anvil and cut it in two down to the base, but the sword was neither broken nor chipped. Sigurð praised the sword and went to the river with a tuft of wool and threw it in against the stream, and the wool split in two when it touched the swordblade. Sigurð went home happy.

  Regin said, "You’ll keep your promise, now that I have made the sword, and you’ll fight Fáfnir."

  Sigurð said, "I will keep my promise, but first I will avenge my father."

  As Sigurð continued to grow up, he grew more beloved by everyone, and every child loved him completely.

  Chapter 16. Sigurð’s Meeting with Grípir

  [compare Grípisspá (Gripisspa) in the Poetic Edda]

  Grípir was the name of a man, Sigurð’s maternal uncle. Soon after the sword had been made, Sigurð went to meet with him, because Grípir could see the future and he knew men’s fates beforehand.

  Sigurð asked Grípir how his own life would go. Grípir hesitated a long time but finally answered Sigurð’s eager request to tell his whole fate, in exactly the way that it would later turn out. And when Grípir had said these things, as he was asked, Sigurð rode home.

  Soon after this he met Regin, who said, "Kill Fáfnir, as you swore to do."

  Sigurð said, "I will keep my promise, but first I will avenge my father King Sigmund, and my other kinsmen who fell in battle with him."

  Chapter 17. Sigurð Avenges His Father

  [compare Reginsmál (Reginsmal), st. 13–26, in the Poetic Edda]

  Now Sigurð went to the kings Álf and Hjálprek and said, "I have been here a while, and I owe you both love and great honor. But now I {29} wish to leave and find the sons of Hunding, and I want them to know that not all the Volsungs are dead. I would like to have your support in this."

  The kings said that they would give him everything he asked for.

  Now a great army was assembled and outfitted well with ships and armor so that Sigurð would travel even more honorably than before. Sigurð captained one longship which was the longest and best of all. The sails were beautifully fashioned and impressive to see. They set sail with a favorable wind, but when a few days had passed, a huge storm came upon them, and the sea was like blood to look upon. Sigurð did not order his men to reef the sails, even though they were ripping, but instead he ordered them set even higher.

  And when they sailed past a certain peninsula, a man called up to the ship and asked who was in charge of this fleet. He was told that Sigurð Sigmundsson was their chieftain, and that he was the foremost of all young men.

  The man said, "Everyone says the same thing about him, that there is no king’s son to equal him. I would like you to take in the sails on one of those ships and let me have a ride."

  They asked him what his name was, and the man replied:

  "They called me

  Battle-Stirrer,

  when young Volsung

  set a table for the ravens.

  You can call me

  ‘Man on the Rock,’

  or ‘Burden’ or ‘Spellcaster.’

  I want a ride."

  They went to land and the man came aboard, and the weather immediately improved. They sailed until they came to land in the realm of King Hunding’s sons. Then Spellcaster disappeared. They attacked the land with fire and iron, killing men and burning towns, and destroying every place they visited. Some men escaped into the protection of King Lyngvi and told him that a great army had come to the land and was destroying everything and showing more ferocity than had ever been {30} seen. They said that Hunding’s sons had not been far-sighted when they claimed that they had nothing to fear from the Volsungs, since it was Sigurð Sigmundsson who led this army.

  King Lyngvi sent a war summons all around his kingdom. He did not wish to flee, and he gathered every man to him who would give him his support, and together with his brothers he met Sigurð with a huge army. A supremely fierce battle erupted between them, and many spears and arrows could be seen in the sky. Axes were swung hard, shields were broken, chainmail was split open and helmets dented in, skulls were hacked apart, and not a few men fell dead to the earth.

  And when the battle had gone on in this way for a long time, Sigurð went to the vanguard of his troops past his own flagbearers, and the sword Gram was in his hand. He killed men and horses alike, forcing his way through the enemy troops. Both his arms were bloody up to the shoulders. Men ran away wherever he turned, and neither helmet nor chainmail withstood him, and no one thought he had ever seen such a man before. The battle lasted a long time with severe casualties and savage fighting.

  A rare thing happened there, that an aggressive army in its own homeland lost a battle. So many men fell in the army of Hunding’s sons that no one could count them. Sigurð was always in the front of the fighting.

  Now Hunding’s sons came at Sigurð himself. Sigurð swung at King Lyngvi and split helmet, head, and armored body in one blow. Then he struck at Hjorvarð, Lyngvi’s brother, and cut him in two pieces, and then he killed all the sons of Hunding who had previously survived, along with most of their army.

  Sigurð went home with a well-won victory and all the great treasure and praise he had won in this campaign. Great feasts were given in his honor in his homeland.

  And when Sigurð had been home a little while, Regin came to him and said, "Now you’ll want to bow Fáfnir’s head, as you swore to do, because now you have finished avenging your father and your other kinsmen."

  Sigurð said, "I will keep the promise I swore to you. It has not fallen out of my memory."

  {31} Chapter 18. Concerning the Slaying of Fáfnir

  [compare Fáfnismál (Fafnismal), st. 1–22, in the Poetic Edda]

  Now Sigurð and Regin went up on Gnitaheið, and there they found the path that Fáfnir followed when he slithered down to the water. It is said that the cliff Fáfnir sat on when he drank from the water below was thirty feet high. Sigurð said, "Regin, you told me that this dragon wasn’t any larger than an average snake, but the trail he’s left here tells me he is very large."

  Regin said, "So dig a pit and sit in it. And when the dragon comes slithering to the water, stab him in his heart and kill him that way. You’ll win great fame for it."

  Sigurð said, "What will happen to me if I get the dragon’s blood on me?"

  Regin said, "There’s just no getting you to do anything, since you’re afraid of everything. You are nothing like your departed kinsmen when it comes to courage." Then Regin fled in terror, and Sigurð rode up on Gnitaheið and dug a pit.

  And while he was at this work, an old man with a long beard came up to him and asked what he was doing there. Sigurð told him.

  The old man said, "This is unwise. Dig more pits, so that the blood will run off into them, while you sit in this one and stab the dragon’s heart." Then the man disappeared, and Sigurð dug more pits, as the man had advised.

  And when the dragon came slithering toward the water, there was an earthquake that shook all the earth in the vicinity. The dragon blew poison from his mouth in every direction in front of him, and Sigurð was afraid neither of the sight nor the sound. And when the dragon slithered over his pit, Sigurð stabbed him beneath his left armpit, so deep that the sword sank up to the hilt. Then Sigurð leapt up out of his pit and drew his sword back, and his arms were bloody up to the shoulders. And when the great dragon felt himself mortally wounded, he thrashed out with his head and tail and broke everything in reach.

  And as Fáfnir felt himself dying, he said, "Who are you? Who is your father? What family are you fro
m, that you were daring enough to bring weapons against me?"

  {32} Sigurð said, "No man knows my family. I am called ‘clever beast,’ and I have neither father nor mother. I am always alone."

  Fáfnir said, "If you had no father and no mother, in what strange way were you born? And though you don’t want to tell me your name on my death-day, you know that you’re lying right now."

  Sigurð said, "I am named Sigurð, and my father was Sigmund."

  Fáfnir said, "Who convinced you to kill me, and why did you let yourself get talked into it? Did you never hear how everyone is afraid of me and my terror-helmet? You fierce-eyed young man, I don’t doubt you had a warlike father."

  Sigurð said, "My courage made me do it, and my strong hand helped, and this sharp sword which you felt inside you got it done. Not many men are brave in adulthood, if they were cowards as boys."

  Fáfnir said, "I know, if you had grown up in your own family’s embrace, you might have killed me for courage’s sake. But it’s a wonder that a captive taken in war was brave enough to fight me, because it’s a rare prisoner who’s bold in battle."

  Sigurð said, "You mock me for being far away from my father’s kin. But even though I was taken in war, I am no prisoner, and you noticed that I live free."

  Fáfnir said, "You think that everything I say to you is mockery. But this gold I’ve claimed will bring about your death."

  Sigurð said, "Every man will have control of his wealth until his fated death-day, but there is a time for each one of us to die."

  Fáfnir said, "You don’t want to hear my advice, but you will drown if you sail recklessly. Wait on the land, until you see the ocean calm."

  Sigurð said, "Tell me, Fáfnir, if you are very wise: who are the Norns who choose which child gets which mother?"

  Fáfnir said, "There are various different kinds of Norns. Some are god-born, some are elves, some come from the dwarves."

  Sigurð said, "What is the name of the island where the gods and giants will fight their final battle?"

  Fáfnir said, "It is called Óskapt." And then Fáfnir continued, "My brother Regin caused my death, and I laugh knowing that he’ll cause yours, too. And that’s what he wants.