A great family is descended from Sigurð Snake-Eye. His daughter was Ragnhild, the mother of Harald Fair-Hair, who was the first king to rule all of Norway.
As for Ívar, he ruled England until his death-day, and he died of sickness. And while he lay in his final sickness, he ordered his body to {129} be taken to the place where a raiding army would land, and he said he expected that they would not win the victory when they came ashore. When he died, it was done as he commanded, and he was buried in a mound there. Many people say that when King Harald Hard-Ruler came to England, he landed where Ívar was buried, and he was killed in that expedition. And when William the Conqueror came to England, he went to Ívar’s mound and broke it open, and there he saw Ívar’s body undecomposed. William had a bonfire built and then burned Ívar’s body on that pyre, and after that he fought for the rule of the kingdom and he won it.
Bjorn Ironside also has many descendants. A great family is descended from him, such as Thórð, a great chieftain who lived at the farm named Höfði á Höfðaströnd.
When all the Ragnarssons were dead, their former followers drifted away in various directions. For a man who had served under the Ragnarssons, no other leader seemed to be worth anything. There were two men in particular who traveled widely around many lands searching, each one of them on his own, for any man they would not be ashamed to be led by.
Chapter 19. Concerning King Ragnar’s Men
The news traveled through many lands that a king had two sons. This king became ill and he died, and his sons wanted to drink to their inheritance from him. They planned a feast in three years’ time, and invited everyone to come who heard about it in the next three years. Over these three years, they prepared the feast. And when the summer came when the feast was to be held, and the appointed time arrived, there was such a huge crowd that no one could guess how many guests there were, and many large halls were prepared and many tents besides.
When most of the first evening had passed, a man came to one of these halls. He was so big that no one else there was as large, and from the clothing he wore, anyone could tell that he had been in the company of noble men. When he came into the hall, he went before the brothers and greeted them and asked them where they would let {130} him sit. They liked the look of him, and asked him to sit at the highest bench. He took up as much space as two men. When he had sat down, drinks were brought to him as they were to the other men, but there was no drinking horn so large that he could not drink it dry in one gulp. Everyone thought this man seemed unimpressed by all the other men there.
But then it happened that a second man came to this feast. He was even larger than the first. Both these men wore long-brimmed hats. And when the second man came before the throne of the young kings, he greeted them elegantly and asked them where they would let him sit. They said that this man ought to sit closer to them, on the highest bench. He went to his seat, and together with the other stranger who had come in, he displaced five men. And this second stranger was even more of a drinking man than the first. He drank so fast that he simply seemed to pour each horn’s contents down his throat, though no one thought he seemed drunk. He was not friendly to the men sitting near him, and he showed his back to them.
The first man who had come in said that they should have some fun together, and he said, "I’ll go first." He gestured at the other man with his hand, and spoke this poem:
"Tell us about your heroism,
I ask you: where did you see
the blood-drunk raven
calling from a branch?
I think you’ve more often
accepted drinks at other feasts
than laid out bodies on the plain
and set a table for the ravens."
The other man felt offended by such slander and he composed this poem in reply:
"Shut up, you dumb stay-at-home,
they call you a lazy little man—
you’ve never done anything
that I couldn’t do better.
{131} I never saw you in battle,
—not even in sunshine!—
you’ve never killed for the wolves;
your only business is drinking."
The first man answered in this way:
"We let our ships sail
the waves of the great sea,
and we made bloody wounds
in men with shining armor.
The she-wolf howled,
and the eagle felt his hunger
satisfied on a man’s neck.
We took gold, and drew blood."
And now the second man spoke:
"I never saw any of you
when we sailed the open sea
for miles on a white-sailed
ocean-going ship, and when,
at the sound of the trumpets,
we launched, setting sail,
and before our blood-red prow
we gave rich gifts to the raven."
Then the first man said this:
"It’s not fitting for us two
to argue at this feast
about what each of us did
better than the other;
you stood where waves crashed
against the ship at sea,
and I sat where the sailyard
turned the red ship to harbor."
{132} Then the second man said:
"We both followed Bjorn—
and sometimes Ragnar—
into every battle;
men were tested hard.
I was there for the battle
that broke out in Bulgaria;
I was injured there, in my side.
Sit closer in, comrade."
Now the two men recognized each other again, and they remained at the feast.
Chapter 20. Concerning Ogmund the Dane
A man was named Ogmund, who was called Ogmund the Dane. He sailed once with five ships, and he anchored off the island Samsø in the harbor at Munarvág. It is told that his servants went ashore to prepare food, while some of his other men went to the woods to enjoy themselves. There they found an old wooden idol shaped like a man, forty feet high and grown over with moss, though they could see every side of it clearly. They talked about who could have sacrificed to this great god. Then the wooden man said:
"It was long ago,
Hø´kling’s sons
sailed their ships
far away from here.
They drove ships
over the ocean,
and I was the lord
of this village.
"The warriors,
sons of Loðbrók,
{133} set me up
south of the sea.
On the south end
of Samsø,
they sacrificed to me
for victory in war.
"They told me to stand
while the island lasts,
a man covered
in thorns and moss.
The rain wets me,
and I am covered
by neither flesh
nor clothing."
The men were amazed at this, and they told others about it later.
{134} Glossary of Names and Terms
A [V] in brackets is printed after names that appear in the Saga of the Volsungs, and an [R] after names that appear in the Saga of Ragnar Loðbrók. Names that appear in both are marked [V, R].
Note that the alphabetization of this glossary is based on American rather than Scandinavian conventions. Æ is treated as A+E, Ð is treated as D, Ø and (in Swedish and Modern Icelandic placenames) Ö are treated as O,
is printed as and treated as O, and Þ is printed as and alphabetized as TH. The length of vowels is printed but ignored in alphabetization. More details on the anglicization of Old Norse used in this volume can be found in the Introduction.
Where poems of the Poetic Edda are referenced, their titles are printed in Old Norse following this volume’s conventions, and then in parentheses in the more angliciz
ed form in which they appear in The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes (Hackett, 2015).
Æsir [V], the principal family of the Norse gods, including Óðin, Thór, Frigg, and Týr.
Agnar (1) [V], a king who fought Hjálm-Gunnar with Brynhild’s support.
Agnar (2) [R], a son of Ragnar Loðbrók and Thóra (2).
Aki [R], a peasant farmer, husband of Gríma, and foster-father of Áslaug/Kráka.
Álf (1) [V], a son of Hunding, killed by Helgi.
Álf (2) [V], a Danish king and the second husband of Hjordís, after the death of Sigmund (1). He rules alongside his father Hjálprek.
Alsvið [V], son of Heimir and Bekkhild, who acts as a friend and host to Sigurð when he visits Heimir.
Andvaranaut [V], a ring formerly belonging to the dwarf known as Andvari. It is cursed to become the death of anyone who possesses it.
Andvari [V], a dwarf who lives in the form of a fish. Loki takes his treasure and the ring Andvaranaut.
{135} Andvari’s Falls [V], the waterfall where Andvari dwells.
Ásgarð [V], the realm where the Norse gods dwell.
Áslaug [V, R], daughter of Brynhild and Sigurð. She is mentioned only once in the Saga of the Volsungs (in chapter 27, when Brynhild puts her in the care of Heimir), but she becomes a major character in the Saga of Ragnar Loðbrók. After she is taken to Norway by Heimir, she is raised there by Aki and Gríma, who rename her Kráka ("Crow"), and she does not reveal her true name until she has been married to Ragnar for many years, when she is pregnant with Sigurð Snake-Eye. She later changes her name once again, to Randalín, when she goes with her sons to avenge Eirek and Agnar (2) on Eystein.
Atli [V], king of Hunland, the son of Buðli and brother of Brynhild and Oddrún. He is the second husband of Guðrún, whose brothers Gunnar and Hogni he later kills. Although based distantly on the historical Attila the Hun, there is little connection between the saga character and the historical Hunnish leader.
Auði [V], mentioned by Brynhild as the brother of Agnar (1).
Barnstokk [V], a tree, called an oak tree in chapter 2 of the Saga of the Volsungs, and an apple tree in chapter 3. It grows in the middle of Volsung’s hall, where Óðin places the sword Gram in it during the wedding of Siggeir and Signý. The name of the tree can be interpreted as "family tree."
Bekkhild [V], a sister of Brynhild and Atli, mentioned only in passing as the wife of Heimir.
Bikki [V], a counselor in the service of Jormunrekk.
Bjorn Ironside [R], a son of Ragnar Loðbrók and Áslaug.
Borghild [V], first wife of Sigmund (1). Sigmund banishes her for killing Sinfjotli.
Brávellir [V, R], site of a legendary battle between Sigurð Ring and Harald Wartooth, and also mentioned as the site of a horse race by Sinfjotli.
Breði [V], a slave owned by Skaði.
Brynhild [V, R], a Valkyrie. She is the daughter of Buðli, the sister of Atli, Oddrún, and Bekkhild, and the foster-daughter of her sister Bekkhild’s husband Heimir. She becomes the mother of Áslaug (with Sigurð) and the wife of Gunnar.
{136} Busiltjorn [V], a river or pond that Sigurð and an old man (Óðin in disguise) drive horses into, in order to determine which horse should be Sigurð’s. The text states that it is a river, although tjorn means "pond."
Buðli [V, R], father of Atli, Oddrún, Bekkhild, and Brynhild (the latter is frequently called "the daughter of Buðli").
Denmark [V, R], roughly coterminous with the modern country, but in the medieval period it included much of what is now southern Sweden.
Dwarf [V], a mythical, humanlike creature (Old Norse dvergr). Dwarves are represented as master craftsmen, and many of them have shape-changing abilities (for instance, Andvari lives as a fish and Otter as an otter) and the power to enter solid stone in order to hide themselves. Hreiðmar and his children (including Fáfnir, Otter, and Regin) are not explicitly called dwarves in the Saga of the Volsungs, although the word is used for Regin in the Poetic Edda.
Eirek [R], a son of Ragnar Loðbrók and his first wife Thóra (2).
Eitil [V], son of Atli and Guðrún. Together with his brother Erp (1), he is killed by Guðrún.
Elf [V], a creature (Old Norse álfr) mentioned sometimes in Norse mythology in association with the gods, but never described. It is possible that elves were the same kind of creature as dwarves.
Ella [R], king of Northumbria in England (though represented as king of all England in the saga) and killer of Ragnar Loðbrók. The Ragnarssons avenge their father by having a man "cut an eagle deep in his back," a torture which, in elaborated form, has become somewhat famous under the name of the "blood eagle."
England [R], roughly coterminous with the modern country in Great Britain, though it was not one unified kingdom during the early Middle Ages.
Erp (1) [V], son of Atli and Guðrún. Together with his brother Eitil, he is killed by Guðrún.
Erp (2) [V], son of Jónakr and Guðrún, murdered by his brothers Hamðir and Sorli. According to the very old poem Hamðismál (Hamthismal) in the Poetic Edda, he is the son of Jónakr and a concubine, and in that earlier source his murder by his half-brothers seems to have something to do with his lower status and their distrust of him as an illegitimate son.
{137} Eyjólf [V], a son of Hunding, killed by Helgi.
Eylimi [V], a king, father of Hjordís and Grípir and thus Sigurð’s father-in-law.
Eymóð [V], mentioned as a companion of Gunnar when he goes to Guðrún after the murder of Sigurð.
Eystein [R], a legendary king of Sweden, father of Ingibjorg who is briefly Ragnar Loðbrók’s fiancée. He kills Agnar (2) and Eirek, and later does battle with the surviving sons of Ragnar.
Family spirits [V], used as a translation of Old Norse (spá)dísir, which refers to female spirits who may act as guardians of the living members of a family, or appear in dreams to warn them of coming troubles.
Fáfnir [V, R], the dragon slain by Sigurð. Fáfnir is the brother of Regin and Otter, and seems to become a dragon only after he kills their father Hreiðmar.
Fjornir [V], a servant of Gunnar.
Franks [V], an early medieval Germanic tribe.
Frekastein [V], location of the battle between Helgi and Hoðbrodd.
Frigg [V], a goddess, wife of Óðin.
Fyn [V], a major island in Denmark.
Gaulnir [V], a giant alluded to by Sinfjotli when he insults Granmar (2).
German [V], the language of Germany, as distinct from the larger subfamily of Germanic languages (which includes Old and Modern English, Gothic, Old Norse, and the modern Scandinavian languages). German is referred to by name in chapter 32 of the Saga of the Volsungs, when it is said that Sigurð’s name will be famous forever in the German language and in Scandinavia.
Giant [V], traditional English translation of Old Norse jotunn, a family of beings who are usually portrayed as enemies of the gods. In spite of the conventional translation as "giant," they are not necessarily huge, and the giants do not typically seem to look different from the gods and humans they interact with. Hrímnir, the father of Hljóð (and thus father-in-law of Volsung and grandfather of Sigmund), is said to be a giant in the Saga of the Volsungs.
Gjúki [V], father of Gunnar, Hogni (2), and Guttorm, and husband of Grímhild.
{138} Gjúkung [V], a term for descendants of Gjúki, especially his sons.
Glaumvor [V], second wife of Gunnar. She has prophetic dreams.
Gnitaheið [V], the place where the dragon Fáfnir dwells with his treasure.
Gnípafjorð [R], a fjord associated with the city Hvítabǿ.
Gnípalund [V], a harbor.
Götaland [V, R], a region of modern Sweden that was once politically distinct from Sweden proper; in Old English its people were called "Geats" (Beowulf, famously, was a Geat). In the Saga of the Volsungs, Siggeir is represented as its king. In the Saga of Ragnar Loðbrók, Herruð rules at least part of Götaland, and it is later claimed by Ragna
r. Götaland is the Swedish spelling that can be found on modern maps; the Old Norse spelling is Gautland.
Goth [V], a Germanic people of late antiquity and the early Middle Ages.
Goti [V], Gunnar’s stallion.
Gram [V], the name given to the broken sword of Sigmund (1) after Regin reforges it for Sigurð.
Grani [V], Sigurð’s stallion. This is not an unusual name for a horse; it means "whiskery." The father of Grani is Sleipnir, the stallion of the god Óðin, who is associated with the color gray. Sinfjotli also mentions a stallion named Grani when he is insulting Granmar (2), but there is no reason to think that this is the same Grani as Sigurð’s.
Granmar (1) [V], father of Hoðbrodd and Granmar (2).
Granmar (2) [V], brother of Hoðbrodd, who exchanges insults with Sinfjotli.
Gríma [R], a peasant farmer, and wife of Aki. After causing the death of Heimir, she becomes the foster-mother of Áslaug/Kráka.
Grímhild [V], a witch, and the wife of Gjúki and mother of Gunnar, Hogni (2), Guðrún, and Guttorm.
Grindr [V], a location mentioned in connection with Helgi’s forces.
Grípir [V], brother of Hjordís who is capable of seeing the future.
Gunnar [V], son of Gjúki and Grímhild, oldest brother of Guttorm, Guðrún, and Hogni (2). He marries Brynhild after Sigurð courts her in the disguise of Gunnar.
Guðrún [V], sister of Guttorm, Gunnar, and Hogni (2). With her first husband Sigurð, she is the mother of Sigmund (2) and Svanhild. {139} With her second husband Atli, she is the mother of Erp (1) and Eitil (2). With her third husband Jónakr, she is mother of Hamðir, Sorli, and Erp (2).
Guttorm [V], youngest brother of Guðrún, Gunnar, and Hogni (2), and killer of Sigurð.
Hagbarð (1) [V], a son of Hunding, killed by Helgi.
Hagbarð (2) [V], a son of Hámund.
Haki [V], a son of Hámund.
Hákon [V], father of Thóra (1).
Hálf [V], the Danish king whose hall Guðrún lives at after the murder of Sigurð. He may originally have been meant to be the same person as Álf (2).
Hamðir [V], son of Guðrún and Jónakr, brother of Sorli and Erp (2), and half-brother of Svanhild.
Hámund [V], second son of Sigmund (1) and Borghild. It is unclear whether he might be the same Hámund mentioned by Brynhild in passing in chapter 25.
The Saga of the Volsungs Page 18
