Sváfa

Last updated
Helgi, Svafa and Hedinn. An illustration from Fredrik Sander's 1893 Swedish edition of the Poetic Edda Ed0027.jpg
Helgi, Sváfa and Heðinn. An illustration from Fredrik Sander's 1893 Swedish edition of the Poetic Edda

In Norse mythology, Sváfa or Sváva is a valkyrie and the daughter of king Eylimi. Consequently, she was probably the maternal aunt of Sigurd, the dragon slayer, although this is not explicitly mentioned in Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar where Sváfa's story appears.

Norse mythology body of mythology of the North Germanic people stemming from Norse paganism and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia and into the Scandinavian folklore of the modern period

Norse mythology is the body of myths of the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Norse paganism and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Scandinavian folklore of the modern period. The northernmost extension of Germanic mythology, Norse mythology consists of tales of various deities, beings, and heroes derived from numerous sources from both before and after the pagan period, including medieval manuscripts, archaeological representations, and folk tradition.

In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who choose those who may die in battle and those who may live. Selecting among half of those who die in battle, the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin. There, the deceased warriors become einherjar. When the einherjar are not preparing for the events of Ragnarök, the valkyries bear them mead. Valkyries also appear as lovers of heroes and other mortals, where they are sometimes described as the daughters of royalty, sometimes accompanied by ravens and sometimes connected to swans or horses.

Sigurd fictional character in Germanic and Norse mythology

Sigurd or Siegfried is a legendary hero of Germanic mythology, who killed a dragon and was later murdered. It is possible he was inspired by one or more figures from the Frankish Merovingian dynasty, with Sigebert I being the most popular contender. Older scholarship sometimes connected him with Arminius, victor of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. He may also have a purely mythological origin. Sigurd's story is first attested on a series of carvings, including runestones from Sweden and stone crosses from the British Isles, dating from the eleventh century.

Contents

Etymology

The etymology of the valkyrie's name has been theorized as meaning "sleep-maker" [1] or as "Suebian", [2] and it may not be a coincidence that a king Sváfnir and the kingdom Sváfaland also appears in this poem (it is also mentioned in the Þiðrekssaga ), although they are never directly connected with her.

Suebi

The Suebi were a large group of Germanic tribes, which included the Marcomanni, Quadi, Hermunduri, Semnones, Lombards and others, sometimes including sub-groups simply referred to as Suebi.

Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar

The Norwegian king Hjörvarðr and Sigrlinn of Sváfaland had a son who was a silent man and to whom no name could be given. When this silent man had grown up, he was one day sitting on a hill, and he saw nine Valkyries riding of whom Sváfa was the most beautiful one.

Sváfa called him Helgi and asked him if he wanted a gift with his newly-given name (which was customary), but Helgi wanted nothing if he could not have Sváfa herself. She then informed him of the location of a great sword engraved with snakes and magic runes. Sváfa had given Helgi his name and during his battles, she was always there for him, shielding him from danger.

After having won fame in battle, Helgi went to king Eylimi and asked the king for his daughter's hand. King Eylimi consented and so Helgi and Sváfa exchanged their vows. Although, they were married, she remained with her father and Helgi was out doing battle.

King Hróðmar's son Álfr wanted to avenge his father and had challenged Helgi to a holmgang at Sigarsvoll. During the holmgang with Álfr, Helgi received a mortal wound due to a troll woman's curse and Álfr won. Helgi then sent his companion Sigarr to king Eylimi in order to fetch Sváfa so that they could meet before he died.

Holmgang

Holmgang is a duel practiced by early medieval Scandinavians. It was a recognized way to settle disputes.

Before passing away, Helgi asked Sváfa to marry his brother Heðinn. The brother asked Sváfa to kiss him, because she would not see him again before Helgi had been avenged. Both Helgi and Sváfa would be reborn as Helgi Hundingsbane and Sigrún and so their adventures continued.

Helgi Hundingsbane fictional character

Helgi Hundingsbane is a hero in Norse sagas. Helgi appears in Volsunga saga and in two lays in the Poetic Edda named Helgakviða Hundingsbana I and Helgakviða Hundingsbana II. The Poetic Edda relates that Helgi and his mistress Sigrún were Helgi Hjörvarðsson and Sváva of the Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar reborn. They were once again reborn as Helgi Haddingjaskati and Kára whose story survives as a part of the Hrómundar saga Gripssonar.

Sigrún

Sigrún is a valkyrie in Norse mythology. Her story is related in Helgakviða Hundingsbana I and Helgakviða Hundingsbana II, in the Poetic Edda. The original editor annotated that she was Sváfa reborn.

Related Research Articles

Rán Norse deity

In Norse mythology, Rán is a goddess and a personification of the sea. Rán and her husband Ægir, a jötunn who also personifies the sea, have nine daughters, who personify waves. The goddess is frequently associated with a net, which she uses to capture sea-goers. According to the prose introduction to a poem in the Poetic Edda and in Völsunga saga, Rán once loaned her net to the god Loki.

Valhalla in Norse mythology enormous hall located in Asgard

In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those who die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyja's field Fólkvangr. In Valhalla, the dead join the masses of those who have died in combat, known as Einherjar, and various legendary Germanic heroes and kings, as they prepare to aid Odin during the events of Ragnarök. Before the hall stands the golden tree Glasir, and the hall's ceiling is thatched with golden shields. Various creatures live around Valhalla, such as the stag Eikþyrnir and the goat Heiðrún, both described as standing atop Valhalla and consuming the foliage of the tree Læraðr.

In Norse mythology, Élivágar are rivers that existed in Ginnungagap at the beginning of the world. The Prose Edda relates:

Halga legendary Danish king

Halga, Helgi, Helghe or Helgo was a legendary Danish king living in the early 6th century. His name would in his own language (Proto-Norse) have been *Hailaga.

Starkad

Starkad was a legendary hero in Norse mythology.

Helge or Helgi is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch mostly male name.

Helgakviða Hundingsbana I

Völsungakviða, Helgakviða Hundingsbana I or the First Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane is an Old Norse poem found in the Poetic Edda. It constitutes one of the Helgi lays together with Helgakviða Hundingsbana II and Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar.

Helgakviða Hundingsbana II

Völsungakviða in forna, Helgakviða Hundingsbana II or the Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane is an Old Norse poem found in the Poetic Edda. It constitutes one of the Helgi lays together with Helgakviða Hundingsbana I and Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar.

The name Sigar can refer to three people in Scandinavian mythology, surrounding the legends of Sigurd the dragon slayer. One of them only appears as the friend of Helgi Hjörvarðsson in the eddic lay Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar. The other two appear as the villainous members of the same clan in several sources.

Sinfjötli character in Norse mythology

Sinfjötli or Fitela in Norse mythology was born out of the incestuous relationship between Sigmund and his sister Signy. He had the half-brothers Sigurd, Helgi Hundingsbane and Hamund.

Hjaðningavíg

Hjaðningavíg, the legend of Heðinn and Hǫgni or the Saga of Hild is a Scandinavian legend from Norse mythology about a never-ending battle which is documented in Sörla þáttr, Ragnarsdrápa, Gesta Danorum, Skíðaríma and in Skáldskaparmál. It is also held to appear on the image stone at Stora Hammar on Gotland. Moreover, it is alluded to in the Old English poems Deor and Widsið, and in the Old Norse Háttalykill inn forni, and a version of it survived down to the 18th century in the traditional Norn language ballad "Hildina". An altered version of the saga is found in the Middle High German poem Kudrun, as a prologue to the story of Kudrun herself. Yet another version is found in the Old Yiddish Dukus Horant.

Ásmundar saga kappabana is the saga of Asmund the Champion-Killer, a legendary saga from Iceland, first attested in the manuscript Stockholm, Royal Library, Holm. 7, 4to, from the first half of the fourteenth century. It is essentially an adaptation of the German Hildebrandslied, but it has assimilated matter from the Tyrfing Cycle.

Hrómundar saga Gripssonar or The Saga of Hromund Gripsson is a legendary saga from Iceland. The original version has been lost, but its content has been preserved in the rímur of Hrómundr Gripsson, known as Griplur, which were probably composed in the first half of the 14th century, but appeared in print in 1896 in Fernir forníslenzkar rímnaflokkar, edited by Finnur Jónsson. These rímur were the basis for the not very appreciated Hrómunds saga which is found in the 17th-century MS of the Arnamagnæan Manuscript Collection, AM 587b 4°, as well as thirty-eight known later manuscripts. The saga as we now have it contains a number of narrative discrepancies, which are probably the result of the scribe working from a partly illegible manuscript of the rímur.

<i>Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar</i>

Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar is a poem collected in the Poetic Edda, found in the Codex Regius manuscript where it follows Helgakviða Hundingsbana I and precedes Helgakviða Hundingsbana II. The portion of text which constitutes the poem is unnamed in the manuscript and may never have been intended to be viewed as a single poem, though scholars have assigned it a name for convenience. The text appears to be a patchwork of old poems, glued together with prose passages. The poem relates the story of Helgi Hjörvarðsson, loosely connected to the story of Helgi Hundingsbani.

In Norse mythology, Kára is a valkyrie, attested in the prose epilogue of the Poetic Edda poem Helgakviða Hundingsbana II.

Helgi Haddingjaskati, meaning "Helgi the lord of the Haddingjar," was a legendary Norse hero of whom only fragmentary accounts survive.

Surviving texts indicate that there was a belief in rebirth in Germanic paganism. Examples include figures from eddic poetry and sagas, potentially by way of a process of naming and/or through the family line. Scholars have discussed the implications of these attestations and proposed theories regarding belief in reincarnation among the Germanic peoples prior to Christianization and potentially to some extent in folk belief thereafter.

References

  1. Orchard, Andy (1997). Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. Cassell. p. 157. ISBN   0-304-34520-2.
  2. Peterson, Lena. (2002). Nordiskt runnamnslexikon, at Institutet för språk och folkminnen, Sweden.
Henry Adams Bellows (businessman) American businessman and historian

Henry Adams Bellows was a newspaper editor and radio executive who was an early member of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. He is also known for his translation of the Poetic Edda for The American-Scandinavian Foundation.

Benjamin Thorpe was an English scholar of Anglo-Saxon literature.

Lee Milton Hollander was an American scholar of Norse literature and mythology. He was a long-term faculty member and head of the Department of Germanic Studies at the University of Texas at Austin and published many translations of Old Norse texts.