Sigmund

Lore & Background

Signý sends her sons to Sigmund for testing, but each fails because they are afraid of pain, and Sigmund kills them for that failure. Finally, she disguises herself as a witch (or sorceress) and conceives a child with Sigmund, Sinfjötli, who passes the test. Sigmund and Sinfjötli become outlaws, find cursed wolf skins, and eventually avenge Völsung's death. After Signý dies, Sigmund marries Borghild and has sons including Helgi; Sinfjötli is poisoned by Borghild. Sigmund later marries Hjördís; in battle, Odin in disguise shatters Sigmund's sword, and Sigmund dies, telling Hjördís her unborn son will make a great weapon from the fragments—that son is Sigurð.

Reader's Guide

Sigmund's significance lies in his role as a central figure in the Völsunga saga, bridging the earlier generation of Völsung with the later hero Sigurð. His story includes themes of incest, revenge, and divine intervention, with Odin appearing both as a giver and taker of power. The parallel in Beowulf, where Sigemund slays a dragon, shows the fluidity of Germanic heroic tradition, with scholars debating whether the Beowulf poet made an error or drew on a separate tradition. Sigmund's pulling of the sword from the tree has parallels in Arthurian legend, and his incestuous relationship with his sister echoes the nephew-son motif seen with Mordred. In modern fiction, Richard Wagner's Die Walküre adapts the story of Siegmund and Sieglinde, with Wotan breaking Siegmund's sword and Siegfried later reforging it.

Did You Know?

• Sigmund was the only person able to pull the sword Gram from the tree Barnstokk, a gift from Odin disguised as a beggar.
• Sigmund fathered a son, Sinfjötli, through incest with his sister Signý.
• In Beowulf, Sigemund slays a dragon, a deed later attributed to his son Sigurð in Norse tradition.
• Sigmund's sword was shattered by Odin in battle, and its fragments were later reforged by his son Sigurð.