Egil is a legendary hero of the ''

Völundarkviða ''Vǫlundarkviða'' (Old Norse: 'The lay of Völund'; modern Icelandic spelling: ''Völundarkviða'') is one of the mythological poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. The title is anglicized in various ways, including ''Völundarkvitha'', ''Völundarkvi ...

'' and the '' Thidreks saga''. The name is from

Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...

*Agilaz,https://web.archive.org/web/20110225031159/http://www.sofi.se/servlet/GetDoc?meta_id=1472 (archived link, 25 February 2011) and the same legend is reflected in

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

Ægil of the

Franks Casket The Franks Casket (or the Auzon Casket) is a small Anglo-Saxon whale's bone (not "whalebone" in the sense of baleen) chest from the early 8th century, now in the British Museum. The casket is densely decorated with knife-cut narrative scenes in ...

and

Alamanni The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...

c Aigil of the

Pforzen buckle The Pforzen buckle is a silver belt buckle found in Pforzen, Ostallgäu (Schwaben) in 1992. The Alemannic grave in which it was found (no. 239) dates to the end of the 6th century and was presumably that of a warrior, as it also contained a spea ...

. The Proto-Germanic form of the legend may only be guessed at, but it appears likely that Egil was a renowned archer who defended a keep together with his wife

Aliruna Alruna (Old Norse Ǫlrún, Old High German Ailrun, Modern German Alruna, Alraune) is a Germanic female personal name, from Proto Germanic ''*aliruna'' (or possibly ''*agilruna''), which is formed from '' runa'' "secret, rune" and a debated prefix t ...

, against numerous attackers. The testimony of the Pforzen buckle is uncertain beyond naming ''Aigil'' and ''Ailrun'', possibly adding that they fought a battle at the

Ilz The Ilz () is a river running through the Bavarian Forest, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Danube and in length ( including its main source river Große Ohe), during which it travels down a height difference of ~140m. The Ilz is formed a ...

river. The

shows the scene of Aegil and his wife enclosed in the keep, with Aegil shooting arrows against attacking troops.

''Völundarkviða''

In the ''

'', Egil is a son of a Finn king, his elder brother being

Slagfiðr In Norse mythology, Slagfiðr (Old Norse "beating- Finn")Orchard (1997:151). is one of a trio of brothers along with Völundr and Egil. In the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''Völundarkviða'', Slagfiðr is attested as the seven-year husband of the valk ...

, his younger one

Völund In Germanic mythology, Wayland the Smith ( ang, Wēland; , ; Old Frisian: Wela(n)du; german: Wieland der Schmied; goh, Wiolant; ''Galans'' (''Galant'') in Old French; gem-x-proto, Wēlandaz, italic=no from ', lit. "crafting one") is a master ...

. The three brothers marry

valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997:36) ...

s they encounter in

swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

form Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens. Form also refers to: *Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter data ...

, Slagfiðr marries

Hlaðguðr svanhvít In Norse mythology, Hlaðguðr svanhvít (Old Norse ''Hlaðguðr'' " swan-white"Simek (2007:151).) is a valkyrie. Hlaðguðr svanhvít is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''Völundarkviða'' as the sister of the valkyrie Hervör alvitr (both d ...

, and Völund marries

Hervör alvitr In Norse mythology, Hervör alvitr (Old Norse, ''alvitr'' possibly meaning "all-wise" or "strange creature"Orchard (1997:83).) is a valkyrie. Hervör alvitr is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''Völundarkviða'' as the sister of the valkyrie H ...

, daughters of king Hlödver, while Egil marries

Ölrún Alruna (Old Norse Ǫlrún, Old High German Ailrun, Modern German Alruna, Alraune) is a Germanic female personal name, from Proto Germanic ''*aliruna'' (or possibly ''*agilruna''), which is formed from '' runa'' "secret, rune" and a debated prefix t ...

, a daughter of the Roman Emperor ( Kiár of

Valland In Norse legend, Valland is the name of the part of Europe which is inhabited by Celtic and Romance peoples. The element ''Val-'' is derived from *''Walhaz'', a Proto-Germanic word whose descendants were used in various Germanic languages to refer ...

''Thidreks saga''

In the '' Thidreks saga'', Egil acts as a masterly archer, once he is forced by king Nidung to shoot an apple from the head of his son. He readies two arrows, but succeeds with the first one. Asked by the king what the second arrow was for, he said that had he killed his son with his first arrow, he would have shot the king with the second one. This tale is directly comparable to the legends of the Swiss hero

William Tell William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albr ...

and the Danish hero

Palnatoke Palnatoke or Palnatoki, sometimes written Palna-Toki or Palna Toki (Old Norse: or ), was a legendary Denmark, Danish hero and chieftain of the island of Fyn. According to the ''Jómsvíkinga saga'', Palnatoki founded the brotherhood of Jomsvikings ...

. As opposed to Tell's case, the king doesn't try to punish Egil for his openness, but, to the contrary, commends him for it (chapter 128). Völund is crippled by Nidung and held captive at his court. To help his brother, Egil shoots birds and collects their feathers, from which Völund makes a pair of wings. Völund ties a bladder filled with blood around his waist and flies away. Nidung commands Egil to shoot his fleeing brother, who hits the bladder, deceiving Nidung, and so Völund escapes (chapter 135).

References

* Alfred Becker: “Franks Casket. Zu den Bildern und Inschriften des Runenkästchens von Auzon (Regensburg, 1973), pp 154 - 186, "Zur Wielandsage" * Robert Nedoma, ''Noch einmal zur Runeninschrift auf der Gürtelschnalle von Pforzen'' in: Alemannien und der Norden, ed. Naumann (2004), 340-370.

External links

Austin Simmons, ''The Cipherment of the Franks Casket'' (PDF)
{{Authority control Germanic heroic legends Heroes in Norse myths and legends Marksmanship Germanic given names Swan maidens

''Völundarkviða''

''Thidreks saga''

See also

References

External links