Hagbard and Signe (Signy) (the
Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...
) or Habor and Sign(h)ild (the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
and later) were a pair of lovers in
Scandinavian mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...
and folklore whose legend was widely popular. The heroes' connections with other legendary characters place the events in the 5th century AD.
Hagbard
Hagbard ( non, Hagbarðr ), the brother of Haki and son of Hamund, was a famous Scandinavian sea-king in Norse mythology. He is mentioned in ''Skáldskaparmál'', ''Ynglinga saga'', ''Nafnaþulur'', ''Völsunga saga'' and ''Gesta Danorum''. The ...
and his brother
Haki
Haki, Hake (Old Norse: ) or Haco, the brother of Hagbard, was a famous Scandinavian sea-king, in Norse mythology. He is mentioned in the 12th century ''Gesta Danorum'', and in 13th-century sources including ''Ynglinga saga'', '' Nafnaþulur'', an ...
were famous
sea-kings (see
Haki
Haki, Hake (Old Norse: ) or Haco, the brother of Hagbard, was a famous Scandinavian sea-king, in Norse mythology. He is mentioned in the 12th century ''Gesta Danorum'', and in 13th-century sources including ''Ynglinga saga'', '' Nafnaþulur'', an ...
for his battles over the throne of Sweden). Like the name Hagbard (''Hagbarðr''), the legend is believed to have continental Germanic origins.
[Peterson, Lena. (2002). ''Nordiskt runnamnslexikon'', at ''Institutet för språk och folkminnen'', Sweden.](_blank)
Storyline
During the centuries of popularity the story changed. This is the most comprehensive version from ''
Gesta Danorum
''Gesta Danorum'' ("Deeds of the Danes") is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark an ...
'' (book 7).
Hagbard was the son of
Haamund while
Signy
Signy or Signe ( non, Signý, sometimes known as german: Sieglinde) is the name of two heroines in two connected legends from Norse mythology which were very popular in medieval Scandinavia. Both appear in the Völsunga saga, which was adapted i ...
was the daughter of
Sigar
The name Sigar can refer to four 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 t ...
. Once, when Hagbard and his brothers were pillaging, they started to fight with Signy's brothers. The battle was even and they finally decided to have peace. Hagbard followed Signy's brothers and managed to be alone with Signy in secret. She promised him her love, in spite of being more interested in
Haki
Haki, Hake (Old Norse: ) or Haco, the brother of Hagbard, was a famous Scandinavian sea-king, in Norse mythology. He is mentioned in the 12th century ''Gesta Danorum'', and in 13th-century sources including ''Ynglinga saga'', '' Nafnaþulur'', an ...
, the more famous brother.
When a German nobleman proposed to Signy, it became apparent that she was more interested in Hagbard. The German, then, started intriguing and created an animosity between the two groups of brothers. There was a battle and Hagbard's brothers were killed, after which honour obliged Hagbard to slay Signy's brothers and the German suitor.
In order to meet Signy, Hagbard dressed up as a woman and claimed to be his brother
Haki
Haki, Hake (Old Norse: ) or Haco, the brother of Hagbard, was a famous Scandinavian sea-king, in Norse mythology. He is mentioned in the 12th century ''Gesta Danorum'', and in 13th-century sources including ''Ynglinga saga'', '' Nafnaþulur'', an ...
's
shieldmaiden
A shield-maiden ( non, skjaldmær ) was a female warrior from Scandinavian folklore and Norse mythology, mythology.
Shield-maidens are often mentioned in sagas such as ''Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks'' and in ''Gesta Danorum''. They also appear in ...
. Haki had not been involved in the battles with Signy's brothers, and he was the one whom Signy really had wanted. Hagbard, however, trusted in Signy's promise to him.
Since he was dressed as a woman, Hagbard was offered to sleep among Signy's handmaidens. When the handmaidens washed his legs, they asked him why they were so furry and why his hands were so calloused. Because of this, he invented a clever verse to explain his strange appearance. Signy, however, understanding that it was Hagbard who had come to see her, explained to the maidens that his verse was truthful.
During the night, they exchanged promises of eternal love and faithfulness. These promises filled Hagbard with such pleasure that he did not fear meeting her father and brothers if he were discovered leaving her chamber.
Hagbard was deceived by the handmaidens and he was arrested by Sigar's men. He defended himself well and slew many of the men. He was, however, defeated and taken to the
thing
Thing or The Thing may refer to:
Philosophy
* An object
* Broadly, an entity
* Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant
* Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuses ...
, where the people had different opinions. Some claimed that he should be killed, whereas others claimed that it would be a shame to lose such a brave warrior. It was decided that the king's honour had to be protected and Hagbard killed.
The gallows were constructed, while the queen gave him a drink to quench his thirst. She mocked him, but Hagbard answered, "I will drink a last toast, and I take the horn of death with the same hand as with the one I sent your two sons to the goddess
Hel. I will not die without revenge". Then, he threw the horn onto her head so that the
mead
Mead () is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 20%. The defining character ...
ran over her face.
During this time, Signy was amongst her crying maidens, asking them if they were willing to follow her wherever she would go. Crying, she told them that she would die with the only man she had embraced in life. Then she asked them to set her chamber on fire as soon as the watchman signalled the execution. They all vowed to die with her.
Hagbard was brought to a hill, which is named after him, to be hanged. In order to test his fiancée's fidelity, he asked the hangmen to first hang his coat. He explained that it would please him to get an impression of how he would look when dead.
His last wish was granted, and the watchman, who thought it was Hagbard who was hanging, signalled so to the maidens who were gathered around Signy in the
hill fort
A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...
. The maidens set the house on fire and hanged themselves in the flames.
When Hagbard saw that the king's hill fort was aflame, he felt more joy about his loved one's faithfulness than sorrow about his own impending death. He exclaimed poetically his happiness, whereupon he was immediately hanged.
Folk songs
The song of Habor and Signhild (
TSB
Banking
A trustee savings bank is a type of financial institution.
* In the United Kingdom:
** Trustee Savings Bank, a bank in the United Kingdom that merged with Lloyds Bank in 1995 to form Lloyds TSB until 2013
** Lloyds TSB, the name used by ...
D 430) was very popular and it was sung all over Scandinavia for centuries. It has also been subjected to scholarly analysis in many ways. It has been claimed that it was sung as early as the 13th century, and in Sweden it exists in many versions ranging from handwritten ditties from the early 17th century to eighteen
chapbook
A chapbook is a small publication of up to about 40 pages, sometimes bound with a saddle stitch.
In early modern Europe a chapbook was a type of printed street literature. Produced cheaply, chapbooks were commonly small, paper-covered bookle ...
s from the period 1638–1839. In the 17th century, it seems to have been Sweden's most popular folk song. There were also many versions in
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
and
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
.
The folk song is still known among non-scholars.
Locations
The Danes claimed very early that the name "Sigari oppidum" (Sigar's hill fort) referred to the Swedish Sigerstad in
Halland
Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Brömsebro ...
between
Halmstad
Halmstad () is a port, university, industrial and recreational city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Socia ...
and
Falkenberg
Falkenberg is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 27,813 inhabitants in 2019 (out of a municipal total of about 45,000). It is located at the mouth of river Ätran (river), Ätra ...
, where there are many monuments about the legend, such as ''Hagbard's gallows'', ''Hagbard's stones'', ''Siger's hill'', ''Signy's chamber'', ''Signy's well'' and ''Hagbard's mound''. These monuments are all mentioned in Tuneld, ''Geografie Ofver Konungariket Swerige'' (1793).
A second Dane wrote in 1779 that the most likely location was in
Blekinge
Blekinge (, old da, Bleking) is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's second ...
, where there are a ''Hagbard's oak'' and a ''Signy's chamber''. There is also a location in
Nerike named Segersjö (Sigar's lake) which has two
cairn
A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ).
Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...
s called ''Hagbard's cairn'' and ''Signy's cairn''. There are also locations in Norway.
Laurentius Petri wrote in the ''Svenska Krönikan'' (Swedish chronicle) in 1559 that there were many traditions about Habardh and Signill. According to the songs, Hagbard was not Swedish, but the son of a Norwegian king, and Signy was a Swedish princess. The songs also related that Hagbard was hanged not far from
Sigtuna
Sigtuna () is a locality situated in Sigtuna Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 8,444 inhabitants in 2010. It is the namesake of the municipality even though the seat is in Märsta.
Sigtuna is for historical reasons often still referre ...
in
Uppland
Uppland () is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. On the small uninhab ...
, where there was a plain called ''Hagbard's plain'' in Håtuna Parish.
This placed the events in
Old Sigtuna
Signhildsberg (historically Fornsigtuna, where ''forn'' means ''ancient'', Old Sigtuna, ''Sithun'', ''Signesberg'') is a manor that formerly was a royal estate (Uppsala öd), located in the parish of Håtuna approximately west of the modern tow ...
, a version that
Johannes Messenius
Johannes Messenius (1579–1636) was a Swedish historian, dramatist and university professor. He was born in the village of Freberga, in Stenby parish in Östergötland, and died in Oulu, in modern-day Finland.
Childhood
He was the son of a mill ...
wanted to confirm in ''Sveopentaprotopolis'' (1611). He argued that the names in the area of Old Sigtuna contradicted the Danish claims of a Danish location. Later in ''Scondia illustrata'', he contradicted his claims and said that Signill was rather a Danish princess and Habor a Norwegian. However, in 1612, he reasserted that Signy was a Swedish princess, in
Old Sigtuna
Signhildsberg (historically Fornsigtuna, where ''forn'' means ''ancient'', Old Sigtuna, ''Sithun'', ''Signesberg'') is a manor that formerly was a royal estate (Uppsala öd), located in the parish of Håtuna approximately west of the modern tow ...
.
In 1678, Old Sigtuna was renamed ''Sighildsberg'' in honour of Signy. The interest continued unabated for centuries.
Notes
References
*
Landnámabók
(, "Book of Settlements"), often shortened to , is a medieval Icelandic written work which describes in considerable detail the settlement () of Iceland by the Norse in the 9th and 10th centuries CE.
is divided into five parts and over ...
*
Johannes Magnus
Johannes Magnus (a modified form of Ioannes Magnus, a Latin translation of his birth name Johan Månsson; 19 March 1488 – 22 March 1544) was the last functioning Catholic Archbishop in Sweden, and also a theologian, genealogist, and histori ...
*
Völsunga saga
The ''Völsunga saga'' (often referred to in English as the ''Volsunga Saga'' or ''Saga of the Völsungs'') is a legendary saga, a late 13th-century poetic rendition in Old Norse of the origin and decline of the Völsung clan (including the stor ...
A Swedish article
{{Völsung
Heroes in Norse myths and legends
Völsung cycle