"Völsungakviða" or "Helgakviða Hundingsbana I" ("The First Lay of

Helgi Hundingsbane 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 mistre ...

") is an

Old Norse poem Old Norse poetry encompasses a range of verse forms written in Old Norse, during the period from the 8th century (see Eggjum stone) to as late as the far end of the 13th century. Most of the Old Norse poetry that survives was preserved in Iceland ...

found in the ''

Poetic Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the '' Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic me ...

''. It constitutes one of the Helgi lays, together with ''

Helgakviða Hundingsbana II "Völsungakviða in forna" or "Helgakviða Hundingsbana II" ("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 '' Helga ...

'' and '' Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar''. The locations in the poem have been fervently debated with a Danish school maintaining Danish origins and locations and a Swedish one pointing out that locations (e.g. Brávellir and Brandey) and characters ( Ylfings, Högni and

Granmar Granmar was a king of Södermanland, in Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla. The same king also appears in the Volsunga saga. Granmar was married to Hilda, the daughter of the Geatish king Högne of East Götaland, and his son-in-law was the seaki ...

r) place the events in

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English ...

and

Södermanland Södermanland ( or ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latin form ''Sudermannia'' or ''Sudermania'', is a historical province or ''landskap'' on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västman ...

. The poem is also ambiguous in attributing Helgi to the Ylfing,

Yngling The Ynglings were a dynasty of kings, first in Sweden and later in Norway, primarily attested through the poem ''Ynglingatal''. The dynasty also appears as Scylfings (Old Norse ''Skilfingar'') in ''Beowulf''. When ''Beowulf'' and ''Ynglingatal'' ...

and Völsung clans, which suggests a merging of originally unrelated traditions. In the Edda, the poem is a sequel to '' Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar'' whose heroes Helgi Hjörvarðsson and Sváfa are reborn as Helgi Hundingsbane and Sigrún. However, in

Codex Regius Codex Regius ( la, Cōdex Rēgius, "Royal Book" or "King's Book"; is, Konungsbók) or GKS 2365 4º is an Icelandic codex in which many Old Norse poems from the '' Poetic Edda'' are preserved. Thought to have been written during the 1270s, it ...

, it is actually followed by '' Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar''. The poem begins in a location called Brálund with the birth of Helgi Hundingbane, the son of Sigmund and

Borghild In Norse mythology, Borghild was the first wife of Sigmund. They had two sons, Hamund and Helgi. ''Völsunga saga'' Sinfjötli (Borghild's step-son) "saw a lovely woman and strongly desired to have her. The brother of Borghild, the wife of ...

Norns The Norns ( non, norn , plural: ) are deities in Norse mythology responsible for shaping the course of human destinies.'' Nordisk familjebok'' (1907) In the ''Völuspá'', the three primary Norns Urðr (Wyrd), Verðandi, and Skuld draw w ...

arrived at the dwelling to shape his future as a hero. When Helgi was but fifteen years old, he slew a man named Hunding. This caused Hunding's sons Eyjólfr, Álfr, Hjörvarðr and Hávarðr to approach Helgi asking for wergild and the return of the booty Helgi had taken from their father. When Helgi refused them this, Hunding's sons declared war and in the ensuing battle, Helgi killed all of Hunding's sons.In the ''

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 st ...

'', Hunding's sons kill Sigmund and his father-in-law Eylimi, whereupon

Sigurd Sigurd ( non, Sigurðr ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon and was later murdered. It is possible he was inspired by one or more figures from the Frankish Merovi ...

takes revenge. Helgi met the

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 ...

Sigrún who informed him that her father Högni has betrothed her to

Höðbroddr Hothbrodd was a legendary Norse hero, details of whose life appear in several related variations. In the legends of the Ylfing Helgi Hundingsbane, he was the son of king Granmar of Södermanland, and he was killed by Helgi. The ''Chronicon Leth ...

, the unworthy son of king

r of the Hniflung clan. Helgi promised to take on Höðbroddr and to claim her as his own. Helgi then assembled a mighty host and departed to wage war on Höðbrodd's family. When they had arrived at Granmar's kingdom, the poem deals with a

flyting Flyting or fliting is a contest consisting of the exchange of insults between two parties, often conducted in verse. Etymology The word ''flyting'' comes from the Old English verb meaning 'to quarrel', made into a noun with the suffix -''ing'' ...

between Helgi's half-brother Sinfjötli and Höðbrodd's brother Guðmundr. Then, the armies clashed at Frekastein and Helgi was victorious winning Sigrún as his bride.

Notes

External links

Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I
Translation and commentary by

Henry Adams Bellows Henry Bellows may refer to: *Henry Adams Bellows (justice) (1803–1873), American lawyer, politician, and Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court *Henry Adams Bellows (businessman) (1885–1939), American executive and translator *Henry W ...

The First Lay of Helgi Hundingcide
Translation by

Benjamin Thorpe Benjamin Thorpe (1782 – 19 July 1870) was an English scholar of Anglo-Saxon literature. Biography In the early 1820s he worked as a banker in the House of Rothschild, in Paris. There he met Thomas Hodgkin, who treated him for tuberculosis. ...

Helgakviða Hundingsbana hin fyrri

Sophus Bugge Elseus Sophus Bugge (5 January 1833 – 8 July 1907) was a Norwegian philologist and linguist. His scholarly work was directed to the study of runic inscriptions and Norse philology. Bugge is best known for his theories and his work on the runic ...

's edition of the manuscript text
Helgakviða Hundingsbana I
Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling {{DEFAULTSORT:Helgakvida Hundingsbana I Eddic poetry Sources of Norse mythology Nibelung tradition