Helgi Haddingjaskati (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

: , meaning "Helgi the lord of the

Haddingjar The Haddingjar (Old Norse: ) refers on the one hand to Germanic heroic legends about two brothers by this name, and on the other hand to possibly related legends based on the Hasdingi, the royal dynasty of the Vandals. The accounts vary greatly. ...

") was a legendary Norse hero of whom only fragmentary accounts survive. It is said in the end section of ''

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 ''Helgakv ...

'', a poem of 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 ...

'', that the hero

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 mistres ...

and his lover

Sigrún Sigrún ( Old Norse "victory rune"Orchard (1997:194).) 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 s ...

were reincarnated as Helgi Haddingjaskati and 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) ...

Kára In Norse mythology, Kára is a valkyrie, attested in the prose epilogue of the ''Poetic Edda'' poem '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana II''. The epilogue details that "there was a belief in the pagan religion, which we now reckon an old wives' tale, tha ...

, Halfdan's daughter, who were the protagonists of the '' Káruljóð''. ''Káruljóð'' is lost, but a part of the adventures of Helgi and Kára are held to survive in the

legendary saga A legendary saga or ''fornaldarsaga'' (literally, "story/history of the ancient era") is a Norse saga that, unlike the Icelanders' sagas, takes place before the settlement of Iceland.The article ''Fornaldarsagor'' in ''Nationalencyklopedin'' (1991 ...

Hrómundar saga Gripssonar ''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 ...

''. Henry Adams Bellows' commentary in his translation of ''Helgakviða Hundingsbana II'' (1936)
at Sacred Texts
In this legend, Helgi Haddingjaskati is the champion of two Swedish kings named Haldingr. Helgi fights against the protagonist of the saga, who is named Hrómundr, but Helgi is aided in the battle by his lover Kára's magic. During the battle, she is in the shape of a swan, but by mistake Helgi hurts the swan with his sword and is no longer protected by her magic. He is then killed by Hrómundr. A last fragmentary reference to a ''skati Haddingja'', a "ruler of the Haddings", appears in ''

Kálfsvísa The ''Kálfsvísa'' ("Kálfr's '' vísa''", Kálfr being maybe the name of its author) is a poem partially preserved in Snorri Sturluson’s ''Skáldskaparmál''. Its three stanzas in ''fornyrðislag'' mostly consist of a þula of horses and thei ...

'', a part of

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...

's ''

Skáldskaparmál ''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'The Language of Poetry'; c. 50,000 words; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda''. The section consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bragi, the god of poetry, in ...

'':

Notes

{{Norse mythology Heroes in Norse myths and legends