Sigrún (
Old Norse "victory
rune
Runes are the letter (alphabet), letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, a ...
"
[Orchard (1997:194).]) is a
valkyrie in
Norse 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 ...
. Her story is related in ''
Helgakviða Hundingsbana I'' and ''
Helgakviða Hundingsbana II'', in the ''
Poetic Edda''. The original editor annotated that she was
Sváfa
In Norse mythology, Sváfa or Sváva is a valkyrie and the daughter of king Eylimi. Consequently, she was probably the maternal aunt of Sigurd, the dragon slayer, although this is not explicitly mentioned in ''Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar'' wher ...
reborn.
The hero
Helgi Hundingsbane first meets her when she leads a band of
nine Valkyries:
The two fall in love, and Sigrún tells Helgi that her father
Högni has promised 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 son of king
Granmarr. Helgi invades Granmar's kingdom and slays anyone opposing their relationship. Only Sigrún's brother Dagr is left alive on condition that he swears fealty to Helgi.
Dagr is however obliged by honour to avenge his brothers and after having summoned
Odin
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
, the god gives him a spear. In a place called
Fjoturlund, Dagr kills Helgi and goes back to his sister to tell her of his deed. Sigrún puts Dagr under a powerful curse after which he is obliged to live on carrion in the woods.
Helgi is put in a
barrow
Barrow may refer to:
Places
England
* Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria
** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area
** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency)
* Barrow, Cheshire
* Barrow, Gloucestershire
* Barro ...
, but returns from Valhalla one last time so that the two can spend a night together.
Sigrún dies early from sadness, but is reborn again as a Valkyrie. In the next life, she is
Kára and Helgi is
Helgi Haddingjaskati, whose story is related in ''
Hrómundar saga Gripssonar''.
Modern influence
Sigrún features in the 2018 video game
God of War, in which she is the Valkyrie Queen. She can be fought by the player after defeating eight other Valkyries. Her fight is considered to be one of the most difficult and demanding encounters in the franchise.
In 2022 she took a part in God of war Ragnarok. But this time she was an ally with Kratos, Freya, Mimir, Artreus and the shield maidens- her sisters. She and the other 8 Valkyries, her sisters are now free of the corruption spells of Odin thanks to the events which happened in God of war 2018.
Notes
References
* Orchard, Andy (1997). ''Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend''.
Cassell.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sigrun
Valkyries