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 ...

, 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'' where Sváfa's story appears.

Etymology

The etymology of the valkyrie's name has been theorized as meaning "sleep-maker" or as "

Suebi The Suebi (or Suebians, also spelled Suevi, Suavi) were a large group of Germanic peoples originally from the Elbe river region in what is now Germany and the Czech Republic. In the early Roman era they included many peoples with their own names ...

an",Peterson, Lena. (2002). ''Nordiskt runnamnslexikon'', at ''Institutet för språk och folkminnen'', Sweden.
and it may not be a coincidence that a king ''Sváfnir'' and the kingdom ''Sváfaland'' also appears in this poem (it is also mentioned in the '' Þiðrekssaga''), although they are never directly connected with her.

''Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar''

The Norwegian king Hjörvarðr and Sigrlinn of Sváfaland had a son who was a silent man and to whom no name could be given. When this silent man had grown up, he was one day sitting on a hill, and he saw nine Valkyries riding of whom Sváfa was the most beautiful one. Sváfa called him ''Helgi'' and asked him if he wanted a gift with his newly-given name (which was customary), but Helgi wanted nothing if he could not have Sváfa herself. She then informed him of the location of a great sword engraved with snakes and magic runes. Sváfa had given Helgi his name and during his battles, she was always there for him, shielding him from danger. After having won fame in battle, Helgi went to king Eylimi and asked the king for his daughter's hand. King Eylimi consented and so Helgi and Sváfa exchanged their vows. Although they were married, she remained with her father while Helgi was out doing battle. King Hróðmar's son Álfr wanted to avenge his father and had challenged Helgi to a holmgang at Sigarsvoll. During the holmgang with Álfr, Helgi received a mortal wound due to a troll woman's curse and Álfr won. Helgi then sent his companion Sigarr to king Eylimi in order to fetch Sváfa so that they could meet before he died. Before passing away, Helgi asked Sváfa to marry his brother Heðinn. The brother asked Sváfa to kiss him, because she would not see him again before Helgi had been avenged. Both Helgi and Sváfa would be reborn as Helgi Hundingsbane and Sigrún and so their adventures continued.

References

External links

''Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar''
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 ...

''Helgakviþa Hiörvarðs Sonar''
Translation by Benjamin Thorpe
''Helgakviða Hjorvarþssonar''
Translation by

Lee M. Hollander Lee Milton Hollander (November 8, 1880 – October 19, 1972) was an American philologist who specialized in Old Norse studies. Hollander was for many years head of the Department of Germanic Languages at the University of Texas at Austin. ...

''Helgakviða Hiörvarðssonar''
Sophus Bugge's edition of the manuscript text
''Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar'' (með Hrímgerðarmálum)
Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling {{DEFAULTSORT:Svafa Valkyries