In the
Völsung cycle
Völsung ( , ) is a figure in Germanic mythology, where he is the eponymous ancestor of the Völsung family (, ), which includes the hero Sigurð. In Nordic mythology, he is the son of Rerir and was murdered by the Geatish king Siggeir. He was la ...
, Sigi is the ancestor of the
Völsung
Völsung ( , ) is a figure in Germanic mythology, where he is the eponymous ancestor of the Völsung family (, ), which includes the hero Sigurð. In Nordic mythology, he is the son of Rerir and was murdered by the Geatish king Siggeir. He was ...
lineage. 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 prose rendition in Old Norse of the origin and decline of the Völsung clan (including the story ...
'', he is said to be one of the
sons of Odin
Various gods and men appear as sons of Odin (, ) in Old Norse and Old English texts.
Thor, Baldr, Víðarr and Váli
Four gods, Thor, Baldr, Víðarr and Váli, are explicitly identified as sons of Odin in the Eddic poems, in the skaldic ...
. He is also listed among Odin's sons in the ''
Nafnaþulur
''Nafnaþulur'' (Old Norse: ) is a subsection of the ''Prose Edda'', the last part of the ''Skáldskaparmál''. It is a listing in verse of names that may be used in poetry for various items, such as gods
A deity or god is a supernatural bei ...
''. He has a son called
Rerir, whose son was
Völsung
Völsung ( , ) is a figure in Germanic mythology, where he is the eponymous ancestor of the Völsung family (, ), which includes the hero Sigurð. In Nordic mythology, he is the son of Rerir and was murdered by the Geatish king Siggeir. He was ...
, sire of
Signy
Signy or Signe (, sometimes known as ) 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 into other works such as Wagne ...
and
Sigmund
In Germanic mythology, Sigmund ( , ) is a hero whose story is told in the Völsunga saga. He and his sister, Signý, are the children of Völsung and his wife Hljod. Sigmund is best known as the father of Sigurð the dragon-slayer, though Sigu ...
, who, together with his sister begot
Sinfjötli
Sinfjötli ( ) or Fitela (in Old English) in Norse mythology was born out of the incestuous relationship between Sigmund and his sister Signy. He had the half-brothers Sigurd, Helgi Hundingsbane and Hamund.
Etymology and orthography
''Sinfj� ...
. Sigmund also fathered
Sigurd
Sigurd ( ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon — known in Nordic tradition as Fafnir () — and who was later murdered. In the Nordic countries, he is referred t ...
, possibly with
Hjordis
He was outlawed for murdering a slave who had outdone him in hunting. With the help of Odin, Sigi fled from the land and led successful raids, so much so that he became king of
Húnaland
Hunaland and its people are mentioned several times in the Poetic Edda, in the Fornaldarsagas, and in chivalric romances.
Its origins are partly the old Frankish kingdom (the Franks were once called ''Hugones'', in Latin, and ''Hūgas'' in Old ...
, a country name referring both to the territories of the
Franks
file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty
The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...
, also known as the ''Hugones'' or ''Hugas'', and the territories of the
Huns
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...
. In his old age, he was killed by his wife's brothers who seized his kingdom. His son Rerir avenged him.
Sigi (or Siggi) is also mentioned in the
prologue
A prologue or prolog (from Ancient Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier st ...
of the ''
Prose Edda
The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' () or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often considered to have been to some exten ...
'', where he is said to have ruled over
Frakland
Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty
The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which was the most northerly province of t ...
(land of the Franks): "Odin's third son is named Sigi, his son Rerir. These the forefathers ruled over what is now called Frankland; and thence is descended the house known as Völsungs."
[''Prose Edda Prologue'' (4)]
Brodeur's translation
Notes
References
*
Brodeur, Arthur Gilchrist (trans.). 1916.
Snorri Sturluson: The Prose Edda'. New York:
The American-Scandinavian Foundation
The American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) is an American non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting international understanding through educational and cultural exchange between the United States and Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Swe ...
.
* Byock, Jesse L. (trans.). c1990. ''The Saga of the Volsungs: the Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer''. Berkeley and Los Angeles, Calif. ; London: University of California Press. First published: 1990. .
Heroes in Norse myths and legends
Demigods
Sons of Odin
{{Norse-myth-stub