7
votes
Who is the Greek king Brynhild fought?
What you are referencing is the oldest english translation of the Volsunga Saga, by Magnusson and Morris (1870), and it is very outdated. More modern versions (Finch 1965, Grimstad 2005) render ...
- 1,689
6
votes
Accepted
How large were Norse dragons?
Perhaps fifty foot long
I can actually only think of one other real dragon in "proper" mythology: Nidhögg, which is clearly a cosmological beast and should really not be used as a measure, and if we ...
- 6,006
5
votes
Why does Odin favour Sigi at the beginning of the Saga of the Völsungs?
One has to remember that the northern mythology is not based on morality (like Abrahamic religion) and interactions between gods and men (like those in Greek myths) are rare; Odins interest in the ...
- 6,006
4
votes
Accepted
Why did Odin forsake Sigmund?
I've always taken the answer to this to fall somewhere in between, on the one hand, the fact that Óðinn [Odin] is a trickster figure and, on the other hand, the apparent cultural expectation of the ...
- 9,772
4
votes
Why did Odin forsake Sigmund?
Chapter 3 of the Volsungs Saga:
The tale tells that great fires were made endlong the hall, and the great tree aforesaid stood midmost thereof, withal folk say that, whenas men sat by the fires in ...
- 427
3
votes
What is the significance of the very long time Völsung spent in the womb?
The long pregnancy is probably to underline how unnatural the whole thing was: Völsung's father Rerir made several failed attempt to impregnate his wife, but only succeeded after being given a magical ...
- 6,006
3
votes
Who is the boatman that took away Sinfjotli's corpse?
To answer your question we take a look at the context of the Ferryman outside of this specific instance. In Hárbarðsljóð: "Hárbarðr" is the name of the ferryman. Hárbarðr means "Grey beard," and is ...
- 427
3
votes
Why does Sigurd reveal himself to Fafnir?
My high-level response would be that one motivation is to display his courage in not fearing a potential curse by the Dragon.
It's an interesting point that he only reveals his identity after being ...
- 14.1k
2
votes
Why does Odin favour Sigi at the beginning of the Saga of the Völsungs?
I'm no expert in the Völsungs, but my overall sense from the body of the sagas is that killing is not necessarily a capital crime (blood money and the ostracism of outlaw status as opposed to ...
- 14.1k
2
votes
Accepted
Who is Völsung's mother?
No.
Outside of the brief description of her, she is never given a name.
- 427
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