Sigurd

In Nordic tradition, Sigurd or Sigvard, in German tradition, Siegfried, is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon — known in Nordic tradition as Fafnir (Old Norse: Fáfnir) — and who was later murdered. He has several epithets, such as "Fáfnir's bane" (Old Norse: Fáfnisbani) in the Icelandic sagas, "the horn-skinned" (der hürnîn) in medieval German texts, "Swift lad" (Snaresven, Snarensven, Snarensvend, Snaresvend) in Scandinavian medieval ballads, and especially in modern times "the Dragon Slayer" (German: der Drachentöter, Swedish: drakdödaren, drakdräparen). In both the Norse and continental Germanic traditions, Sigurd is portrayed as dying as the result of a quarrel between his wife (Gudrun/Kriemhild) and another woman, Brunhild, whom he had unknowingly tricked into marrying the Burgundian king Gunnar/Gunther. His slaying of a dragon and possession of the hoard of the Nibelungen is also common to both traditions. In other respects, however, the two traditions appear to diverge. The most important works to feature Sigurd are the Nibelungenlied, the Völsunga saga, and the Poetic Edda. He also appears in numerous other works from both Germany and Scandinavia, including a series of medieval and early modern Scandinavian ballads. Sigurd's story is first attested on a series of carvings, including runestones from Sweden and stone crosses from the British Isles, dating from the 11th century. It is possible that he was inspired by one or more figures from the Frankish Merovingian dynasty, with Sigebert I being the most popular contender. Older scholarship sometimes connected him with Arminius, victor of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. He may also have a purely mythological origin. Richard Wagner used the legends about Sigurd/Siegfried in his operas Siegfried and Götterdämmerung. Wagner relied heavily on the Norse tradition in creating his version of Siegfried. His depiction of the hero has influenced many subsequent...