Norse PantheonHero
Sigurd
Also known as Siegfried
Dragon-slaying hero of the Volsung line, central figure of the Poetic Edda's heroic lays and the Volsunga Saga. Killed the dragon Fafnir and won a cursed hoard of gold.
About Sigurd
Reforging Gram
Sigurd was raised by the smith Regin after the death of his father Sigmund, last king of the Volsungs, a family that traced its line back to Odin. Regin reforged the shards of Sigurd's father's broken sword into a new blade, Gram, and urged Sigurd to kill his own brother Fafnir, who had turned himself into a dragon to guard a cursed hoard of gold that had once been the ransom for an accidental killing by the gods themselves.
The Dragon and the Curse
Following Regin's plan, Sigurd dug a pit in the dragon's path and stabbed Fafnir from below as he crawled over it. Tasting the dragon's blood by accident while roasting its heart, Sigurd gained the ability to understand the speech of birds, who warned him that Regin meant to kill him and keep the gold for himself; Sigurd killed Regin first. The gold itself carried a dwarf's curse that it would destroy whoever possessed it, a curse the rest of Sigurd's story plays out in full.
Brynhild and Betrayal
Sigurd rode through a wall of flame to wake and win the shieldmaiden Brynhild, but a magic potion made him forget her and marry Gudrun of the Gjukung family instead; he then helped Gudrun's brother Gunnar win Brynhild for himself by riding through the flames again in Gunnar's shape. When Brynhild discovered the deception, her fury set the tragedy's final betrayal in motion.
On parentage: The Volsung line traces its ancestry back to Odin, though this is treated as legendary descent rather than a literal divine parent.
Key deeds
- Had his father's broken sword Gram reforged by the smith Regin
- Killed the dragon Fafnir and gained the power to understand birds from its blood
- Killed Regin after birds warned him of the smith's betrayal
- Rode through a wall of flame to win the shieldmaiden Brynhild
Fate
Betrayed and killed by Gudrun's brothers, who feared his claim on Brynhild after the deception surrounding her marriage came to light; accounts differ on whether he was killed in the forest or in his bed.
Across traditions
Parallel figures
Heroes and gods who play a part like Sigurd's in other traditions.
Greek PantheonBellerophonIllustrationBoth slay a monstrous reptilian foe with a weapon and tactic devised by a helper, then meet a fate shaped by pride or betrayal rather than the monster itself.
Sources and further reading
Source notes
These references are recorded in the catalog. Their passage wording and translation have not been checked, so quotations are not displayed here.
- Volsunga Saga
- Poetic Edda, Fafnismal
Appears in
Ancient and classical works featuring this figure.
dragon-slayer, central to the heroic lays of the second half of the collection (Fafnismal, Sigrdrifumal, and the Sigurd lays)
his slaying of Fafnir is retold as the origin of a kenning for gold (Skaldskaparmal)
About this entry
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Hero legends were retold for centuries, and the sources often disagree on parentage, deeds and death. This entry follows the best-known versions and notes the main alternatives.
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