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.
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.
Parentage
Mortal parent: Sigmund, king of the Volsungs
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.
Both 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.
Primary Sources
Historical texts and references
“Sigurd thrust his sword under the dragon's left shoulder, so that it sank in to the hilt.”
“Fafnismal tells how Sigurd, having tasted the dragon's heart-blood, understood the speech of the nuthatches warning him of Regin's treachery.”
