Fáfnismál
Fáfnismál ( Old Norse for "Fáfnir's speech (s)") is a heroic song of the song edda handed down in the Codex Regius . The Fáfnismál, together with the Reginsmál and the Sigrdrífomál, deals with the youthful deeds of the hero Sigurðr, in this case the killing of the dragon Fáfnir (compare also the hero Siegfried in the Nibelungen saga ).
construction
The 44 stanzas are composed in Ljóðaháttr and are interrupted by prose insertions. The first 22 stanzas of the poem contain a dialogue between Sigurðr and the dragon Fáfnir, who was mortally wounded by him. After his death in verse 23, the advice of the birds and the murder of Reginn follow.
The Fáfnismál is preceded by the Reginsmál; it joins the Sigrdrífomál.
content
Classification of the plot
Fáfnir, the son of the dwarf king Hreiðmarr, has two brothers named Reginn and Ótr. Accidentally, Ótr, who often appears in the form of an otter, is struck down with a stone by the Asen god Loki. When they want to spend the night with Hreiðmarr and his sons, they recognize the dead Ótr and demand compensation from the Aesi gods Óðinn, Hœnir and Loki. They pay Hreiðmarr the due were money from the cursed treasure of the dwarf Andvari, who warns them about the treasure. When Hreiðmarr, out of greed, refuses to pay his two sons their share of the treasure, Fáfnir stabs his sleeping father and retreats into a cave on the Gnitaheide (Gnitaheidr), where he gradually takes on the form of a dragon and guards the gold treasure (hoard) . The Oegishjalmr helmet gives it an even more terrible look.
Fáfnir's death
The Fáfnismál begins with Reginn persuading Sigurðr to slay Fáfnir. The young hero hides in a pit on Fáfnir's path and stabs the dragon in the heart with his sword as he crawls over him. The fatally wounded Fáfnir begins to speak to Sigurðr and asks him where he comes from. At first he withheld his name from the lindworm - because the general belief was that a fatally wounded person could curse his murderer with the name - but then still gives him his name and origin. The dragon tells Sigurðr that the gold will lead the hero to his death. Sigurðr asks questions about the Norns (goddesses of fate), the wisdom of the gods and the place where the last battle between the gods and Surtr will take place (Ragnarök). Before Fáfnir dies, he warns Sigurðr once again that his golden treasure (hoard) is cursed and that Reginn will betray him.
Reginn's death
Fáfnir dies and Reginn praises Sigurðr for killing the dragon at his behest. But he demands payment for the Garm sword, which he forged and with which Sigurðr killed the dragon. Sigurðr replies that courage is more important than a weapon and accuses Reginn of instigating him to kill Fáfnir. Reginn cuts the heart out of the dead Fáfnir and drinks his blood. Before going to sleep, he orders Sigurðr to roast his heart. To test whether the heart is cooked through, he touches the heart and burns his finger on the meat juice that is foaming out. He sticks his finger in his mouth and suddenly can understand the chirping of birds in the bushes. Indirectly, they incite Sigurðr to eat Fáfnir's heart himself and kill the traitorous Reginn. Sigurðr cuts off the sleeping Reginn's head, eats Fáfnir's heart and then drinks blood from both of them.
The prophecy of the birds
The birds prophesy that he will rescue the Valkyrie Sigrdrífa, daughter of King Gjúki, from the ban imposed by Óðinn and woo her. It is reported in the following Sigrdrífomál. In addition to two boxes of gold, Sigurðr also takes the Andvaranaut ring, the helmet of horror and the Hrotti sword with him.
Text excerpt: Sigurðr kills Fáfnir
| Old Norse | German |
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Sigurðr ok Reginn fóru upp á Gnitaheiði ok hittu þar slóð Fáfnis, þá er hann skreið til vatns. Þar gerði Sigurðr gröf mikla á veginum, ok gekk Sigurðr þar í. En er Fáfnir skreið af gullinu, blés hann eitri, ok hraut þat fyrir ofan Höfuð Sigurði. En er Fáfnir skreið yfir gröfina, þá lagði Sigurðr hann með sverði til hjarta. Fáfnir hristi sik ok barði Höfði ok sporði. Sigurðr hljóp ór gröfinni, ok sá þá hvárr annan. Fáfnir kvað:
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Sigurðr and Reginn went to the Gnitaheide and found Fáfnir's tracks there when he crawled to the lake. Then Sigurðr made a big pit on the way and Sigurðr went in there. But when Fáfnir crawled from the gold, he blew poison and it fell on Sigurðr's head. But when Fáfnir crawled across the pit, Sigurðr stabbed him in the heart with his sword. Fáfnir shuddered and thrashed his head and tail. Sigurðr jumped out of the pit and they saw each other. Fafnir said:
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Smaug
There are very striking similarities between JRR Tolkien's Smaug and Fáfnir . According to Ármann Jakobsson, Tolkien translated the epic poem into a modern interpretation of Fáfnir by Smaug. Fáfnir and Smaug are alike in that they speak in riddles, have wisdom, and guard a golden treasure (hoard). They are also drawn very humanly, unlike the dragons from the old English epic Beowulf, for example.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Fáfnismál . In: Gustav Neckel (Ed.): Edda. The songs of the Codex Regius and related monuments. 5th edition. tape 1 . Carl Winter University Press, Heidelberg 1983.
expenditure
- Text output
- Gustav Neckel (ed.): Edda. The songs of the Codex Regius and related monuments . Vol. 1. Text., 5th improved edition by Hans Kuhn. Germanic library. Row 4, Vol. 9. Texts. Carl Winter, Heidelberg 1983, ISBN 3-533-03080-6 .
- Klaus von See et al. (Ed.): Commentary on the songs of the Edda . Volume 5. Heroes' songs - Frá lasta Sinfiǫtla, Grípisspá, Reginsmál, Fáfnismál, Sigrdrífumál . Heidelberg 2006, ISBN 3-8253-5180-7
- Translations
- The Edda. Poetry of gods, proverbs and heroic songs of the Germanic peoples . Translated into German by Felix Genzmer . Diederichs, Düsseldorf 1981, ISBN 3-424-01380-3 , ISBN 3-7205-2759-X .
- The Heldenlieder der Älteren Edda , Arnulf Krause (Ed.) With commentary, Reclam, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 978-3-15-018142-3
literature
- Rudolf Simek , Hermann Pálsson : Lexicon of old Norse literature. The medieval literature of Norway and Iceland (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 490). 2nd, significantly increased and revised edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-520-49002-5 .
- Ulrike Sprenger : Fáfnismál. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 8, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1994, ISBN 3-11-013188-9 , pp. 135-139.