Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar
The Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar ("Song of Helgi Hjörvarðsson") is a hero song in Old Norse . It comes from the Lieder Edda ("Older Edda") and is contained in the Codex Regius manuscript . In its present form, the song was probably not written before the 12th century. There is a German translation by Felix Genzmer .
action
The song tells about the life of Helgi Hjörvarðsson.
prehistory
King Hjörvarðr, who later becomes Helgi's father, hears about the beauty of Sigrlinn, the daughter of King Sváfnir. He sends his follower Atli to woo King Sváfnir for Sigrlinn, but without success. He then traveled to Sváfnir himself with his entourage. From a distance he sees fires, war devastation and armies in Sváfnir's land. It turns out that King Hróðmarr invaded the country and killed King Sváfnir. Hjörvarðr finds Sigrlinn and marries her. She becomes his fourth wife.
Helgi meets Sváfa
Sigrlinn has a son, Helgi. He is healthy and strong, but doesn't say a word, and his parents don't give him a name. One day when he was sitting on a burial mound, nine Valkyries were riding through the air. The first of them calls him Helgi and says that it would be a long time before he would become rich and powerful if he thought to remain mute. Helgi accepts the name, but refuses a gift that goes with the naming if he cannot get the Valkyrie with whom he speaks. This Valkyrie is Sváfa , daughter of King Eylimi. She would later often accompany Helgi as a valkyrie and protect him in fights. She tells Helgi of 46 swords on Sigarsholmr, from which he should choose the best.
Helgi avenges Sváfnir
Helgi takes the sword that Sváfa had described for him. He sets out with his father's followers to kill Hróðmarr, who had killed his grandfather Sváfnir. In this and other fights Sváfa rides invisibly above him through the air and protects him.
Scold talk with Hrímgerðr
Helgi meets the giant Hati and kills him. During the night Atli, a follower of Helgi and his father, keeps watch when Hrímgerðr, a daughter of the giant Hati, approaches. Atli and Hrímgerðr have a scolding conversation with mutual insults and mockery. Helgi interferes in the scolding conversation. Hrímgerðr explains to him that she would avenge her father and attack the men if it weren't for the woman who rides invisibly over them. Helgi finds out that Sváfa and other Valkyries lead and protect him, but remain invisible to him. Helgi and Atli drag the conversation out until the sun rises and the giantess is transformed into a rock by the first rays of the sun.
Helgi and Sváfa get married
Helgi travels to King Eylimi, Sváfa's father, and asks for her hand. They swear allegiance to one another and live happily together. Later Helgi sets out on military campaigns, while Sváfa becomes a Valkyrie again.
Heðinn's oath and Helgi's death
Helgi's brother Heðinn lives at home with his father. Shortly before Yule , he meets a sorceress in the forest and gets into an argument with her. She gets angry and announces that he will soon regret it. During Yule, Heðinn publicly swears that he wants Sváfa to be his wife. Then he regrets the oath and sets out to see Helgi alone to tell him about the mishap. Helgi asks Heðinn to help him fight Alfr. Alfr is the son of Hróðmarr, whom Helgi killed to avenge his grandfather Sváfnir. In this fight Helgi is badly wounded and awaits his death. He asks Sváfa to marry Heðinn, but she refuses because she and Helgi have sworn allegiance to each other. Heðinn swears before Sváfa that he will not return home until he avenges Helgi.
Parallels to Helgakviða Hundingsbana
There are some parallels between Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar and Helgakviða Hundingsbana :
- The love between Helgi and Sváfa is very similar to the love between Helgi Hundingsbani and the Valkyrie Sigrún.
- The scolding conversation between Atli and Hrímgerðr also has a parallel in the scolding conversation between Sinfiötli and Guðmundr.
- In Helgakviða Hundingsbana , Helgis brother-in-law Dagr is the one who kills the hero. At Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar , it is Helgi's brother Heðinn who takes the fatal vow to want to own Helgi's wife. However, the plot takes a turn here. Heðinn repents of his oath and Helgi dies at the hand of an enemy. This phrase may have originated under the influence of the medieval ideal of knights.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Rudolf Simek , Hermann Pálsson : Lexicon of Old Norse Literature (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 490). Kröner, Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3-520-49001-3 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g Anders Bæksted, "Nordiska gudar och hjältar", Oslo / Gjøvik 1990, ISBN 91-37-09594-3