Swanhild (mythology)

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Swanhild , also Svanhild Sigurdsdótter (Svanhildr Sigurðardóttir), is the daughter of Sigurd the dragon slayer (Sigurðr Fáfnisbani Sigmundarson) and the Gudrun (Guðrún Gjúkadóttir) according to Nordic legend . Svanhild means swan fighter . She is a valkyrie like her half-sister Aslaug (Kráka) and is mentioned in the Edda ( Hamðismál and Guðrúnarhvöt ), the Völsunga saga , the Norwegian Ragnarsdrápa , the Danish Gesta Danorum and in the Quedlinburg annals .

The story of Svanhild

When Svanhild's mother Gudrun marries the mythical king Jónakr after an unsuccessful suicide attempt, she is raised at his court together with her brothers Erp (Erpr), Hamde (Hamðir) and Sörle (Sǫrli). She is supposed to marry King Jormunrekr (ie Ermanarich , the Ostrogoth king ). Jormunrekr (Jörmunrek) sends his son Randwer to Jonakur and Gudrun in order to free Svanhild for him, the father. Randwer's companion, the malicious Bikki , persuades him to ask for the girl for himself instead of his father. Randwer agrees, but Bikki brings this message to the father, who as punishment hangs his son and lets Svanhild trample on his horses. But this is only possible when he covers their head with a sack so that the horses cannot recognize and shy away from the "snake in the eye" (intense look). It is the sign of the peoples. To avenge her daughter, Gudrun sends her sons Sörli and Hamdir as well as Erp to Jormunrekr, who cut off his hands and feet. While Erp is accidentally killed by his brothers, Jormunrekr's people stone Sörli and Hamdir.

The historical Svanhild Sunilda

A possible historical background to the Svanhild saga is reported by Jordanes in his unreliable work Getica . In it he writes that King Ermanarich (Jörmunrek), as was the tradition, ruled alone over all Goths - from the Black Sea to the Atlantic. Out of bitterness that one of his own vassal kings named Rosomonis had stabbed him in the back because he did not want to fight the Huns with him, he let his young wife Sunilda (Svanhild) be torn apart by four wild horses. In revenge, Ermanarich himself was killed with a spear by Sunilda's brothers Ammius and Sarus. According to the Quedlinburg annals from the 10th century, the brothers, called Hemidus and Serila as well as Adaccar, are said to have chopped off the king's hands, which agrees with Snorri's version. Only the name Adaccar (Odovakar) is wrong. King Ermanarich is often confused with Odovakar in medieval texts .

swell

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Peter Heather, The Goths, Blackwell, 2006. ISBN 0-631-20932-8 .
  2. ↑ The Edda. Legends of the gods, heroic legends and proverbs of the Germanic peoples. Based on the heroic writing of Brynjolfur Sveinsson as translated by Karl Simrock. Verlag Neues Leben Berlin 1987. ISBN 3-355-00330-1
  3. ↑ http://www.timelessmyths.com/norse/valkyries.html#Swanhild
  4. ↑ Norrön from: Jǫrmunrekkr .
  5. ↑ http://www.timelessmyths.com/norse/valkyries.html#Swanhild

literature

  • Snorres Edda , Karl G. Johansson and Mats Malm, Klassikerförlaget, 1999. ISBN 91-7102-449-2 .
  • Eddan. De nordiska guda- och hjältesångerna , by Erik Brate, Niloe 1986. ISBN 91-7102-066-7 .
  • Eddans hjältesånger , translated and commented by Åke Ohlmarks , Gebers, 1954.
  • Peter Heather, The Goths , Blackwell, 2006. ISBN 0-631-20932-8 .