The Edda, Volume 2: The Heroic Mythology of the North

In Short

This volume functions as a critical companion to the heroic cycle of the North, analyzing the poems that comprise the Elder Edda alongside their Continental Germanic counterparts. By comparing fragmented Anglo-Saxon references with later Icelandic sagas, the work explores how primitive, savage myths of sword-curses, dragon-slayers, and Valkyries were reshaped by the influences of Christianity and the romantic ideals of the Middle Ages. It remains a foundational text for understanding the interplay between historical legend and the enduring, often dark, narrative structures of Germanic mythology.

The Story

The narrative arc of these heroic cycles begins in a primitive world of blood-feuds and magic, where the lines between man, god, and monster are perpetually blurred. The cycle of Weland the Smith sets the tone: a captive master-craftsman, hamstrung and imprisoned on an island, exacts a gruesome vengeance on his captor, King Nithud, by slaying the king’s sons and fashioning their skulls into drinking cups before fleeing on self-made wings. This tale establishes the pattern of the "hero" as a figure of immense capability but profound suffering, defined by acts of violence that reflect a world without moral reprieve.

Moving to the central Volsung cycle, the story follows the lineage of the Volsungs and their struggle against the Nibelungs. Sigmund and his son Sinfjötli, "need-companions" of savage intensity, dominate the early phases, their lives bound to the caprice of the god Odin, who ultimately shatters the sword he once granted to Sigmund. The focus then shifts to Sigurd, the dragon-slayer, who awakens the Valkyrie Brynhild—a figure of unearthly wisdom—only to be ensnared in a web of sorcery, broken oaths, and treachery. Sigurd’s death, orchestrated by the brothers Gunnar and Högni, serves as the tragic pivot point, spiraling into a curse that destroys all who touch the hoard of gold.

The cycle continues with the figure of Gudrun, whose mourning and eventual vengeance against her husband Atli define the later, more romanticized layers of the tradition. As the poems progress, the figures lose the stark, mythological clarity of the earlier lays and become characters in a more complex, albeit decadent, drama. The Ermanric cycle, involving the tragic death of Svanhild, serves as a grim coda, tracing the final dissipation of the Volsung descent.

Parallel to these are the Helgi lays, which depict the warrior Helgi Hundingsbane and his Valkyrie lover Sigrun. Their story, marked by a rare and haunting tenderness, ends in death and spectral reunion; Helgi returns from the grave, drenched in the "deadly dew" of his passing, to sleep in his lover's arms. Finally, the cycle of the sword Tyrfing and the warrior-maid Hervör introduces a generation-spanning curse. Hervör, possessing the "fearless" spirit of her lineage, seeks out her father’s grave to reclaim the cursed blade, choosing the weapon's power over all other joys. Throughout these arcs, the story does not seek to provide a neat resolution; rather, it moves from the stark, ritualistic cruelty of the earliest poems to the more intricate, mournful stories of an age beginning to look back on its own fading heroic past.

How It Unfolds

The emergence of the hero The work begins by identifying the remnants of Germanic legend in early English literature, establishing the need to look to the Edda for the oldest complete versions of these stories. It contrasts the Northern mythological texts with these heroic poems, noting that the latter have broader analogues across Germanic cultures.

The forging of vengeance The account of Völund the Smith illustrates the primitive nature of early legend, where suffering begets horrific retribution. This section demonstrates the persistence of these motifs through carvings like the Franks Casket and later saga retellings.

The curse of the hoard The Volsung cycle dominates the middle chapters, centering on the dragon-slaying Sigurd and the fateful gold. The analysis moves through the "Reginsmal" and "Fafnismal," showing how the curse of the treasure links the hero’s betrayal of Brynhild to his eventual murder.

The shift toward romance As the poems evolve, the text highlights the infiltration of romantic sentiments that attempt to soften or justify the actions of characters like Gudrun. The analysis shows how the later lays lose the "savage character" of the original tradition in favor of pathos and elaborate, courtly detail.

The spectral conclusion The cycle finishes with the Helgi lays and the tale of Tyrfing, where the action moves beyond simple feuds into the realm of the supernatural. The final sections synthesize how these disparate stories were preserved in the Icelandic sagas, even as their original meanings became obscured by time.

The People

The characters in these cycles are rarely simple heroes; they are embodiments of specific, often conflicting, ancient instincts.

Völund (Weland) begins as a victim but transforms into an agent of cold, calculated terror. His primary desire is the reclamation of his dignity and tools, and he achieves this through the slaughter of his captor's children, leaving behind a legacy of mourning and broken hearts.

Sigurd is the quintessential dragon-slayer, yet he is repeatedly undermined by the gods and his own fate. He starts as a champion of vengeance, but his trajectory is one of tragic loss; he is led into a life of stolen joy and eventually falls to the treachery of those who covet his treasure.

Brynhild stands as the most compelling figure of independent spirit. As a Valkyrie, she embodies both the warrior and the wise counselor. She refuses to be a passive prize, and her reaction to Sigurd’s betrayal is not a request for mercy but a demand for absolute justice, marking her as a figure of tragic, unyielding dignity.

Gudrun serves as the foil to Brynhild. Initially an innocent instrument in the plots of others, she evolves into a figure of terrible, relentless vengeance. Her path reflects the changing morality of the later, more romanticized poems, where her grief and fury are elevated, though often at the cost of the earlier, more raw characterizations.

In Its Own Voice

The following lines capture the moment the smith Völund realizes his utter isolation and the loss of his life’s work:

"I see on Nithud's girdle the sword which I knew keenest and best, and which I forged with all my skill. The glittering blade is taken from me for ever; I shall not see it borne to Völund's smithy."

When the Valkyrie Brynhild awakens from her enchanted sleep, she greets the world with a prayer that reflects the stark, elevated nature of the heroic age:

"Hail, day! hail, sons of day! hail, night! Look on us two with gracious eyes, and give victory to us who sit here."

After Helgi returns as a specter, his interaction with his lover Sigrun reveals the cold, inescapable reality of their bond:

"There shall be no stranger thing at Sevafell, early or late, than that thou, king-born, Högni's fair daughter, shouldst be alive in the grave and sleep in a dead man's arms."

What It's Really About

The work is an inquiry into the nature of the "heroic age" and the processes by which myth decays into romance. It argues that the most ancient Germanic legends were rooted in a belief in the caprice of the gods and the inevitability of fate, rather than the moral order of later eras. The core question is one of authenticity: how much of the "true" heathen spirit survives in texts written by a later, Christianized, and romanticized society? It posits that the most primitive, savage elements—such as the curse of the gold or the blood-feud—are the most reliable remnants of a lost worldview, whereas the later additions that seek to create "sympathy" for the characters represent a softening of the heroic ideal.

Why Read It Today

This book is for the reader who values the "archaeology" of literature. If you are interested in how the stories behind the Nibelungenlied or Wagner’s Ring cycle originally appeared—stripped of their later operatic and courtly flourishes—you will find this analysis indispensable. It offers a bracingly honest look at the brutality inherent in the source material, refusing to romanticize the violence or the "decadent" sagas that followed.

The experience of reading it feels like sitting with an expert who is dusting off broken relics and explaining their original design. It is not a light, casual narrative; it is a dense, academic study that assumes the reader is comfortable with rigorous analysis, genealogical tangles, and the cold logic of ancient Germanic ethics. The prose is precise and unadorned, reflecting the author’s dedication to historical accuracy over storytelling. The text does not shy away from the contradictions of its period, such as the Victorian tendency to classify sagas as "decadent" if they lack the supposed purity of the earliest fragments. For those who want to understand the grim, uncompromising bedrock of Norse heroic myth, this book provides a vital, clear-eyed perspective that stays with you, stripping away the layers of modern interpretation to reveal the jagged, elemental power of the original poems.