Helgi Hundingsbani (Helgi Sigmundarson)

This is the legend of Helgi Hundingsbani, which formed part of Volsunga Saga, the myth of the hero Sigurd and the Niflungs (German Nibelungs). Helgi was a half-brother of Sigurd; their father was Sigmund and their grandfather was Volsung. The chapter in Volsunga Saga paralleled some parts of the two poems in the Poetic Edda (Helgakvida Hundingsbana I & II).

Helgi should not be confused with another Helgi, son of Hiorvard (Hiorvardsson), who appeared in another Eddaic poem titled Helgakvida Hiorvardssonar. In the second poem of Helgakvida Hundingsbana, it says that Helgi was named after this Helgi Hiorvardsson at birth. This poem also indicated that Helgi was a reincarnation of Helgi Hiorvardsson.

Helgi's story begins after the death of Signy, sister of Sigmund, and mother of their son Sinfjotli; Sinfjotli was Helgi's half-brother. Sigmund, with Sinfjotli's aid, returned to his father's land, and with warriors and ships took back the kingdom by killing the king. Sigmund married Borghild. They had two sons, Helgi and Hamund. The Norns came at Helgi's birth and said this child's destiny would be to become the most famous of kings. Sigmund gave Hringstead, Solfell (on the island of Zealand, Denmark) to Helgi.

At the age of fifteen, Helgi fought his first war. Sigmund gave his son troops, and Sinfjotli was with Helgi in most of his wars. The first of his great wars was against a king named Hunding. What kingdom Hunding ruled, the Volsunga Saga did not say. What we do know is that in battle, Helgi killed Hunding.

However, Hunding had many sons; and this battle started more protracted conflicts between the Volsungs and the Hundings. Alf, Eyjolf, Hervard and Hagbard wanted to avenge their father's death, so they raised an army and engaged Helgi's troops in battle at Logafell. (Logafell is not mentioned in the Volsunga Saga.) Helgi's fame increased with this new battle with the Hundings. Helgi fought his way to the Hunding's standards and killed all four brothers.

It was after winning this battle that Helgi encountered women mounted on horses in the forest, waiting for him. One of the women, named Sigrun, invited Helgi to their home. Sigrun was a daughter of King Hogni (not to be confused with the Niflung Hogni), and her father wanted her to marry Hodbrodd, son of King Granmar; though later the saga referred to him as being Hodbrodd's brother. Sigrun told the young hero that she wanted to be his wife, not Hodbrodd's, so she advised Helgi to win her in battle, to which he readily agreed.

Helgi called upon warriors to join him at Raudabjorg: 18,000 warriors from Hedinsey and 12,000 from Norvasund, with ships. They sailed towards Hodbrodd's kingdom, in Svarinshaug, but met with storms and violent seas. Instead of reefing the sails, Helgi recklessly told the men to keep the sails unfurled. Sigrun, seeing the ships floundering, went to the coast and directed them to a safe harbour at Gnipalund. According to the Poetic Edda, Sigrun, with nine Valkyries, guided the ships away from the net of the sea goddess Ran.

As the ships were moored on the shore, Granmar asked for the reason of their trespass. Sinfjotli began a match in flyting with Granmar; they began insulting each other. It is at this point that the saga said that Granmar was Hodbrodd's brother, instead of his father. On the other hand, the Poetic Edda named this person Gudmund, who became embroiled in a flyting with Sinfjotli.

Granmar referred to Sinfjotli as being a wolf and that he had killed his brothers and sucked blood from corpses; which seemed to be true, because Sinfjotli and his father had previously roamed the forest, wearing pelts of wolves, and acted like wolves. And also because Sinfjotli did kill his half-brother (see Volsunga Saga, Sigmund Signy).

Sinfjotli called Granmar a woman, a witch, with whom Sinfjotli, as a wolf, sired nine wolf cubs by Granmar. Which Granmar retaliated that Sinfjotli could not possibly father anything, considering that Sinfjotli was gelded. Sinfjotli immediately responded with Granmar being a mare. In the end, Helgi intervened, saying that it was better to fight in combat instead of quarrelling so shamefully with words.

Notice that in the Eddaic poems (Helgakvida Hundingsbana I and II), the dialogues between Sinfjotli and Granmar were longer and more colourful than those found in the Volsunga Saga.

Granmar returned to Hodbrodd with news of an enemy army commanded by Helgi. Hodbrodd called upon his allies to aid him for the coming battle, which included Hogni, Sigrun's father; the other allies were Alf the Old, and the sons of Hring - Atli and Yngvi.

The battle took place in Frekastein. Casualties were heavy on both sides. Later, Sigrun arrived with a band of shield-maidens, which meant that they were Valkyries. The unnamed author of Volsunga Saga referred to the shield-maidens as if they were fire. Around this point, Helgi killed Hodbrodd, and Sigrun declared Helgi to be the new king.

The saga ended very quickly after that, saying that Helgi married Sigrun and became a famous king, but Helgi played no further role in the Volsunga Saga.

However, the second poem of Helgi Hundingbani didn't end with Helgi's victory over his rival the battle and his marriage to Sigrun. The second Eddaic poem said that Helgi and Sigrun had some sons, but his reign didn't last long.

Among those who had fallen in the last battle was Sigrun's father, Hogni. Hogni had been an ally of Hodbrodd. Hogni had a son named Dag. Dag wanted vengeance against Helgi, so he sacrificed to the Norse god Odin; Dag's prayer was answered. Odin lent his spear to Dag, which he used to kill Helgi in Fetter-grove.

Dag went to his sister in Sefafell, and told Sigrun of her husband's death. Sigrun cursed her brother for being a traitor. Dag tried to appease his grieving sister; he offered red-gold rings as recompense. She answered that unless Helgi was alive, riding his horse, Vigblaer, she had lost all desire to live. Sigrun grieved day and night.

A large burial mound was made for Helgi. Odin offered Helgi a high place in Valhalla, to rule with him. Helgi said to Hunding that he had to fetch a foot-bath for each slain warrior, and be given the duty to care for the horses and hounds, and feed the pigs. Hunding, who was once a powerful king who commanded an army of warriors, had been reduced to being a lowly servant in Valhalla.

One of Sigrun's maids walked past Helgi's mound and saw Helgi riding his horse with a band of warriors. Clearly to the maid, they were all dead. She thought that Ragnarok had come. The maid returned to the fortress (Sefafell), and informed Sigrun that her husband was out there, at the burial-mound.

Sigrun went out to her husband's mound with mead in her hands. After a short exchange of words from one another, Sigrun prepared a bed inside the mound, where she would sleep with her dead prince as she had done when he was alive. Just before dawn, Helgi got up and rode away with his company of slain warriors, while Sigrun returned to her home and waited for her husband's return at sunset, to meet him again at the mound. But Helgi did not return.

Sigrun's sorrow returned, and not long after this, she died with a broken heart.

The second Eddaic poem ended, saying that Helgi and Sigrun would be reborn. Helgi as the Helgi Haddingia-damager; Sigrun was reincarnated as the heroine Kara. Kara was supposedly a Valkyrie, and supposedly there was a Book of Kara, though as far as I can see, there is no evidence that such a book existed.