In Germanic mythology , Sigmund ( Old Norse : Sigmundr [ˈsiɣˌmundz̠] , Old English : Sigemund ) is a hero whose story is told in the Völsunga saga . He and his sister, Signý , are the children of Völsung and his wife Hljod . Sigmund is best known as the father of Sigurð the dragon-slayer, though Sigurð's tale has almost no connections to the Völsung cycle except that he was a dragonslayer .
18-473: In the Völsunga saga , Signý marries Siggeir , the king of Gautland (modern Västergötland ). Völsung and Sigmund are attending the wedding feast (which lasted for some time before and after the marriage), when Odin , disguised as a beggar, plunges a sword ( Gram ) into the living tree Barnstokk ("offspring-trunk") around which Völsung's hall is built. The disguised Odin announces that the man who can remove
36-595: A blood eagle on Lyngvi's back. Sigurd himself had a son named Sigmund, who was killed when he was three-years-old by a vengeful Brynhild . Sigmund/Siegmund is also the name of Sigurd/Siegfried's father in other versions of the Sigurd story, but without any of the details about his life or family that appear in Norse Völsung tales and poems. On the other hand, the Old English poem Beowulf includes Sigemund
54-559: A sword is also similar to the Norse god Frey. Siegmund is a character in Richard Wagner 's music drama Die Walkure , part of the larger Ring cycle , which tells the story of an incestuous romance between Siegmund and his sister Sieglinde, who have a son named Siegfried. In this story, Wotan (Odin) breaks Siegmund's sword Nothung with his spear, and Siegfried later reforges the broken sword. The story of Sigmund, beginning with
72-564: A visit in Gautland to see the newlyweds three months later. When the Völsung clan had arrived they were attacked by the Gauts ( Geats ) and king Völsung was killed and his sons captured. Signy beseeched her husband to spare her brothers and to put them in stocks instead of killing them. As Siggeir thought that the brothers deserved to be tortured before they were killed, he agreed. Each night
90-475: A wolf, who may have been Siggeir's mother, devoured one of the brothers, until only Sigmund remained. Signy had a servant smear honey on the face of Sigmund and when the she-wolf arrived she started licking the honey off Sigmund's face. As she licked, she stuck her tongue into Sigmund's mouth, whereupon Sigmund bit her tongue off, killing her. Sigmund then hid in the forests of Gautland and Signy brought him everything he needed. Signy gave Siggeir two sons and when
108-439: A woman named Hjördís . After a short time of peace, Sigmund's lands are attacked by King Lyngi. In battle, Sigmund matches up against an old man who is Odin in disguise. Odin shatters Sigmund's sword, and Sigmund falls at the hands of others. Dying, he tells Hjördís that she is pregnant and that her son will one day make a great weapon out of the fragments of his sword. That son was to be Sigurd , who avenged his father by carving
126-506: Is a German word that means a unity of prose and music. Initially coined by Theodor Mundt in 1833, it was most notably used by Richard Wagner , along with Gesamtkunstwerk , to define his operas . Mundt formulated his definition explicitly in contrast to intermezzo , or a piece that sits in between dramatic entities. To this day, Musikdrama is associated with the works of Richard Wagner where poetry, music and stage performances were not arbitrarily combined. Wagner himself composed
144-427: Is killed and his sons captured. Signý beseeches her husband to spare her brothers and to put them in stocks instead of killing them. As Siggeir thinks that the brothers deserve to be tortured before they are killed, he agrees. He then lets his shapeshifting mother turn into a wolf and devour one of the brothers each night. During that time, Signý tries various ruses but fails every time until only Sigmund remains. On
162-458: The Völsunga saga . In Skáldskaparmál he is given as a Sikling and a relative of Sigar who killed the hero Hagbard . Hversu Noregr byggðist specifies that the last Sigar was Siggeir's nephew. According to the Völsunga saga , Siggeir married Signy , the sister of Sigmund and the daughter of King Völsung . Although Völsung agreed to the marriage, Signy herself was unwilling. At
180-554: The Wælsing and his nephew Fitela in a tale of dragon slaying told within the main story. Herein the story of Sigemund is told to Beowulf, a warrior also from Gautland . Parallels to Sigmund's pulling the sword from the tree can be found in other mythologies (notably in the Arthurian legends). Also, Sinfjötli and Mordred share the characteristic of being nephew and son to the main characters. The gaining of mythical powers through
198-473: The banquet Odin appears in disguise wearing a cape and a hood and sticks a sword in the tree Branstock. Then he said that whoever managed to pull the sword out could keep it. Siggeir and everyone else tried but only Sigmund succeeded. Siggeir generously offered three times the sword's value, but Sigmund mockingly refused. Siggeir was offended and went home the next day thinking of revenge. Siggeir invites Sigmund, his father Völsung and Sigmund's nine brothers to
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#1732776653163216-460: The marriage of Signy to Siggeir and ending with Sigmund's vengeance on Siggeir, was retold in the novelette "Vengeance" by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur , which appeared in the magazine Adventure , June 30, 1925. Brodeur was a professor at Berkeley and became well known for his scholarship on Beowulf and Norse sagas. Siggeir Siggeir is the king of Gautland (i.e. Götaland /Geatland, but in some translations also rendered as Gothland ), in
234-433: The men and putting on the wolf skins, they are cursed with a type of lycanthropy . Eventually, they avenge the death of Völsung. After Signý dies, Sigmund and Sinfjötli go harrying together. Sigmund marries a woman named Borghild and has two sons, one of them named Helgi . Sinfjötli slays Borghild's brother while vying for a woman they both want. Borghild avenges her brother by poisoning Sinfjötli. Later, Sigmund marries
252-456: The music and libretto and was a consultant on the stage design and choreography . This all-encompassing art, or Gesamtkunstwerk , called on the diegesis of Musikdrama in order to further the immersive feel. Wagner himself resisted calling his works Musikdrama , which would imply a drama "meant for music," like a libretto. Instead he wanted to put music at the service of the drama, which indeed in its original ancient Greek form
270-403: The ninth night, she has a servant smear honey on Sigmund's face and when the she-wolf arrives, she starts licking the honey off and sticks her tongue into Sigmund's mouth, whereupon Sigmund bites her tongue off, killing her. Sigmund then escapes his bonds and hides in the forest. Signý brings Sigmund everything he needs. Bent on revenge for their father's death, she also sends her sons to him in
288-509: The oldest one was ten years old, she sent him to Sigmund to train him to avenge the Völsungs. The boy did not stand a test of courage so Signy asked Sigmund to kill her worthless son. The same thing happened to Siggeir's second son. Signy came to Sigmund in the guise of a witch and she and her brother committed incest and had the son Sinfjotli . After some adventures Sigmund and Sinfjotli killed Siggeir. Music drama Musikdrama
306-401: The sword will have it as a gift. Only Sigmund is able to free the sword from the tree. Siggeir is smitten with envy and desire for the sword. He tries to buy it but Sigmund refuses. Siggeir invites Sigmund, his father Völsung and Sigmund's nine brothers to visit him in Gautland to see the newlyweds three months later. When the Völsung clan arrive, they are attacked by the Gauts; King Völsung
324-553: The wilderness, one by one, to be tested. As each fails, she urges Sigmund to kill them, until one day when he refuses to continue killing innocent children. Finally, in despair, she comes to him in the guise of a völva and conceives a child by him, Sinfjötli (named Fitela in Beowulf ). Sinfjötli, born of their incest , passes the test. Sigmund and his son/nephew, Sinfjötli, grow wealthy as outlaws . In their wanderings, they come upon men sleeping in cursed wolf skins. Upon killing
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