Heroes in Norse myths and legends

legendary king of Denmark and Sweden

thumb|The death of Siegfried. Hagen stands to the right of Siegfried with a bow. From the Hundeshagenscher Kodex. thumb|"Sigurd proofs the sword gram (mythology)|Gram" (1901) by Johannes Gehrts. thumb|Siegfried's Departure from Kriemhild, by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, c. 1843

thumb|Valhalla (1905) by Emil Doepler

legendary king of Sweden

thumb|"Brunnhild" (1897) by Gaston Bussière

Aslaug ( ), also called Aslög, Kráka (O.N.: ) or Kraba, is a figure in Norse mythology who appears in Snorri's Edda, the Völsunga saga and in the saga of Ragnar Lodbrok as one of his wives.

thumb|King Geppich battles Hildebrand in [[Rosengarten zu Worms]] Gibica, better know by his later legendary names Gjúki or Gibeche, was an early king of the Burgundians. He is attested as one of the earlier kings in the prologue to the Lex Burgundionum (516 AD); otherwise, nothing is known about the historical figure. In later Germanic heroic legend, he becomes the father of other Burgundian kings and figures, including Gunther/Gunnarr and Gudrun/Kriemhild. Depending on the text, he may also be the father of Giselher, Gernot, and/or Högni. Some German sources, including the Nibelungenlied, re

Hrothgar ( ; ) was a semi-legendary Danish king living around the early sixth century AD.

Semi-legendary Danish king

legendary Geatish hero

Völsung ( , ) is a figure in Germanic mythology, where he is the eponymous ancestor of the Völsung family (, ), which includes the hero Sigurð. In Nordic mythology, he is the son of Rerir and was murdered by the Geatish king Siggeir. He was later avenged by one of his sons, Sigmund, and his daughter Signy, who was married to Siggeir.

thumb|right|A depiction of Sigmund by Arthur Rackham. In Germanic mythology, Sigmund ( , ) 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.

right|150px|thumb|Palnatoki prepares to kill King Harald Bluetooth by Jenny Nyström (1895).Palnatoke or Palnatoki, sometimes written Palna-Toki or Palna Toki (Old Norse: or ), was a legendary Danish hero and chieftain of the island of Fyn. According to the Jómsvíkinga saga, Palnatoki founded the brotherhood of Jomsvikings and established its laws.

thumb|"Odin takes the corpse of Sinfjötli" (1883) by Johannes Gehrts. thumb|right|Odin taking the dead Sinfjǫtli to [[Valhalla]] Sinfjötli ( ) or Fitela (in Old English) in Norse mythology was born out of the incestuous relationship between Sigmund and his sister Signy. He had the half-brothers Sigurd, Helgi Hundingsbane and Hamund.

400px|right|thumb|Starkad as illustrated on Carta Marina (1539) by [[Olaus Magnus.]] Starkad ( or ; Latin: Starcaterus; in the Late Middle Ages also Starkodder; modern Danish: Stærkodder) was either an eight-armed giant or the human grandson of the aforementioned giant in Norse mythology.

poem in the Poetic Edda

thumb|300px|right|Hervor, daughter of Heidrek, dying at the Hlöðskviða|Battle of the Goths and Huns, a painting by [[Peter Nicolai Arbo.]] Hervör (Old Norse: Hervǫr) is the name shared by two female characters in the Tyrfing Cycle, presented in The Saga of Hervör and Heidrek with parts found in the Poetic Edda. The first, the Viking Hervör, challenged her father Angantýr's ghost in his gravemound for his cursed sword Tyrfing. She had a son, Heidrek, father of the other Hervör. The second Hervör was a commander killed in battle with her brother.

right|150px|thumb|Svafrlami and the Dwarves, by Jenny Nyström (1895). Svafrlami (Old Norse: ) was in the H and U version of the Hervarar saga the son of Sigrlami, who was the son of Odin. In the R version, Svafrlami is called Sigrlami and his parentage is not given. Svafrlami was the king of Gardariki and the first owner of the magic sword Tyrfing.

Signy or Signe (, sometimes known as ) is the name of two heroines in two connected legends from Norse mythology which were very popular in medieval Scandinavia. Both appear in the Völsunga saga, which was adapted into other works such as Wagner's 'Ring' cycle, including its famous opera Die Walküre. Signy is also the name of two characters in several other sagas.

Arngrim was a berserker, who features in Hervarar saga, Gesta Danorum, Lay of Hyndla, a number of Faroese ballads and Orvar-Odd's saga in Norse mythology.

thumb

thumb|Svanhildr as illustrated by Jenny Nyström in Fredrik Sander's 1893 Swedish edition of the Poetic Edda.

right|thumb|340px|A detail from the Stora Hammars stones|Stora Hammars I stone, an [[image stone on Gotland]] right|thumb|340px|A detail from the Smiss (I) stone, an image stone on Gotland Hjaðningavíg (the 'battle of the Heodenings'), the legend of Heðinn and Hǫgni or the Saga of Hild is a Germanic heroic legend about a never-ending battle which is documented in Sörla þáttr, Ragnarsdrápa, Gesta Danorum, Skíðaríma and in Skáldskaparmál. It is also held to appear on the image stone at Stora Hammar on Gotland (see illustration). Moreover, it is alluded to in the Old English poems Deor and Widsið

Angantyr was the name of three male characters from the same line in Norse mythology, and who appear in Hervarar saga, Gesta Danorum, and Faroese ballads.

Haki, Hake (Old Norse: ), Haco or Aki, the brother of Hagbard, was a famous Scandinavian sea-king, in Norse mythology. He is mentioned in the 12th century Gesta Danorum and Chronicon Lethrense, and in 13th-century sources including Ynglinga saga, Nafnaþulur, and the Völsunga saga. If historical, he would have lived in the 5th century.

hero in Norse mythology

In Völsunga saga, Rerir, the son of Sigi, succeeds his murdered father and avenges his death. He rules in Hunaland and becomes a powerful ruler. Rerir's son is Völsung.

Guðmundr (Old Norse: , sometimes anglicised as Godmund) was a semi-legendary Norse king in Jotunheim, ruling over a land called Glæsisvellir, which was known as the warrior's paradise.

Legendary hero

thumb|300px|Hlöd has found his dead sister Hervor after the battle with the [[Goths at Myrkviðr. A painting by Peter Nicolai Arbo]] Hlöd or Hlod was the illegitimate son of Heidrek, the king of the Geats, in Norse mythology.

right|200px|thumb|Yrsa falling in love with Helgi, not knowing that he is her father, by Jenny Nyström (1895).

In the Völsung cycle, Sigi is the ancestor of the Völsung lineage. In the Völsunga saga, he is said to be one of the sons of Odin. He is also listed among Odin's sons in the Nafnaþulur. He has a son called Rerir, whose son was Völsung, sire of Signy and Sigmund, who, together with his sister begot Sinfjötli. Sigmund also fathered Sigurd, possibly with Hjordis

Heidrek or Heiðrekr (Old Norse: ) is one of the main characters in the cycle about the magic sword Tyrfing. He appears in the Hervarar saga, and probably also in Widsith, together with his sons Angantyr (Incgentheow) and Hlöð (Hlith), and Hlöð's mother Sifka (Sifeca). The etymology is , meaning "honour", and , meaning "ruler, king".

Valdar was the name of several legendary Danish kings.

legendary archer of Germanic mythology

Swedish legendary duo

right|thumb|"Hagbard's gallows", a megalithic monument in Asige, Halland, [[Sweden.]]

thumb|''Ǫrvar-Oddr informs Hjalmar and Ingeborg|Ingeborg about [[Hjalmar's death'', by August Malmström (1859)]] Ǫrvar-Oddr, also spelt Örvar-Oddr ( , "Arrow-Odd" or "Arrow's Point") is a legendary hero about whom an anonymous Icelander wrote a fornaldarsaga in the latter part of the 13th century. Ǫrvar-Odds saga, the Saga of Ǫrvar-Odd, became very popular and contains old legends and songs. He also appears in Hervarar saga and, concerning the battle on Samsø, in Gesta Danorum.