Hagbard ( non, Hagbarðr ), the brother of

Haki Haki, Hake ( Old Norse: ) or Haco, the brother of Hagbard, was a famous Scandinavian sea-king, in Norse mythology. He is mentioned in the 12th century '' Gesta Danorum'', and in 13th-century sources including '' Ynglinga saga'', ''Nafnaþulur' ...

and son of Hamund, was a famous

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...

n sea-king in

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern per ...

. He is mentioned in ''

Skáldskaparmál ''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'The Language of Poetry'; c. 50,000 words; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda''. The section consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bragi, the god of poetry, ...

'', ''

Ynglinga saga ''Ynglinga saga'' ( ) is a Kings' saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It is the first section of his '' Heimskringla''. It was first translated into English and published in 1 ...

'', ''

Nafnaþulur ''Nafnaþulur'' (Old Norse: ) is a subsection of the ''Prose Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' ( is, Snorra Edda) or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland d ...

'', ''

Völsunga saga The ''Völsunga saga'' (often referred to in English as the ''Volsunga Saga'' or ''Saga of the Völsungs'') is a legendary saga, a late 13th-century poetic rendition in Old Norse of the origin and decline of the Völsung clan (including the st ...

'' and ''

Gesta Danorum ''Gesta Danorum'' ("Deeds of the Danes") is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark an ...

''. The heroes' connections with other legendary characters place the events in the 5th century AD. Hagbard remained well-known until recent times in the legend of

Hagbard and Signy Hagbard and Signe (Signy) (the Viking Age) or Habor and Sign(h)ild (the Middle Ages and later) were a pair of lovers in Scandinavian mythology and folklore whose legend was widely popular. The heroes' connections with other legendary characters pl ...

. This famous legend tells that Hagbard fell in love with

Signy Signy or Signe ( non, Signý, sometimes known as german: Sieglinde) 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 i ...

, the daughter of king Sigar, the nephew of king

Siggeir Siggeir is the king of Gautland (i.e. Götaland/Geatland, but in some translations also rendered as ''Gothland''), in the ''Völsunga saga''. In ''Skáldskaparmál'' he is given as a Sikling and a relative of Sigar who killed the hero Hagbard. '' ...

(of the

), a love affair which ended in their deaths, when Sigar wanted to have Hagbard hanged. This legend is told most fully in ''

'' (book 7). However, most legends surrounding Hagbard are probably lost. In the ''

'',

Gudrun Gudrun ( ; non, Guðrún) or Kriemhild ( ; gmh, Kriemhilt) is the wife of Sigurd/Siegfried and a major figure in Germanic heroic legend and literature. She is believed to have her origins in Ildico, last wife of Attila the Hun, and two qu ...

and

Brynhild Brunhild, also known as Brunhilda or Brynhild ( non, Brynhildr , gmh, Brünhilt, german: Brünhild , label= Modern German or ), is a female character from Germanic heroic legend. She may have her origins in the Visigothic princess Brunhilda ...

have a discussion on the "greatest of men" referring to a legend now lost, where Hagbard is mentioned together with Haki's sons, who have not yet avenged their sisters by killing the evil Sigar (the feud with Sigar is still going on and Hagbard not yet hanged):

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...

wrote in the ''

'' that Hagbard occasionally plundered together with his brother Haki. Concerning, the adventures and death of the Swedish king

Jorund Jorund or Jörundr (5th century) was a Swedish king of the House of Yngling. He was the son of Yngvi, and he had reclaimed the throne of Sweden for his dynasty from Haki (the brother of Hagbard, the hero of the legend of Hagbard and Signy. Snorr ...

(whom Snorri makes a successor of Haki), he cites the poem ''

Háleygjatal Háleygjatal is a skaldic poem by Eyvindr Skáldaspillir written towards the end of the 10th century to establish the Hlaðir dynasty as the social equals of the Hárfagri dynasty The poem is only partially preserved in disjoint parts quoted in ' ...

'' by a Norwegian

skald A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditional ...

named Eyvindr skáldaspillir containing the

Kenning A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech in the type of circumlocution, a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse-Icelandic and Old English ...

''Sigar's steed'' referring to the legend of Hagbard and Signy: The same kenning appears with Hagbard's name in a stanza from ''

Ynglingatal ''Ynglingatal'' or ''Ynglinga tal'' (Old Norse: 'Enumeration of the Ynglingar') is a Skaldic poem cited by Snorri Sturluson in the ''Ynglinga saga'', the first saga of Snorri's ''Heimskringla''. Þjóðólfr of Hvinir (Thjodolf), who was a poet ...

'', which Snorri also quotes in the same section: {, , :Varð Jörundr :hinn er endr of dó, :lífs of lattr :í Limafirði, :þá er hábrjóstr :hörva Sleipnir :bana Goðlaugs :of bera skyldi; :ok Hagbarðs :hersa valdi :höðnu leif :at halsi gekk.A second online presentation of ''Ynglingatal''
/ref> , :Jorund has travelled far and wide, :But the same horse he must bestride :On which he made brave Gudlog ride. :He too must for a necklace wear :Hagbert's fell noose in middle air. :The army leader thus must ride :On Horva's horse, at Lymfjord's side. ,

Notes

Heroes in Norse myths and legends