Sigrún (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

"victory

rune Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised ...

"Orchard (1997:194).) is a

valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997: ...

in Norse mythology. Her story is related in ''

Helgakviða Hundingsbana I "Völsungakviða" or "Helgakviða Hundingsbana I" ("The First Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane") is an Old Norse poem found in the ''Poetic Edda''. It constitutes one of the Helgi lays, together with '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana II'' and ''Helgakviða Hj� ...

'' and ''

Helgakviða Hundingsbana II "Völsungakviða in forna" or "Helgakviða Hundingsbana II" ("The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane") is an Old Norse poem found in the ''Poetic Edda''. It constitutes one of the Helgi lays together with ''Helgakviða Hundingsbana I'' and ''Helgakv ...

'', in the ''

Poetic Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the ''Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic med ...

''. The original editor annotated that she was Sváfa reborn. The hero

Helgi Hundingsbane Helgi Hundingsbane is a hero in Norse sagas. Helgi appears in '' Volsunga saga'' and in two lays in the ''Poetic Edda'' named '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana I'' and '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana II''. The ''Poetic Edda'' relates that Helgi and his mist ...

first meets her when she leads a band of

nine 9 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 9 or nine may also refer to: Dates * AD 9, the ninth year of the AD era * 9 BC, the ninth year before the AD era * 9, numerical symbol for the month of September Places * Nine, Portugal, a parish in the ...

Valkyries: The two fall in love, and Sigrún tells Helgi that her father

Högni Haguna or Hagana is a historical Germanic name. It is attested in the form ''Hagano'' in Old High German (8th century) and as ''Haguna'' and ''Hagena'' in Old English. Old West Norse has ''Hǫgni'', presumably loaned from the character in German le ...

has promised her to Höðbroddr, the son of king

Granmar Granmar was a king of Södermanland, in Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla. The same king also appears in the Volsunga saga. Granmar was married to Hilda, the daughter of the Geatish king Högne of East Götaland, and his son-in-law was the seak ...

r. Helgi invades Granmar's kingdom and slays anyone opposing their relationship. Only Sigrún's brother Dagr is left alive on condition that he swears fealty to Helgi. Dagr is however obliged by honour to avenge his brothers and after having summoned Odin, the god gives him a spear. In a place called

Fjoturlund A grove of Fetters (Old Norse: ''Fjöturlundr'') is mentioned in the Eddic poem "Helgakviða Hundingsbana II": : Helgi obtained Sigrún, and they had sons. Helgi lived not to be old. Dag, the son of Högni, sacrificed to Odin, for vengeance for ...

, Dagr kills Helgi and goes back to his sister to tell her of his deed. Sigrún puts Dagr under a powerful curse after which he is obliged to live on carrion in the woods. Helgi is put in a barrow, but returns from Valhalla one last time so that the two can spend a night together. Sigrún dies early from sadness, but is reborn again as a Valkyrie. In the next life, she is

Kára In Norse mythology, Kára is a valkyrie, attested in the prose epilogue of the ''Poetic Edda'' poem '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana II''. The epilogue details that "there was a belief in the pagan religion, which we now reckon an old wives' tale, tha ...

and Helgi is

Helgi Haddingjaskati Helgi Haddingjaskati (Old Norse: , meaning "Helgi the lord of the Haddingjar") was a legendary Norse hero of whom only fragmentary accounts survive. It is said in the end section of '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana II'', a poem of the ''Poetic Edda'', ...

, whose story is related in ''

Hrómundar saga Gripssonar ''Hrómundar saga Gripssonar'' or ''The Saga of Hromund Gripsson'' is a legendary saga from Iceland. The original version has been lost, but its content has been preserved in the ''rímur'' of ''Hrómundr Gripsson'', known as ''Griplur'', which were ...

''.

Modern influence

Sigrún features in the 2018 video game

God of War A war god in mythology associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in both monotheistic and polytheistic religions. Unlike most gods and goddesses in polytheistic religions, monotheistic deities have traditionally been p ...

, in which she is the Valkyrie Queen. She can be fought by the player after defeating eight other Valkyries. Her fight is considered to be one of the most difficult and demanding encounters in the franchise. In 2022 she took a part in God of war Ragnarok. But this time she was an ally with Kratos, Freya, Mimir, Artreus and the shield maidens- her sisters. She and the other 8 Valkyries, her sisters are now free of the corruption spells of Odin thanks to the events which happened in God of war 2018.

Notes

References

* Orchard, Andy (1997). ''Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend''. Cassell. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sigrun Valkyries