Hervör (

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

: ''Hervǫr'') is the name shared by two female characters in the

Tyrfing Cycle Tyrfing, also rendered as Tirfing or Tyrving, was a magic sword in Norse mythology, which features in the Tyrfing Cycle, which includes a poem from the ''Poetic Edda'' called '' Hervararkviða'', and the Hervarar saga. The name is also use ...

, presented in '' The Saga of Hervör and Heidrek'' with parts found in the ''

Poetic Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems in alliterative verse. It is distinct from the closely related ''Prose Edda'', although both works are seminal to the study of Old Norse ...

''. The first, the Viking Hervör, challenged her father

Angantýr 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. The last generation named Angantyr also appears to be mentioned as ''Incgentheo ...

's ghost in his gravemound for his cursed sword

Tyrfing Tyrfing, also rendered as Tirfing or Tyrving, was a magic sword in Norse mythology, which features in the Tyrfing Cycle, which includes a poem from the ''Poetic Edda'' called '' Hervararkviða'', and the Hervarar saga. The name is also used ...

. She had a son,

Heidrek 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'',line 115, as ''Heathoric'' together with his sons Angantyr (''Incge ...

, father of the other Hervör. The second Hervör was a commander killed in battle with her brother. The two are thought by some academics to be the same character, duplicated.The Saga Of King Heidrek The Wise
/ref>

Hervör, daughter of Angantyr

Childhood

Hervör was born after her father

Angantyr 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. The last generation named Angantyr also appears to be mentioned as ''Incgentheo ...

died during a duel against the Swedish hero

Hjalmar Hjalmar () and Ingeborg () were a legendary Swedish duo. The male protagonist Hjalmar and his duel for Ingeborg figures in the '' Hervarar saga'' and in '' Orvar-Odd's saga'', as well as in ''Gesta Danorum'', '' Lay of Hyndla'' and a number of F ...

. Her mother was Svafa, who was daughter of a Jarl Bjarmar. Rather than take on sewing or be raised as a bond-maid like other girls, Hervör proved to be as strong as the boys and learned

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...

swordsmanship Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to an ...

, and

horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding ( Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

. She dressed like a man, fought, killed and pillaged under her male surname ''Hjörvard''. When she learned of her father's identity, she decided to live as her father and to find Tyrfing, the magic sword.

Summoning the dead

One day, Hervör arrived with her fleet to

Munarvágr Munarvágr was a location on the southern shore of Samsø, which is mentioned in the legendary saga A legendary saga or ''fornaldarsaga'' (literally, "story/history of the ancient era") is a Norse saga that, unlike the Icelanders' sagas, takes p ...

Samsø Samsø (Anglicized: "Samso" or "Samsoe") is a Denmark, Danish island in the Kattegat off the Jutland Peninsula. Samsø is located in Samsø municipality. The community has 3,724 inhabitants (2017) (January 2010:4,010) called ''Samsings'' and is ...

(''Samsey''), but she was the only one who dared go ashore upon the haunted island. The remainder of her crew feared the nightly activities around the barrows on the island. As she approached the barrows, she saw a fire shining above them, and she approached the largest one. She then spoke with a loud voice summoning her father Angantyr to reveal himself. She said that as his daughter she was entitled to her rightful inheritance, the cursed sword Tyrfing. She went on to summon her eleven uncles and did so with such a loud voice and such harsh words that finally, her father's voice was heard and he asked not to pursue her quest. She did not give in but continued to ask for her rightful inheritance. Finally, the grave opened, and in its centre, a fire was shining. There she saw her father, and he warned her not to ask for the sword as it would bring death to their whole

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

if she used it. Still, she persisted. Finally the sword was cast out of the grave, and she eagerly gripped it, bid farewell to her dead kinsmen and walked to the shore. However, when she arrived at the shore, the ships were gone. Her crew had been scared away by the fires and the thunder from the barrows.

After retrieving Tyrfing

Eventually, she managed to leave the island and arrived at the court of Gudmund of

Glæsisvellir Glæsisvellir (Glittering Plains) was a location in Jotunheim in Norse mythology. It is mentioned in sources such as '' Bósa saga ok Herrauds'', '' Hervarar saga'', ''Þorsteins þáttr bæjarmagns'' and '' Helga þáttr Þórissonar''. Legend I ...

. She still dressed herself as a man and called herself Hervarðr. Cunningly, she helped the king to win playing

tafl Tafl games (), also known as hnefatafl games, are a family of ancient Northern European strategy board games played on a checkered or latticed gameboard with two armies of uneven numbers. Names of different variants of tafl include hnefatafl, t ...

. However, she also slew a courtier who tried to unsheathe Tyrfing after she had left it on a chair. Then, she resumed her Viking activities, and travelled far and wide.

Settling down

After a while she grew tired of the adventures and returned to her foster-father Bjartmar. At Bjartmar's residence, she began sewing and embroidering like other girls, and was considered to be a beautiful and good-mannered girl. King Gudmund's son Höfund, then arrived to ask for her hand, and she agreed. The old king Gudmund arranged a grand wedding, and entrusted the kingdom in the hands of the young couple. They lived happily and had two sons who were given the names Angantyr and

. The sword Tyrfing would continue its ill work, and Heidrek slew his brother Angantyr with the sword. For the continued adventures of Tyrfing, see

Hervör, daughter of Heidrek

Heidrek had a daughter who he named Hervör. She was a

shieldmaiden A shield-maiden ( ) was a female warrior from Scandinavian folklore and mythology. The term most often shows up in fornaldarsögur such as '' Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks''. However, female warriors are also mentioned in the Latin work ''Gesta Da ...

and was the commander of a Gothic fort facing

Myrkviðr In Germanic mythology, Myrkviðr (Old Norse "dark wood"Simek (2007:224) or "black forest"Gentry (2002:101–102)) is the name of several European forests. The direct derivatives of the name occur as a place name both in Sweden and Norway. Related ...

, and she would fall in battle against the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

(see

Hlöd Hlöd or Hlod was the illegitimate son of Heidrek, the king of the Geats, in Norse mythology. He appears in the ''Hervarar saga'' and probably also as ''Hlith'' in ''Widsith'', line 115, together with his father Heidrek, Heiðrekr (''Heathoric'') ...

Hlöðskviða Hlöðskviða (also Hlǫðskviða and Hlǫðsqviða), known in English as The Battle of the Goths and Huns and occasionally known by its German name Hunnenschlachtlied, is an Old Norse heroic poem found in '' Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks''. Many a ...

). When her foster-father Ormar reported Hervör's death to king Angantyr, he said: When King Angantyr heard this, he grinned and was slow to speak, but at last he said: :''Óbróðurliga vartu leikin, in ágæta systir.'' :"Unbrotherly the bloody game they played with you, excellent sister."

References

Sources

*Herikson, Alf. (1998), ''Stora mytologiska uppslagsboken''.
N. Kershaw's English translation of the Hervarar saga
(from the H-text) with facing Old Norse text {{Tyrfing Gothic women Gothic warriors Germanic women warriors Heroes in Norse myths and legends Women in mythology Tyrfing cycle