Mortal
Hjordis
Sigmund’s wife and Sigurd’s mother; she preserves the sword-shards, keeping the inheritance line alive.
Overview
After Sigmund falls, Hjordis keeps the sword-shards. Before Sigurd is even born, his father's fate already reaches him through those broken pieces of iron.
Key facts
Receives the shards
Chapters XI-XII place the broken sword in Hjordis’s hands.
Mother of Sigurd
Chapter XIII continues with Sigurd’s birth and growth, keeping Hjordis at the centre of the inheritance line.
Relationships
Story appearances
- Sigurd and the VolsungsMother preserving the shards
Hjordis preserves Sigmund’s sword-shards, letting Sigurd inherit the fatherly weapon.
- Gripir’s Prophecy: Asking Fate to Its EndFigure or hoard in Gripisspo
Sigmund’s wife and Sigurd’s mother; she preserves the sword-shards, keeping the inheritance line alive.
Ancient sources
MythWeave distinguishes ancient-source evidence from later adaptations and modern interpretation.
- Anonymous, Volsunga Saga, Chapters XI-XII, Sigmund's last battle, Hjordis and the shards of Gram
- Anonymous, Volsunga Saga, Chapter XIII, Sigurd's birth and growth, Regin's fostering and Grani
- Anonymous; translated by Henry Adams Bellows, The Poetic Edda: Gripisspo, Opening prose and stanzas 1–6: Sigurth reaches Gripir’s hall, Geitir announces him, and the two meet.