At a wedding feast at Volsung's palace Odin plunges a sword into the living tree Barnstokk. Person who removes it can have it.

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In Norse mythology, Sigmund is the son of ancient god Volsung. The god Odin attends a wedding feast at Volsung's palace and there plunges a sword into the living tree Barnstokk (pictured here in this 1905 illustration). The person who can remove the sword can have it. Only Sigmund can do it. His brother-in-law Siggier is jealous and has his mother do her magic and kill Sigmund and his siblings. Sigmund is spared, but later when Sigmund has become a ruler, there is a battle and Sigmund is matched aganst an old man who is Odin in disguise. As Sigmund dies, he tells his wife Hjordis that she is pregnant with a son, Sigurd, one of the most renowned of the Norse heroes.

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Size: 2398px × 3666px
Photo credit: © Ivy Close Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: ancient, barnstokk, deities, god, hjordis, legend, myth, mythology, norse, odin, palace, religion, saga, scandinavia, scandinavian, siggier, volsung