Song of the Sigurd Stones

A dwarven blacksmith, young apprentice, Norse gods, and a dragon

The Ramsund carving, depicting the entire Sigurd story. This image was first published in the 1^st (1876-1899), 2^nd (1904-1926) or 3^rd (1923-1937) edition of Nordisk familjebok. The copyrights for that book have expired and this image is in the public domain. This image has been modified from the original. The original image can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sigurdr.png.

 

 

Song of the Sigurd Stones

 

                         I

 

As thick mists drift slow down mountains

Stealthy boat makes course down river

Oarlocks mute, no blades touch water

Glides the craft in deathly silence

 

                         II

 

Here before the break of morning

Setting moon’s full face lights hillside

Lights the water and the forest

Moon beams dance awaiting sunrise

 

                         III

 

Gently now the wind is blowing

Leaves through forest make faint shiver

On this night all else is quiet

Quiet on the moon-lit river

 

                         IV

 

Now the boat, it finds the shoreline

And strong arms now pull it upward

Upward past shore’s stones it passes

Upward through the beach-line grasses

 

                         V

 

Now the boat’s contents are emptied

Shield and sword are gently lifted

Sword with blade that has been blackened

Dark the blade with magic gifted

 

                          VI

 

This, the sword, it was his father’s

Now reforged strong from the pieces

Pieces from when sword was broken

Shattered on the spear of Odin¹

 

                         VII

 

Now on back the shield is fastened

Over shoulder hangs sword scabbard

Now toward trees his pace is hastened

Purpose fixed, the lad moves forward

 

                         VIII

 

He is Sigurd, son of Sigmund

He has seen not twenty summers

He is young, yet warrior is he

Unmatched strength flows in his sword arm

 

                        IX

 

From his blue eyes shines a fire

Strength of will shows in his bearing

Agile are his movements daring

As he leaves the forest clearing

 

                         X

 

He has come to kill a monster

Come to kill the dragon Fafnir²

And to take the dragon’s treasure³

And to gain the Ring of Power⁴

 

                ****     ****

 

                         XI

 

How, then, is it he has come here?

Skulking through the woods at night time

Bearing dire and deadly weapon

With a will bent to destruction?

 

                         XII

 

It is by the will of Æsir!⁵

To fulfill the plans of Odin

Odin who did kill his father

Even though he be his own kin

 

                         XIII

 

It was thus, Sigurd apprenticed

To the dwarf who was a craftsman

There to learn the art of smithing

Restore sword that once was broken

 

                         XIV

 

For this skilled dwarf, Mime, was banished

Banished from his home by Alberich

Maker of the Ring of Power

This the Ring now sought by Odin

 

                         XV

 

But the Ring, the dragon had it

Thus must Sigurd slay fierce Fafnir

For the Ring, old Mime must have it

To give power over Alberich

 

                         XVI

 

Odin, too, for power He sought it

For dominion over giants

Ragnarök⁶ He’d then face gladly

Fenris Wolf⁷ though howl so madly

 

                         XVII

 

Sigurd, he would kill the dragon

And for Mime bring shame to Alberich

Odin, then He’d take the dwarf Ring

Through its powers He’d remain King

 

                         XVIII

 

Now the old dwarf fed the forge flame

Stoked the fire, heated iron

On the anvil rang his hammer

Squealed the blade when thrust in water

 

                         XIX

 

Sigurd then did test the new blade

Swung it high, up to the heavens

Then with mighty blow to anvil

Shattered sword in all directions

 

                         XX

 

“Make another!” bellowed Sigurd

“Make a sword that will kill dragons!

Are you smith or are you farmer?”

Screamed the lad in maddened passion

 

                         XXI

 

Fearing for his life the smithy

Stoked again his fire hotly

Then, again, begun another

To appease the young man’s anger

 

                         XXII

 

But again the sword he shattered

Shattered it upon the anvil

With his strength and his will’s power

No mere blade could match his testing

 

                         XXIII

 

Fearing for his life, then Mime ran

To the forest, ran and hid, he

He’d wait out the young man’s fury

Then creep back and plead for mercy

 

                         XXIV

 

Odin cloaked as old man came then

Came and saw the sulking Sigurd

Saw his anger and his passion

Knew frustration of his grandson

 

                         XXV

 

Odin came, He, with a present

Came with shards of the sword Nothung

This, the sword of Sigurd’s father

This, the sword of dead King Sigmund!

 

                         XXVI

 

Then the lad, in joy unbounded

He took up the old sword’s pieces

“I need nothing, I need no one,”

Sang the lad, “For I have Nothung!”

 

                         XXVII

 

And then Sigurd stoked the fire

Odin breathed his breath upon it

Odin charmed both fire and pieces

All His hopes now in his grandson

 

                         XXVIII

 

Sigurd sang, all night the forge blazed

All night long sang song of hammer

Voice of smith and clang of anvil

Forging sword that once was broken

 

                         XXIX

 

“Nothung!” cried the lad near morning

“I have forged you, now I wield you!”

And with mighty swing the young lad

Cut in twain the iron anvil

 

                         XXX

 

“I am coming, dragon Fafnir!

Do you tremble, do your scales shake?

I will open up your belly

And your treasure, glad, will I take”

 

                         XXXI

 

This is how our tale was started

Odin’s plan would not be thwarted

He had plans for grandson, Sigurd

He would win the Ring of Alberich

 

                  ****     ****

 

                         XXXII

 

Forest birds they now were waking

Now dawn’s bright rays lit the forest

And the steam rose from the grasses

And the sun's light danced in tree tops

 

                         XXXIII

 

Now the young lad, Sigurd, hid he

Deep in hole along the pathway

Odin showed him how to hide there

Waiting for the dragon Fafnir

 

                         XXXIII

 

He would pass soon up above him

On his way unto the river

Sigurd upward then would thrust, he

Into softer underbelly

 

                        XXXIV

 

Now in quiet waits the young lad

Meting out his breaths so careful

Drawing blackened sword from scabbard

With his arms strong, eyes so watchful

 

                         XXXV

 

In the distance, through faint bird calls

Can be heard the sound of dragon

Faintly snorting, faintly walking

Making way unto the river

 

                         XXXVI

 

Sound now loudens, coming closer

He can hear the vile monster

Now he smells him, and he tastes him

Strong with stench of fetid waters

 

                         XXXVII

 

Now the monster up above him

Now the time to strike hard upward

Cover pushed back with his shield arm

Up with deadly sword thrusts Sigurd

 

                         XXXVIII

 

Bellows now the dragon Fafnir

Rises he upon his hind legs

Nothung pierced through underbelly

Now begins the dire mêlée

 

                         XXXIX

 

Dangling from the dread blade Nothung

Hangs the fearless lad named Sigurd

Dragon reeling, tail now lashing

Away young hero now sent crashing

 

                         XL

 

But hard training ‘ ne’er desert him

He to sword hilt held so firmly

When the lad was knocked asunder

He drew, too, the sword from Fafnir

 

                         XLI

 

Now the skies shrieked and the ground shook

Deathly blow had been delivered

Fafnir’s eyes flared and his breath choked

He must kill this young intruder

 

                         XLII

 

Sigurd nimbly, Sigurd quickly

Ran and leaped, he, toward the dragon

Bringing down a mighty sword stroke

Opened, he, the dragon’s belly

 

                         XLIII

 

Fafnir’s tail lashed, body crumpled

This the end, his life now fleeting

With a final thrust to his heart

Dragon’s life was there now ended

 

                         XLIV

 

Deathly silence filled the forest

Now no bird sang and no wind blew

With the killing of the monster

Deepest silence now the world knew

 

                         XLV

 

In deep quiet stood the morning

World’s breath held, no exhalation

What lay next?  The monster now dead

All life froze in expectation

 

                         XLVI

 

Now his horn calls fill the morning

Sound through valley and through forest

Horn calls echo off the mountains

Proclaim triumph over Fafnir

 

                         XLVII

 

Now he in deep joy rejoicing

Unbound is his exultation

He is victor over Fafnir

Life surpassed all expectation

 

                         XLVIII

 

Sigurd breathless, but exultant

Sits he down and he remembers

He remembers words of Odin

When he came to him a stranger

 

                         XLIX

 

For this stranger told a story

Told of lore and told of powers

Told of powers of the beast’s blood

How to bathe in blood of Fafnir

 

                         L

 

So the beast’s blood he collected

And so too beast’s heart did take, he

And now naked in blood stood there

Bathing in red life of Fafnir

 

                         LI

 

But unseen, a leaf, it fell there

Shielding skin from magic potion

On his shoulder, on his skin bare

Here from wound there no protection⁸

 

                         LII

 

Then the dragon’s heart, he cooked it

And he ate it for its powers

Now the talk of creatures knows, he

Knowledge of their ways now flowers

 

                         LIII

 

This has been a day of wonder

This has been a day rejoicing

All his hopes and aspirations

In one day found consummation

 

                         LIV

 

And he had the dragon’s treasure

And he had the Ring of Power

Surely by most any measure

He’ll find joy that’s never ending

 

                         LV

 

Oh, now what in life can stop him?

He has all! Commands such powers!

For all time he’ll be the Master

He’ll reap all life’s richest treasures

 

                         LVI

 

And yet still this hero ‘ mortal!

Though great strength and powers has he

Still in time all powers whither

Weakness gains as days grow plenty

 

                         LVII

 

With success, the seeds of failure

As with all life, there’s an ending

How one’s days on earth ‘ delivered

There is man’s life value pending

 

                         LVIII

 

This the lesson, wisdom’s gleanings

All one’s power in life is fleeting

Pick your joys and your thanksgivings

Deeds you do they give life meaning

 

                         LIX

 

In the future, there his doom lies⁹

He is weak, yet does not know it

Now he’s at his height of glory

But not ending of his story

 

                         LX

 

No one knows what present portends

Live you well, no matter life ends

Keep sword sharp; face brave your new dawns

Do not flinch; go face Life’s dragons

 

                         LXI

 

Now his horn calls in the distance

He now Lord of all existence!

...Unbowed sails he toward setting sun...

Be monsters there?  Well, let them come!

 

 

 

©2009 Richard Puetter

All rights reserved

 

 

 

 

Photographer: Berig (http::en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Berig). License: GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version.  The original image can be seen at http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/S%C3%B6_327%2C_G%C3%B6k.JPG.  This runestone is located at Gök. It is from the same time as the Ramsund carving and uses similar imagery

 

 

Notes

 

     The current story centers around the Norse/Germanic legend of the dragon slayer. There are many variations in the story and the hero is known by many names. This story was deeply rooted in the people and there are many representations of this story left in stone petroglyphs. The Sigurd stones are a group of stone carvings from the Viking age and are the earliest representations of the dragon slayer legend, which were eventually set down in the Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, and the Icelandic (Old Norse) Völsunga saga.

 

     The Nibelungenlied (The Song of the Nibelungs) is a Middle High German epic poem that parallels the Norse legend. The famous Richard Wagner cycle of four operas, Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), consisting of the operas Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold), Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung (The Twilight of the Gods), and an amazing almost 18 hours of music, are based on this poem and the Norse legends.

 

     In these tales the dragon slayer goes by the name of Sigurd (Old Norse: Sigurðr) in the Völsunga saga, or Sivard Snarensven(d) in several medieval Scandinavian ballads, or Siegfried, in the German Nibelungenlied. As do Wagner’s operas, I have drawn from all sources (but most heavily from Wagner’s interpretation). Sigurd’s sword also has many names such as Gram and Nothung (Wagner’s operas). Whatever the source, this is a powerful tale that has gripped most of Europe.

 

^[1]Odin is the King of the Norse/Germanic gods. He is grandfather to Sigurd and seeks to control the Ring of Power to be able to defeat the Giants who have built Valhalla, the city of the god’s, and who have not been paid for their labors.

 

^[2]There are many variations of the tale of Fafnir, but this is the dragon that commonly guards the treasure sought by Sigurd. In most stories he was an evil person that became a dragon either to guard the treasure better or for some other magical reason.

 

^[3]In some stories this treasure is what is needed to pay the Giants that built Valhalla, in others it is just a treasure. In still others it is a tribute paid by the gods for killing Fafnir’s brother. Again, in most stories Fafnir steals, or in some way gains, the treasure by evil deeds, sometimes by killing his father.

 

^[4]Not all the stories have a ring involved, but in the version of Wagner’s Ring Cycle, this ring is needed by Odin. In Wagner’s story, the Ring was forged by the dwarf Alberich, which was only possible because he renounced love.

 

^[5]The Æsir are the Norse gods.

 

^[6]Ragnarök is the final battle in which it is foreseen that many of the major gods, including Odin, will die. This is the time when according to Bellow’s translation of the Poetic Edda the sun becomes black while the earth sinks into the sea, the stars vanish, steam rises, and flames touch the heavens.

 

 ^[7]The wolf that kills Odin in the battle of Ragnarök, although eventually killed by Thor, one of Odin’s sons.

 

^[8]Like Achilles, Sigurd becomes invulnerable all over his body from bathing in the dragon’s blood with the lone exception of his shoulder, which was covered by a leaf as he bathed.

 

^[9]Sigurd is eventually killed as a young man through treachery.

Author's Note

Inspired by Wagner's Ring Cycle (among others)--see notes.

Reviews

[Greg Close]

The first time I read through it, the only distraction was the voice in my head that kept saying "is he REALLY tackling this?" It was a good tackle! The Ring Cycle is so rich with history and drama, it is fertile ground for re-telling. Doing it well, and in verse - and with your typical attention to detail, footnotes etc. Great to learn and re-learn from you as you put these pieces together.

[Nancy Lee Shrader]

this is wonderful epic poetry. You always amaze me.

[Anthony M Smith Jr]

Fantastic story and the way you explain your poem is like icing on a cake. Thanks my friend for read request and I feel bad I took so long. Light and life to you and yours.
TT-TTO-NI-K
Elk

[Tomás Ó C..]

Awesome poem, as always.. a worthy read. Ill be back to read in detail tomorrow...

[Sheila Kline]

And epic is your write as it is filled with mythology made rich by your ability to totally captivate the reader, to bring ALIVE the myth with vivid imagery that jumps off the page, that causes the heart of this reader to race as eyes read, from verse to verse, and take it all in, rather drink it all in....from the thick mists, to the ending of....

Be monsters there. Well, let them come!

Your images/pictures, footnotes are also a great part of your work, as I have learned much from reading them
.
Admittedly, I am not familiar with the legend, but feel honored to have learned of it in such an informative and entertaining way.....as Master Rick is able to do this!

As Mark has said in his review below.......you stand shoulder to shoulder with the other great epic writers!!!
And, I do not say this to flatter you, but rather to give homage to a GREAT POET/STORYTELLER!!!
This is surely going in my favorite's folder!!

With Much Respect!!
Sheila

[Mark]

Coleridge, Wordsworth, Longfellow and Gordon Lightfoot got nuttin on you, amigo! That's some pretty steep company, but you have taken more complex topics from more eras of history and mythology, and rendered then into a form approachable by we largely iliterate masses than any of them ever dared! In the format of the heroic epic, or the quest-romance, I have read none better, so take a bow! Mark

[Samuel Ferris]

hey man yea i post form time to time but write now im working on finish my the first movement to an orchestral piece, as well as practicing and getting ready for grad school. I like this poem, the ring cycle of wagner is pretty bad a*s, and i dig norse legend, i wonder if you have ever read the heroe with a thousand faces, im currently reading it and it has made me think of ritual, and mythology in a different way. My one critisism is that one thing i think you still tend to do, perhaps on purpose, is try to describe
the feeling or mood you are trying to evoke. People read and listen to music or watch movies for the same reasons they go to church. People want catharsis, revelation. They need to be tricked in a sense. An example:

1.That church was sooo terrifying.
2.The damp floor creeked beneath me,
echoing in the distance i felt a shutter
as the winds howls grew nearer.
We may understand the word terrifying but it holds no power,
the terror is evoked in the second passage by the implication of the unkown.
The revelation, comes upon completion of the tension that is evoked much as cadence of a good piece of music.
Hence we are tricked into percieving the world differently.


The idea that "all powers wither" is cliche, we all know this in our logical mind, the job of the poet, musician, is to make us experience this.

[Belator Books]

You are brave and imaginative to attempt the epic; there are so few good modern examples to peruse; the story presented felt unique and overcast with history.

My only nit is the XX stanza:

"Make another!" screamed the young man
"Make a sword that will kill dragons!
Are you smith or are you farmer?"
Screamed the lad in maddened fervor.

I very much liked the line 'Are you smith or are you farmer?'... a gem. My issue came with using screamed twice in the short space; it seemed to set the rhythm off kilter just a bit, but that was in speaking the lines aloud.

The faltering English, at first, sounded a bit odd... almost 'Native American' in tone, especially as the subject matter grew Norse; however it began to round itself out the more as I read, sounding as if the piece was translated from Danish, into the more complicated language of English.

I liked this line the most: 'On his shoulder, on his skin bare'; the way it was worded suggests the flow of the spoken word, verses begin merely printed on e-paper.

The 'plot'--so to speak--flows very well; the message is quite excellent and your lyrical talents show through in each stanza,painting a lengthy series of pictures; in reading this, one feels much as a child sitting around a nighttime fire, listening to sagas related in fluted tones, watching the swirling hand motions oft he story-teller. Nicely done.

[emmajoy]

I've read and re-read this immense piece of writing with absolute awe. You have the extraordinary skill of presenting an ancient epic in a style that even someone like me can see each scene; as you progress line by line by line the details are laid in near melodic form and in quite simple language. As to the added notes, they add seasoning to the banquet because now I want to read more, listen more and, of course, learn more. If your writing has touched whatever intellect and emotion I possess then you've done more than write a very carefully contrived version of a great tale.

Even the names conjur atmosphere, ' It is by the will of Æsir! .. To fulfill the plans of Odin .. Odin who did kill his father .. Even though he be his own kin '

Also I noticed some very gentle lines which contrast beautifully: XXXll 'Forest birds they now were waking .. Now dawn’s bright rays lit the forest .. And the steam rose from the grasses .. And the sun's light danced in tree tops ' - very much the peace before the storm of XXXVll

In his determination and courage to overcome the dragon, Sigurd could be thought foolhardy, yet surely many reading this story (in any form) would be inspired.

Fascinating picture, superb writing!

[Charles D. Moorer]

This is excellent. It is obvioius from the notes you provided that you are well versed in the Norse/Germanic legend of the dragon slayer. I want to say ditto to the featured reviewer. He said it all when he spoke of your fidelty to the meter and attendion to your craft. This is very well done. I applaud you.

[cest la vie]

Rick,
I echo your other reviewer's comments.
To add my own I am in complete awe. This is another wonderful epic poem which is rich in history, details, imagery.
Your attention to the subject is nothing short of remarkable. The entire piece is flawless. Again, you have taught this meager reader a wonderful class lesson on mythology. Brilliant my friend!!

Lynne