Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks
Also known as: Hervarar saga and Heidrek, Saga of King Heidrek the Wise, Hervarar saga, Heiðreks saga
A legendary saga weaving the cursed sword Tyrfing, the shield-maiden Hervor, and her son Heiðrekr the Wise into a cycle that culminates in a devastating war between Goths and Huns.
Description
This legendary Icelandic saga traces the fate of Tyrfing, a dwarf-forged sword cursed to bring death and disaster. It follows Hervor, who raises her barrow-dwelling father Angantýr to claim the blade, and her son Heiðrekr, a cunning king famed for riddle contests with a disguised Óðinn. The narrative expands into the feud between Heiðrekr’s heirs: Angantýr and his half-brother Hlǫðr, urged by the Hun king Humli, leading to the climactic Battle of the Goths and Huns. Mixing prose with embedded verse—especially the war-lay “Hlöðskviða”—the saga preserves Gothic lore, heroic ethos, and a meditation on cursed inheritance, fate, and the precarious wisdom of rulers.
Historiography
Surviving in multiple medieval redactions (R, H, U), the saga combines prose narrative with poetic interpolations that appear older than the frame. Editors have debated the relative antiquity of passages and the degree of Gothic historical memory preserved. The riddle sequence has attracted special study for its mythic and folkloric motifs, including the appearance of Óðinn as Gestumblindi. Nineteenth-century national romanticism and modern translators (e.g., Christopher Tolkien) shaped its reception, while scholars situate the work among legendary sagas with cross-references to Eddic lays and continental traditions.
Date Notes
Composite saga with three principal medieval recensions (R, H, U). Prose frame incorporates older heroic lays (notably Hlöðskviða) and legendary material about the Goths and Huns.
Major Characters
- Hervor
- Heidrek
- Angantyr
- Hloth
- Gizur
- Odin
Myths
- The Cursed Sword Tyrfing
- Hervör’s Summons at the Barrow
- The Riddles of King Heiðrekr
- The Battle of the Goths and Huns
Facts
- The saga survives in three principal medieval recensions commonly labeled R, H, and U.
- It interweaves prose with embedded poems, notably the war lay “Hlöðskviða.”
- Tyrfing is forged by dwarfs under compulsion and cursed to cause inevitable deaths.
- Hervor famously raises her father Angantýr from his barrow on Samsø to claim Tyrfing.
- Óðinn appears in disguise as Gestumblindi to challenge Heiðrekr with riddles.
- The saga preserves a legendary memory of conflicts between Goths (Hreiðguitar) and Huns.
- Two different Hervors appear: Angantýr’s daughter and Heiðrekr’s daughter.
- The riddle contest sequence is a key comparative locus for Old Norse wisdom traditions.
- Christopher Tolkien published an influential English translation under a variant title.
- Place names like Glasisvellir and the river Danpar link the saga to eastern horizons.