The story in one page
The saga begins with Odin planting a sword in the trunk of a great oak tree mid-hall, a weapon only Sigmund is strong enough to claim. This divine favor sparks a generational cycle of betrayal, including the burning of halls and the slaying of a dragon named Fafnir. Sigmund's son, Sigurd, eats a dragon's heart to understand the speech of birds and gains a hoard of gold that carries a deadly curse. As two powerful women, Brynhild and Gudrun, spar over their rank and the men they love, the curse manifests as a series of assassinations, poisonings, and eventual total ruin for the great houses of the North.
Who's who
- Sigurd
The dragon-slayer who wins the cursed gold and a tragic end.
- Odin
The one-eyed god who interferes in the Volsung family line.
- Brynhild
A valkyrie whose pride and broken vows lead to a funeral pyre.
- Gudrun
Sigurd’s wife who survives her husband only to witness more slaughter.
- Fafnir
A man turned dragon by greed, slain by Sigurd's sword Gram.
What it's really about
- Fate
- Inevitability is more powerful than gods or kings.
- The Cost of Greed
- Cursed gold destroys every person who attempts to own it.
Why it's memorable
- Sigurd thrusting his sword into a pit to pierce a dragon's soft belly.
- The sheet being swept away to reveal Sigurd's bloody corpse to his wife.
The ending, explained
Spoilers — show the ending
Brynhild kills herself to be burned on the same pyre as Sigurd, while the remaining kin perish through the schemes of Jormunrek and the curse of the gold.
For your book club
- Whether the curse of Andvari's ring justifies the betrayals within the Nibelung family.
- The contrast between the martial code of honor and the personal desire for revenge.