The Horse Gullfaxi and the Sword Gunnfoder
Encyclopedia
The Horse Gullfaxi and the Sword Gunnfoder is an Icelandic fairy tale
from Islandische Märchen. Andrew Lang
included it in The Crimson Fairy Book.
Ruth Manning-Sanders
included it, as "Sigurd the King's Son", in A Book of Ogres and Trolls
.
In Lang's variant, the king lamented her long, and one day met at her grave a woman, Ingiborg. Ingiborg told him she had lost her husband and in time, the king married her.
In Manning-Sanders's, the king met a woman in the wood who warned him that she was a troll
's daughter; nevertheless, he had fallen in love at sight and insisted on marrying her.
One day, the king went hunting, and Ingiborg told Sigurd to go with him. Sigurd refused. A giant
ess came; Ingiborg hid Sigurd, and denied he was there. Twice more, Sigurd refused, and Ingiborg hid him, but the third
time, the giantess cursed him to be half scorched and half withered and have no rest until he found her. Ingiborg took Sigurd from his hiding place, told him this showed what his stubbornness meant, but gave
him a string and three rings. If he threw down the string, it would lead him to a giantess, and though she threatened to eat him, he should give her a ring. This would make her offer to wrestle with him; she would offer him wine, and that would let him become so strong he could win. But if her dog came to him, her life was in danger, and he should return, not forgetting his stepmother.
He followed her directions, finding all three giantesses in turn. The last one directed him to go to a lake, where he would meet a little girl called Helga playing with a boat. As he had been instructed he gave her a ring he had got from one of the giantesses, and they played together. Sigurd persuaded her to take him home, but Helga turned him into wool to protect him from her father, another giant. She did this again the second night, but the third day, her father left, and Helga showed him over the house. Sigurd asked about one key. Helga said he must open the door no more than a chink. He opened it, and found a horse, a sword, and a sign saying that whoever rode the horse and wielded the sword would find happiness.
Helga told him about the sword, Gunnfoder, and the horse, Gullfaxi, and added that the twig and the stone with them would make a hailstorm to block pursuit. He persuaded Helga to let him try them, and rode off. The giant chased him, but Sigurd killed him with the hailstorm. Ingiborg's dog came running for him, and he hurried home, where he found them about to burn Ingiborg at the stake, and rescued her. His father, who had been sick in bed from the thought that Ingiborg had killed his son, got up and was well again. Sigurd brought Helga home, and they had a great marriage feast.
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
from Islandische Märchen. Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him.- Biography :Lang was born in Selkirk...
included it in The Crimson Fairy Book.
Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders was a prolific British poet and author who was perhaps best known for her series of children's books in which she collected and retold fairy tales from all over the world. All told, she published more than 90 books during her lifetime. The dust jacket for A Book of Giants...
included it, as "Sigurd the King's Son", in A Book of Ogres and Trolls
A Book of Ogres and Trolls
A Book of Ogres and Trolls is a 1973 anthology of 13 fairy tales from around Europe that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders. It is one in a long series of such anthologies by Manning-Sanders....
.
Synopsis
A king and queen had a son, Sigurd. One day, when Sigurd was ten, the queen died.In Lang's variant, the king lamented her long, and one day met at her grave a woman, Ingiborg. Ingiborg told him she had lost her husband and in time, the king married her.
In Manning-Sanders's, the king met a woman in the wood who warned him that she was a troll
Troll
A troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In origin, the term troll was a generally negative synonym for a jötunn , a being in Norse mythology...
's daughter; nevertheless, he had fallen in love at sight and insisted on marrying her.
One day, the king went hunting, and Ingiborg told Sigurd to go with him. Sigurd refused. A giant
Giant (mythology)
The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
ess came; Ingiborg hid Sigurd, and denied he was there. Twice more, Sigurd refused, and Ingiborg hid him, but the third
Rule of three (writing)
The "rule of three" is a principle in writing that suggests that things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. The reader/audience of this form of text is also more likely to consume information if it is written in groups of...
time, the giantess cursed him to be half scorched and half withered and have no rest until he found her. Ingiborg took Sigurd from his hiding place, told him this showed what his stubbornness meant, but gave
Donor (fairy tale)
In fairy tales, a donor is a character that tests the hero and provides magical assistances to the hero when he succeeds.The fairy godmother is a well-known form of this character...
him a string and three rings. If he threw down the string, it would lead him to a giantess, and though she threatened to eat him, he should give her a ring. This would make her offer to wrestle with him; she would offer him wine, and that would let him become so strong he could win. But if her dog came to him, her life was in danger, and he should return, not forgetting his stepmother.
He followed her directions, finding all three giantesses in turn. The last one directed him to go to a lake, where he would meet a little girl called Helga playing with a boat. As he had been instructed he gave her a ring he had got from one of the giantesses, and they played together. Sigurd persuaded her to take him home, but Helga turned him into wool to protect him from her father, another giant. She did this again the second night, but the third day, her father left, and Helga showed him over the house. Sigurd asked about one key. Helga said he must open the door no more than a chink. He opened it, and found a horse, a sword, and a sign saying that whoever rode the horse and wielded the sword would find happiness.
Helga told him about the sword, Gunnfoder, and the horse, Gullfaxi, and added that the twig and the stone with them would make a hailstorm to block pursuit. He persuaded Helga to let him try them, and rode off. The giant chased him, but Sigurd killed him with the hailstorm. Ingiborg's dog came running for him, and he hurried home, where he found them about to burn Ingiborg at the stake, and rescued her. His father, who had been sick in bed from the thought that Ingiborg had killed his son, got up and was well again. Sigurd brought Helga home, and they had a great marriage feast.