Ásmundar saga kappabana
Encyclopedia
Ásmundar saga kappabana is the saga of Asmund the Champion-Killer, a legendary saga
from Iceland
, first attested in the manuscript Stockholm, Royal Library, Holm. 7, 4to, from the first half of the fourteenth century. It is essentially an adaptation of the German
Hildebrandslied, but it has assimilated matter from the Tyrfing Cycle
.
, the king of the Huns
had a son named Helgi, who was married to Hild, the daughter of the Swedish king Budli
. Helgi and Hild had a son who was raised by his grandfather and named Hildebrand after him.
Hildebrand became a great warrior and was called the Hunnish champion. When his father Helgi had fallen in a war, his maternal grandfather, the Swedish king Budli, was killed by a Danish king by the name Alf. This Alf took Hildebrand's mother Hild captive and gave her to the champion Aki with whom she had the son Asmund.
When Hildebrand learnt of his father's death, he went to Denmark
and slew Aki. However, Aki had a daughter to whom Asmund proposed for marriage. The princess promised to marry Asmund, if he avenged her father and killed Hildebrand.
In order to slay Hildebrand, Asmund went to Saxony
, which was plagued by Hildebrand and his berserkers. During a series of holmgang
s which took several days, Asmund defeated all Hildebrand's warriors.
When Hildebrand heard of this, berserker-rage came over him and in his rage he killed his own son. Then he went up the Rhine to meet Asmund and when they met they started to fight. They fought well for a long time, until Hildebrand was severely wounded and his sword broke. Then Hildebrand sang to Asmund that they were half-brothers and asked him to be buried in his clothes.
In Gesta Danorum
7:IX.2-X.1, Saxo Grammaticus
tells an essentially identical saga, but all the names have been changed and Hildebrand is called Hildiger.
Legendary saga
A Legendary saga or Fornaldarsaga is a Norse saga that, unlike the Icelanders' sagas, takes place before the colonization of Iceland. There are some exceptions, such as Yngvars saga víðförla, which takes place in the 11th century...
from Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, first attested in the manuscript Stockholm, Royal Library, Holm. 7, 4to, from the first half of the fourteenth century. It is essentially an adaptation of the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
Hildebrandslied, but it has assimilated matter from the Tyrfing Cycle
Tyrfing Cycle
The Tyrfing Cycle is a collection of Norse legends, unified by the shared element of the magic sword Tyrfing. Two of the legends are found in the Poetic Edda, and the Hervarar saga can be seen as a compilation of these legends.-The forging and the curse:...
.
Synopsis
The saga relates that HildebrandHildebrand
Hildebrand is a character from Germanic legend. Hildebrand is the modern German form of the name: in Old High German it is Hiltibrant and in Old Norse Hildibrandr. The word hild means "battle" and brand means "sword"...
, the king of the Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
had a son named Helgi, who was married to Hild, the daughter of the Swedish king Budli
Budli
Buðli or Budli is the name of one or two legendary kings from the Scandinavian Legendary sagas.-Ásmundar saga kappabana:According to the Ásmundar saga kappabana, Buðli was a Swedish king, and the father of Hildr....
. Helgi and Hild had a son who was raised by his grandfather and named Hildebrand after him.
Hildebrand became a great warrior and was called the Hunnish champion. When his father Helgi had fallen in a war, his maternal grandfather, the Swedish king Budli, was killed by a Danish king by the name Alf. This Alf took Hildebrand's mother Hild captive and gave her to the champion Aki with whom she had the son Asmund.
When Hildebrand learnt of his father's death, he went to Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and slew Aki. However, Aki had a daughter to whom Asmund proposed for marriage. The princess promised to marry Asmund, if he avenged her father and killed Hildebrand.
In order to slay Hildebrand, Asmund went to Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, which was plagued by Hildebrand and his berserkers. During a series of holmgang
Holmgang
Holmgang was a duel practiced by early medieval Scandinavians. It was a recognized way to settle disputes....
s which took several days, Asmund defeated all Hildebrand's warriors.
When Hildebrand heard of this, berserker-rage came over him and in his rage he killed his own son. Then he went up the Rhine to meet Asmund and when they met they started to fight. They fought well for a long time, until Hildebrand was severely wounded and his sword broke. Then Hildebrand sang to Asmund that they were half-brothers and asked him to be buried in his clothes.
In Gesta Danorum
Gesta Danorum
Gesta Danorum is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th century author Saxo Grammaticus . It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark and is an essential source for the nation's early history...
7:IX.2-X.1, Saxo Grammaticus
Saxo Grammaticus
Saxo Grammaticus also known as Saxo cognomine Longus was a Danish historian, thought to have been a secular clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, foremost advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. He is the author of the first full history of Denmark.- Life :The Jutland Chronicle gives...
tells an essentially identical saga, but all the names have been changed and Hildebrand is called Hildiger.
External links
- Ásmundar saga kappabana and index to Fornaldarsögur Norðurlanda in Old Norse from Kulturformidlingen norrøne tekster og kvad, Norway.
- The saga in Modern Icelandic
- The Saga of Asmund Champion Killer by George L. Hardman with Facing Old Norse Text