Svafrlami is a grandson of the god Odin. He is best known for his connection to the sword Tyrfing.
History[]
The legendary sword Tyrfing was created for Svafrlami by by the dwarves Dulin and Dvalin. The dwarves resented that they were forced to create the sword, and so cursed it to eventually turn against its wielder.[1]
Tyrfing first failed Svafrlami when it fell from his hand in a battle against the berserker Arngrim. Arngrim sliced Svafrlami in two from head to foot, and carried off his daughter Eyfura as his wife.[1]
Creative origins[]
Svafrlami and the sword Tyrfing appear in Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks (The Saga of Hervör and Heidrek), a 13th century Icelandic saga. It was translated into English in 1960 by Christopher Tolkien, son of J.R.R Tolkien.[2] Some aspects of this story are thought to have inspired Tolkien's The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
The story survives in multiple manuscripts, with various inconsistencies. In one manuscript, Svafrlami is the son of Sigrlami, who in turn is son of Odin. Sigrlami, king of Garðaríki in what is now modern-day western Russia, marries Heid, daughter of Gylfi.
When Sigrlami is killed by the giant Thjazi, his son Svafrlami inherits his throne. Discovering the legendary dwarves Durin and Dvalin by chance while out hunting, Svafrlami forces them to produce the great sword Tyrfing. Svafrlami avenges his father by Thjazi with the sword and marries Thjazis' daughter Fríd, with whom he has a daughter Eyfura.
In another version of the story, it is Sigrlami who obtains the sword Tyrfing from the dwarves, and who is father to Eyfura.[2] In The Waking of Angantýr, Hervor names Sigrlami as the one for whom the sword was crafted.[3] Regardless, Sigrlami does not appear in any Dungeons & Dragons canon.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Giants in the Earth, Dragon #42 (Oct 1980), p.35.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Saga of King Heidrek the Wise (1960), Christopher Tolkien.
- ↑ The Waking of Angantýr, Youtube. Jackson Crawford, 2017.