Valkyrie who protects and loves Helgi Hjörvarðsson in the eddic poem bearing his name.
Sváva is a valkyrie in Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar. Helgi Hjörvarðsson, who has long lacked a name, sees a company of valkyries riding through the air and speaks with Sváva. It is she who gives him his name and takes him under her protection. Their relationship is one of the early examples in eddic poetry of love between a hero and a valkyrie.
Near the end of the poem, Helgi is struck by a spear thrown by Álfr and lies dying. He sends word to Sváva and asks her to come to him one last time. A prose note to Helgakviða Hundingsbana II states that Sváva and Helgi Hjörvarðsson are reborn as Sigrún and Helgi Hundingsbani, which thematically connects the two hero cycles. Sváva's independent agency is more limited than that of Sigrún and Brynhildr.
Sources in the Eddas
- Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar
- The primary source for Sváva's role as protective valkyrie and beloved of Helgi Hjörvarðsson.
Interpretive traditions
A What we know
Sváva is well attested in Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar as a named valkyrie with an active protective role towards the hero.
B What we think we know
The rebirth scheme linking Sváva to Sigrún rests solely on a prose note and is probably a late editorial connection.