Prince of smiths, lord of the elves, and the greatest craftsman in Old Norse poetry, captured and avenged against the cruel command of King Níðuðr.
Völundr lived with his brothers Slagfiðr and Egill and three valkyrie maidens by the lake of Úlf for nine years. When the valkyries flew away, the brothers searched for them in vain. Völundr remained, forging rings in deep longing. King Níðuðr had him captured in his sleep, severed his hamstrings, and set him on the island of Sævarstöð, where he was forced to forge the king's treasures.
Völundr's revenge was as artful as it was brutal. He slew Níðuðr's sons, violated his daughter Böðvildr, and escaped on wings he had forged himself. The Völundarkviða is one of the darkest and most complex poems in the Poetic Edda, and Völundr is a figure who unites artistic brilliance with an unrelenting drive for vengeance.
Sources in the Eddas
- Völundarkviða
- The sole complete source for Völundr's story. Own translation.
Interpretive traditions
A What we know
The Völundarkviða is preserved in Codex Regius and provides a coherent account of Völundr's fate.
B What we think we know
Völundr is connected by most scholars to the continental Germanic figure of Wayland the Smith, and the story reflects common Indo-European mythological patterns around the lame divine craftsman.
C What we do not know
Völundr's epithet 'lord of elves' (vísi álfa) has led to speculation about whether he was originally an elf-deity rather than a heroic figure.