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22:
183:
tree is destroyed, the family will die out." In connection with this, Davidson theorizes that at the bridal feast, it should have been
Siggeir, the bridegroom, who drew the sword from the tree, "and that its possession would symbolize the 'luck' which would come to him with his bride, and the successful continuation of his own line in the sons to be born of the marriage". The sword having been refused to him, Davidson theorizes that this may well have been intended as a deadly insult, and that this lends a tragic air to the scene in the hall.
78:
124:
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Davidson cites records of wedding ceremonies and games in rural districts in Sweden involving trees or "stocks" as late as the 17th century, and cites a custom in Norway "surviving into recent times" for "the bridegroom to plunge his sword into the roof beam, to test the 'luck' of the marriage by the depth of the scar he made".
114:
The tall stranger says that he who draws the sword from the trunk shall receive it as a gift, and he who is able to pull free the sword shall never carry a better sword than it. The old man leaves the hall, and nobody knows who he was, or where he went. Everyone stands, trying their hand at pulling
110:
whom they do not recognize. The stranger is wearing a hooded, mottled cape, linen breeches tied around his legs, and is barefooted. Sword in hand, the man walks towards
Barnstokkr and his hood hangs low over his head, gray with age. The man brandishes the sword and thrusts it into the trunk of the
182:
Providing examples of historical structures built around trees, or with 'guardian trees' around or in the structure in
Germanic areas, Davidson states that the "'luck' of a family must largely depend on the successful bearing and rearing of sons, and there is a general belief that when a guardian
166:
Davidson opines that
Siggeir's anger at his inability to gain the sword that Odin has plunged into Barnstokkr at first sight appears excessive, and states that there may be an underlying reason for Siggeir's passionate desire for the sword. Davidson notes that the gift of the sword was made at a
134:
draws links to the sword placed in
Barnstokkr to marriage oaths performed with a sword in pre-Christian Germanic societies, noting a potential connection between the carrying of the sword by a young man before the bride at a wedding as a phallic symbol, indicating an association with fertility.
239:
Andy
Orchard (1997) states that the role and placement of Barnstokkr as a "mighty tree, supporting and sprouting through the roof of Völsung's hall" has clear parallels in Norse mythology with the world tree Yggdrasil, particularly in relation to Yggdrasil's position to the hall of
105:
at King Völsung's hall. At the hall, large fires are kindled in long hearths running the length of the hall, while in the middle of the hall stands the great tree
Barnstokkr. That evening, while those attending the feast are sitting by the flaming hearths, they are visited by a
115:
free the sword from the trunk of
Barnstokkr. The noblest attempt to pull free the sword first, followed by those ranked after them. Sigmund, son of King Völsung, takes his turn, and—as if the sword had lain loose for him—he draws it from the trunk. The saga then continues.
162:
has an apple sent to Rerir. Rerir shares the apple with his wife, resulting in his wife's long pregnancy. Davidson states that this mound is presumably the family burial mound, and proposes a link between the tree, fruit, mound, and the birth of a child.
93:
where King Völsung is described as having "had an excellent palace built in this fashion: a huge tree stood with its trunk in the hall and its branches, with fair blossoms, stretched out through the roof. They called the tree
Barnstokk".
171:', "such as those that used to stand beside many a house in Sweden and Denmark, and which was associated with the 'luck' of the family", and that the 'guardian tree' also had a connection with the birth of children. Davidson cites
928:
1051:
894:
937:
921:
677:
228:, which is also a general term for trees. Byock theorizes that the latter reference to an apple tree may imply a further symbolic meaning pointing to the apple tree of the goddess
914:
179:"used in this story was the name given to the trunk of such a tree because it used to be invoked and even clasped by the women of the family at the time of childbirth."
216:), a word sometimes synonymous with "hearth", and pointing to a potential connection to the fire burning within the hall. Byock notes that the tree is called an
55:, written in the 13th century from earlier tradition, partially based on events from the 5th century and the 6th century, where, during a banquet, a
224:"), which has an unclear meaning as the Icelanders often employed the word as a general word for "tree", and the tree is also referred to as
1114:
603:
873:
63:
is able to pull free. Scholarly theories have been put forth about the implications of
Barnstokkr and its relation to other trees in
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may not conceivably be the original name of the tree, and instead that it is possible that it may have originally been
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244:. Orchard further points out parallels between Sigmund's ability to solely remove the sword from the trunk and
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after it has been thrust "deep into a wooden beam". Some of the structures described in Tolkien's
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and enemy of Siegmund. Barnstokkr has been theorized as English author and philologist
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have been described as "recalling" the position and placement of Barnstokkr in
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tree, and the blade sinks to its hilt. Words of welcome fail the crowd.
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In chapter 3, King Völsung is holding a marriage feast for his daughter
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Anthropomorphic wooden cult figurines of Central and Northern Europe
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The Saga of the Volsungs: The Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer
146:") and the birth of King Völsung, which is described earlier in the
510:
Davidson, H. R. (1960). "The Sword at the Wedding" as collected in
330:, a tree that sits atop Valhalla, grazed upon by a goat and a hart.
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Davidson points out a potential connection between the descriptor
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wedding feast, and states that Barnstokkr likely represents the '
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The Story of Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Niblungs
49:'s hall. Barnstokkr is attested in chapters 2 and 3 of the
938:
Sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology
204:, the first part of the compound potentially having been
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appears and thrusts a sword into the tree which only
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Interrupted Music: The Making of Tolkien's Mythology
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336:, an ever green tree before the Temple of Uppsala.
290:'s immediate source for a scene in his 1954 work
282:, who takes the place of Siggeir as husband of
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45:") is a tree that stands in the center of King
324:, the golden tree that stands before Valhalla.
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597:
158:and prays for a son, after which the goddess
81:"Odin in the Hall of the Völsungs" (1905) by
8:
25:"Sigmund's Sword" (1889) by Johannes Gehrts.
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519:Köhler, Joachim. Spencer, Stewart (2004).
494:J.R.R. Tolkien and His Literary Resonances
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150:as having occurred after Völsung's father
385:
383:
89:Barnstokkr is introduced in chapter 2 of
312:, which Tolkien was well familiar with.
194:Jesse Byock (1990) states that the name
492:Clark, George. Timmons, Daniel (2000).
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521:Richard Wagner: The Last of the Titans
278:. The tree however is in the house of
296:depicting the fictional character of
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559:Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend
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474:Byock, Jesse L. (Trans.) (1990).
300:and his acceptance of the weapon
270:opera cycle, the tree appears as
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874:The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún
516:, Vol. 71, No. 1 (March 1960).
480:University of California Press
1:
1115:Trees in Germanic mythology
545:Kent State University Press
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498:Greenwood Publishing Group
990:
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127:An apple tree in Germany.
537:Flieger, Verlyn (2005).
248:'s drawing of the sword
267:Der Ring des Nibelungen
200:
190:An oak tree in Denmark.
108:one-eyed, very tall man
57:one-eyed, very tall man
979:Sacred tree at Uppsala
557:Orchard, Andy (1997).
334:Sacred tree at Uppsala
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964:Grove of the Semnones
881:The Lord of the Rings
525:Yale University Press
342:breaking Shiva's bow
293:The Lord of the Rings
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398:Davidson (1960:1–3).
346:at his wedding with
132:Hilda Ellis Davidson
41:, literally "child-
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16:Mythological tree
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220:(Old Norse "
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173:Jan de Vries
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156:burial mound
154:sits atop a
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142:(Old Norse "
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90:
88:
83:Emil Doepler
71:
50:
34:
28:
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1079:Sacred tree
969:Donar's Oak
862:Þiðrekssaga
835:Andvaranaut
246:King Arthur
208:, (meaning
1104:Categories
1011:Barnstokkr
840:Barnstokkr
468:References
196:Barnstokkr
177:barnstokkr
144:apple tree
35:Barnstokkr
1036:Yggdrasil
1031:Mímameiðr
804:Hreiðmarr
768:Svanhildr
763:Sinfjötli
284:Sieglinde
272:Barnstock
250:Excalibur
234:Yggdrasil
214:firebrand
101:and King
39:Old Norse
1045:See also
974:Irminsul
698:Brynhild
513:Folklore
316:See also
242:Valhalla
119:Theories
854:Related
828:Objects
789:Andvari
773:Völsung
748:Sigmund
738:Siggeir
703:Granmar
629:Beowulf
563:Cassell
280:Hunding
276:Nothung
103:Siggeir
61:Sigmund
47:Völsung
1026:Læraðr
1016:Glasir
794:Fáfnir
758:Sigurd
713:Gunnar
708:Gudrun
693:Attila
686:People
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486:
344:Pinaka
328:Læraðr
322:Glasir
226:apaldr
206:brandr
140:apaldr
1089:Vörðr
819:Regin
799:Grani
753:Signy
733:Rerir
728:Högne
718:Hogni
354:Notes
302:Sting
230:Iðunn
210:brand
160:Frigg
152:Rerir
99:Signy
43:trunk
1069:Ilmr
845:Gram
809:Odin
743:Sigi
612:The
567:ISBN
549:ISBN
529:ISBN
502:ISBN
484:ISBN
348:Sita
340:Rama
814:Ótr
264:'s
260:In
222:oak
218:eik
212:or
29:In
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33:,
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37:(
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