Who Is The One-Eyed Old Man (Odin) (Odin)?
The nameless god who sets fate in motion
Odin
Odin is the chief of the Norse gods, the god of wisdom and war. He is said to have given up an eye in exchange for wisdom, and he is well known for appearing among humans disguised as a wandering traveler. In the Saga of the Volsungs, he is named as the father of Sigi, the founder of the Volsung line.
On the night of Signy and King Siggeir's wedding, a tall, one-eyed stranger in a wide-brimmed hat enters the hall. He plunges a sword into the great tree Barnstokkr up to the hilt and says that whoever pulls it out may keep it, and that no one has ever held a better sword. Then he disappears. The saga never names him, but from his appearance he is generally understood to be Odin.
Throughout the saga, Odin quietly appears at key moments in the family's story, shaping the fates of its heroes.
