Who Is Sigmund?
The hero who drew the sword from the tree
Sigmund is a hero of the Norse legend the Saga of the Volsungs and the eldest of King Volsung's ten sons. He is the twin of his sister Signy, and the saga describes him as the finest of all the brothers.
On the night of Signy's wedding to King Siggeir, a one-eyed old man thrusts a sword into the great tree Barnstokkr and leaves. King Siggeir, the guests, and the brothers try one after another, but no one can pull it free. When Sigmund finally takes hold of it, the sword slides out easily. Siggeir offers three times the sword's weight in gold, but Sigmund laughs and refuses: if the sword were meant for him, Siggeir would have drawn it himself. This refusal plants Siggeir's grudge and changes the family's fate.
Sigmund is also the father of Sigurd, the famous dragon-slayer. The saga tells that this sword later breaks, and its pieces are reforged into Gram, Sigurd's legendary blade.
