Volsung

Volsung, or Völsung in Old Norse, is the legendary founder of the Volsung dynasty in Norse mythology. The name designates the eponymous king whose line features prominently in the Norse legendary cycles. In the most common versions, Volsung is portrayed as a powerful king whose descendants become central figures in a saga of kinship, feud, and fate.

The principal source for the Volsung lineage is the Völsunga saga, a medieval Icelandic tale composed in the 13th century that draws on older Germanic legends. The saga centers on Sigmund, Volsung’s son, and Sigurd (Siegfried), Sigmund’s son, the dragon-slayer who wins the hoard of the Nibelungs with the help of Regin. The narrative unfolds through themes of loyalty, treachery, curses, and tragedy, and culminates in the downfall of the Volsung line and the deaths of many heroes.

Volsung’s story has exerted wide literary influence. It underpins the legend of the Nibelungs and the Siegfried myth, and it inspired later works such as Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen. In scholarship, Volsung is treated as a legendary rather than historical figure, with the tale preserved in Icelandic and continental sources and existing in multiple variants.

See also: Völsunga saga, Sigmund, Sigurd, Fafnir, Nibelungenlied, Der Ring des Nibelungen.