syn 99
Burial mound in the shape of a sailing ship in
Anundshog, Sweden (Photo by Christer Johansson/
Used under a Creative Commons license)
grew within King Volsung’s hall. Only Sigmund, son
of Volsung, could draw the sword from the tree. After
the sword was broken into shards in a battle between
Odin and Sigmund, the dwarf Regin put the pieces
together to form yet another great sword, Gram, the
weapon used by the hero Sigurd. The story is told in
the V olsunga S aga .
The dwarfs Dvalin and Durinn made the leg-
endary sword Tyrfing at the command of a king who
held them prisoner. They cursed the sword before the
king took it away. Tyrfing brought havoc to the fam-
ily and killed three of the king’s descendents before
losing its powers. This story is told in the Icelandic
H ervarar saga .
In G riminismal , after learning that the man he
has been torturing is Odin, King Geirrod (2) tries to
cut the god free from the ropes that are suspending
him over a fire, but the king falls on his own sword
and dies.
Other swords are mentioned by name in the
Icelandic manuscripts; these include Refill, Regin’s
sword, and Laevateinn, a sword inscribed with runes
and made by Loki near the gates of Hel (2) that will
kill the cock at the beginning of Ragnarok.
S yn (Refusal,
Denial) One of the Asynjur, or
female goddesses. Syn guarded the door of Frigg’s
great hall, Sessrumnir, keeping out all unwelcome
visitors. Syn also was called upon to guide or protect
defendants in trials.