The name Signy appears across several Old Norse saga narratives as a mortal woman of royal or notable birth rather than a supernatural being. The principal Signy of the Völsunga saga is introduced as the only daughter of King Völsung of Hunaland and Hljóð the giantess; reluctantly married to King Siggeir of Gautland, she becomes the engine of a prolonged vengeance plot after her father and brothers are treacherously attacked at her wedding. A separate Signy in the Hagbard–Signy legend is a lover of the sea-king Hagbard who vows to die if he is executed and immolates herself when she learns of his fate. Other saga-personae named Signy appear in different narratives (for example, a Signy in Illuga saga Gríðarfóstra who is the daughter of the witch Gríðr), showing the name’s repeated use for tragic or rescued female figures in the legendary corpus.
The saga accounts supply little in the way of sustained physical description; Signy is characterized primarily by social identity and actions (daughter of Völsung and Hljóð; wife of Siggeir; lover of Hagbard) rather than appearance details such as hair, height, or dress. Narrative episodes highlight her roles—royal daughter, wife, mother (mother of Sinfjötli in the Völsung cycle), and oath-bound lover—while explicit physical portraiture is not given in the summarized sources.
Signy is portrayed as an agentive, cunning human within saga logic rather than as an innate supernatural actor. She warns kin, arranges escapes (for example facilitating Sigmund's concealment), and orchestrates vengeance after her family is betrayed. In the Völsunga account she undergoes a sorcery-mediated shape-exchange with a sorceress: Signy assumes the sorceress's appearance (the sources describe an exchange of shapes) to sleep with her own brother Sigmund for three nights, producing the son Sinfjötli who is instrumental in avenging Völsung. The transformation in this episode is effected through cooperation with a sorceress rather than presented as Signy’s independent magical power. Her behaviors include ordering the deaths of her own children when they prove unfit for vengeance, and committing self-immolation as an oath-keeping or final act once vengeance is complete.
Weaknesses
- conditionmortality
Wards
None recorded.
Vetala
A spirit that inhabits and reanimates corpses, possessing supernatural knowledge and the power to prophesy. One of the most feared beings in Shaiva tradition.
Lamia
In ancient Greek mythology, Lamia is described as a child-eating monster who, in later tradition, came to be regarded as a type of night-haunting spirit or 'daimon'. The supplied sources do not provide a full physical description or detailed mythic genealogy, and some modern fictional portrayals recast her with serpentine features which are not attested in the provided classical summary.
Adils
Adils (Old Norse Aðils; also Eadgils, Adillus, Athisl, Adhel) is a semi‑legendary sixth‑century Swedish king attested in Old Norse saga material and later medieval traditions. He appears in saga episodes as a storied royal figure involved in warfare, court acts, and marriage suits rather than as a supernatural being.
Agilaz (Egil)
Agilaz (reconstructed Proto-Germanic) — commonly recorded in medieval sources as Egil or Ægil — is a legendary archer attested in Germanic heroic tradition. He appears as the brother of Völund (Wayland/Weland) in the Old Norse poem Völundarkviða and in the Thidreks saga, and his name is also inscribed on early medieval objects (Franks Casket, Pforzen buckle). The attested material presents him as a named heroic human archer within saga and inscriptional contexts rather than as a recurrent supernatural species.
Agnarr Geirröðsson
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Agne
Agne (also attested Agni, Hogne, Agni Skjálfarbondi) is a semi-legendary king of Sweden in Old Norse saga tradition, preserved in the Ynglingatal corpus and prose expansions such as Snorri Sturluson's Ynglinga saga. He is portrayed as a mighty and famous warrior-king whose campaign in Finland, marriage to Skjalf, and death by hanging form a remembered episode connected to local place-names and a burial mound.
Alf and Alfhild
Alf and Alfhild are legendary human figures from Old Norse/early Scandinavian narrative tradition preserved principally in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum. The tale presents Alf as a Danish prince and Alfhild as a Geatish princess who becomes a shieldmaiden and leader of a fleet of female raiders; their story includes combat, recognition, marriage, and later dynastic conflict.
Algaut
Algaut (also rendered Algöt or Algaut Gautreksson) is a semi-legendary Geatish king of West Götaland recorded in Scandinavian saga and genealogical tradition. Saga summaries (via Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla as reported in later compilations) record that he was the father of Gauthild and was burnt to death by his son-in-law, the Swedish king Ingjald Ill-ruler.
Almáttki áss
Almáttki áss is an epithet-attested divine figure invoked in an Icelandic legal oath recorded in Landnámabók (Hauksbók 268). In the sole attestation the phrase functions as an invoked áss (god) described with the adjective almáttki ('almighty') and serves as the divine guarantor or witness for an oath sworn on a temple ring. Scholarly sources debate whether the epithet refers to a named Norse god (Thor, Ullr, Odin, or Týr) or is a Christianizing formulation by a later author.
Alrek and Eirík
Alrek and Eirík (also rendered Alaric and Eric) are legendary Swedish kings from the Old Norse saga tradition who are presented as joint rulers and as members of the Ynglinga royal genealogies. They appear in saga narratives as sons and heirs of King Agni, famed for martial and athletic prowess, and as hosts who receive the hero Starkaðr after the sacrificial death of Vikar.
Alvaldi
Alvaldi (Old Norse: Alvaldi / Ölvaldi) is a jötunn in Norse mythic genealogies, attested chiefly as the father of the notable jötunn Þjazi and described in one source as exceedingly rich in gold. He survives in the record mainly as a familial antecedent and an etiological figure rather than as an active participant in preserved narratives.
Alvíss
Alvíss (Old Norse: 'All‑Wise') is a dwarf in Norse mythology who appears in the Poetic Edda poem Alvíssmál as a prospective husband for Thor's daughter Þrúðr. In the surviving narrative Thor tests Alvíss's wisdom through a lengthy question-and-answer session that lasts until sunrise, whereupon the dwarf is petrified by exposure to sunlight.
Amleth
Amleth (Old Norse: Amlóði; Latinized Amlethus) is a legendary medieval Scandinavian prince and saga-hero best known from Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum. He is a human protagonist whose story centers on feigned madness, cunning survival, exile to Britain, marriage, wealth-gathering, and eventual vengeance against his father's murderer; the tale later inspired the character of Shakespeare's Hamlet and numerous adaptations.
Ancient Kings of Finland
In early literary sources, the Ancient Kings of Finland are described as hypothetical or mythical monarchic systems associated with ancient Finland. (Note: 1. Power tier: Lower to Primordial (given the lack of specific abilities and behaviors) 2. Abilities and behaviors are described as 'generally vague', so this section should be reworded or removed 3. )
Community Record
- [1]Signy. Wikipedia, 'Signy' (entry summarizing saga material)wiki
- [2]Signy. Wikidata entry for Signyother
- [3]Asmund & Signy (podcast archive entry). Nashville Public Library podcast page referencing tale pairingsother