Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks

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Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks (The Saga of Hervör and Heidrek) is a legendary saga from the 13th
century combining matter from several older sagas.[1] It is a valuable saga for several different
reasons beside its literary qualities. It contains traditions of wars between Goths and Huns, from the
4th century, and the last part is used as a source for Swedish medieval history. Moreover, it was an
important source of inspiration for Tolkien when shaping his legends of Middle-earth. However, the
saga may be most appreciated for its memorable imagery, as seen in a quote from one of its
translators, Nora Kershaw Chadwick, on the invasion of the Horde:
Hervör standing at sunrise on the summit of the tower and looking southward towards the
forest; Angantyr marshalling his men for battle and remarking dryly that there used to be more of
them when mead drinking was in question; great clouds of dust rolling over the plain, through which
glittered white corslet and golden helmet, as the Hunnish host came riding on.

The commentary by the editor and translator Christopher Tolkien is generally accepted, and it agrees
with this article, save where a note indicates differently. [2]

Contents
[hide]
• 1Synopsis
• 2Versions
• 3Age
• 4Influence
o 4.1Early modern texts
o 4.2J. R. R. Tolkien
• 5Editions and translations
• 6References

Synopsis[edit]

Hervor's death
Peter Nicolai Arbo

The saga deals with the sword Tyrfing and how it was forged and cursed by the
Dwarves Dvalinn and Durin for kingSvafrlami. Later, he lost it to the
berserker Arngrim from Bolmsö who gave it to his son Angantyr. Angantyr died during a fight
on Samsø against the Swedish hero Hjalmar, whose friend Orvar-Odd buried the cursed sword in
a barrow together with Angantyr. From the barrow it was retrieved by Angantyr's daughter,
the shieldmaiden Hervor who summoned her dead father to claim her inheritance. Then the saga
continues with her and her son Heidrek, the king of Reidgotaland. Heiðrekr is killed after a riddle
contest with Óðinn. This section of the saga provides our main evidence for medieval Scandinavian
riddles. Between his sons Angantyr and Hlod, there is a great battle about their father's heritage and
Hlod is aided by the Huns. However, Hlod is defeated and killed.
In the end, the saga relates that Angantyr had the son Heiðrekr Úlfhamr who was king
of Reidgotaland for a long time. Heiðrekr's daughter was Hildr and she had the son Halfdan the
Valiant, who was the father of Ivar Vidfamne. After Ivar Vidfamne follows a list of Swedish kings, both
real and semi-legendary, ending with Philip Halstensson, but this was probably composed separately
from the rest of the saga and integrated with it in later redactions.[3]

Versions[edit]

Orvar-Odd and Hjalmar bid each other farewell

Mårten Eskil Winge (1866).

The saga is found in many MSS, but there are three distinct versions called H, R and U, of
which H and R are preserved in vellum. H is preserved in the Hauksbók (A.M. 544, 4to), by Haukr
Erlendsson (d.1334), from ca 1325. R, or MS 2845, 4to, is stored in the Danish Royal
Library of Copenhagen and it is dated to the 15th century. There is also a version called U which is
partially preserved as R:715 of Carolina Rediviva, the University Library of Uppsala, and as AM 203
fol. in the University Library of Copenhagen. This version is from the mid 17th century and was
written by Síra Jón Erlendsson in Villingaholt (d. 1672).
However, these sources differ somewhat. For instance R is held to be closest to the original version
and is more similar to Uthan to H, but lacks the first chapter and an ending. On the other hand, it
includes Hjalmar's death song. H ends withGestumblindi and R ends just before the end of ch. 12.
However, there are two 17th century copies of H, AM 281, 4to (h1) and AM 597b, 4to (h2), and they
preserve the riddles of Gestumblindi from the H version.
A slightly different version of the stemma has been reconstructed by Alaric Hall. [4]

Age[edit]

Örvar-Oddr informs Ingeborg about Hjalmar's death

August Malmström (1859)

The matter on the Gothic wars with the Huns is of considerable age, and is based on events from
the early or mid-4th century that were transmitted for almost 1000 years.
It is a testimony to its great age that names appear in genuinely Germanic forms and not in any form
remotely influenced by Latin. Names for Goths appear that stopped being used after 390, such
as Grýting (cf. the Latin form Greutungi) and Tyrfing(cf. the Latin form Tervingi). The events take
place where the Goths lived during the wars with the Huns. The Gothic capitalArheimar is located on
the Dniepr (...á Danparstöðum á þeim bæ, er Árheimar heita...), King Heidrek dies in
the Horvatya(...und Harvaða fjöllum) and the Battle with the Huns takes place on the plains of
the Danube (...á vígvöll á Dúnheiði í Dylgjudölum). The mythical Mirkwood which separates the
Goths from the Huns, appears to correspond to Maeotian marshes.
Although, the names testify to a historical basis, the events themselves have proved harder to align
with other sources.

Influence[edit]
Early modern texts[edit]
A Faroese ballad, Gátu ríma ('riddle poem') was collected in the nineteenth century that derives
ultimately from the riddle-contest.[5]
J. R. R. Tolkien[edit]
There is much in this saga that readers of J. R. R. Tolkien's work will recognize, most importantly
the riddle contest. There are for instance warriors similar to theRohirrim,
brave shieldmaidens, Mirkwood, haunted barrows yielding enchanted swords (see Barrow-downs),
a mithril mailcoat, an epic battle, a flaming sword and two Dwarves named Dwalin and Durin. J. R.
R. Tolkien's youngest son, Christopher, translated the work in 1960, entitling his version The Saga of
King Heidrek the Wise.[6]

Editions and translations[edit]

The standard scholarly edition of the different medieval recensions of Heiðreks saga is Jón
Helgason's. The English translation (and for many purposes the edition) usually used is Christopher
Tolkien's.
• Olaus Verelius (ed. ), Hervarar Saga på Gammal Götska (Upsala: Curio,
1671), https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=gGlUAAAAcAAJ&
• C. C. Rafn (ed.), Fornaldar Sögur Norðurlanda: Eptir gömlum handritum, 3 vols
(Copenhagen 1829-30), I pp. 513–
533,http://www.heimskringla.no/wiki/Saga_Heiðreks_konungs_ins_vitra (based on the H-text)
• Jón Helgason (ed.), Heiðreks saga: Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks konungs, Samfund til
udgivelse af gammel nordisk litteratur, 48 (Copenhagen: Samfund til udgivelse af gammel
nordisk litteratur, 1924). Diplomatic edition of the MSS R, U, and H.
• Kershaw, Nora, Stories and Ballads of the Far Past (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1921), pp. 79–
150, http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/33471,https://archive.org/details/storiesballadsof00chadu
oft, http://www.germanicmythology.com/FORNALDARSAGAS/HERVARARKERSHAW.html,http:/
/www.home.ix.netcom.com/%7Ekyamazak/myth/norse/kershaw/Kershaw-TOC.htm (English
translation of the H-text of the saga)
• Guðni Jónsson and Bjarni Vilhjálmsson (eds), Fornaldarsögur norðurlanda, 3 vols
(Reyjkjavík: Bókaútgáfan Forni, 1943–
44),http://www.heimskringla.no/wiki/Hervarar_saga_ok_Heiðreks (based on the R-text)
• C.J.R. Tolkien, Hervarar Saga ok Heidreks Konungs. (Oxford University, Trinity College). B.
Litt. Thesis. 1953/4. [Published 1960]
• Hervarar Saga ok Heidreks. Ed. (E.O.) G. Turville-Petre. London: University College London,
for the Viking Society for Northern Research, 1956; introduction byChristopher
Tolkien. http://www.vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/Text%20Series/Hervarar%20saga%20ok
%20heidreks.pdf
• The Saga of King Heidrek the Wise. trans. Christopher Tolkien. London: Thomas Nelson &
Sons (Icelandic Texts), 1960. [30 Jun 60], available at http://vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/The
%20Saga%20Of%20King%20Heidrek%20The%20Wise.pdf.
• Peter Tunstall (ed. and trans.), The Saga of Hervor & King Heidrek the
Wise (2005),http://www.germanicmythology.com/FORNALDARSAGAS/HervararSagaTunstall.ht
ml,https://web.archive.org/web/20120325163459/http://www.germanicmythology.com/FORNALD
ARSAGAS/HervararSagaTunstall.html (R with lacunae filled from H)
• Kershaw, Nora, Stories and Ballads of the Far Past (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1921), pp. 212-16 [translation of the Faroese Gátu ríma.

References[edit]
1. Jump up^ The Battle of the Goths and the Huns. Christopher Tolkien, in Saga-Book
(University College, London, for the Viking Society for Northern Research) 14, part 3 (1955-6), pp.
[141]-63.
2. Jump up^ C.J.R. Tolkien (1953–1954), "Hervarar Saga ok Heidreks Konungs", pp. vii–xxxviii.
3. Jump up^ Alaric Hall (2005), "Changing style and changing meaning: Icelandic
historiography and the medieval redactions of Heiðreks saga", Scandinavian Studies, 77: at p. 14.
4. Jump up^ Alaric Hall (2005), "Changing style and changing meaning: Icelandic
historiography and the medieval redactions of Heiðreks saga", Scandinavian Studies, 77: at p. 3.
5. Jump up^ Nora Kershaw, Stories and Ballads of the Far Past (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1921), pp. 212-23.
6. Jump up^ "Heidreks Saga. Kobenhavm, 1924. Bound in cloth. Signed by J.R.R. Tolkien in
pencil on the end paper". Tolkien Library. Retrieved 20 February 2017.