In Germanic heroic legend and folklore, Fáfnir was a dwarf who had shapeshifted into a Germanic dragon (a worm or serpent) to protect a treasure, eventually being slain by one of the Völsungs, usually said to be Sigurð.
In Nordic mythology, Fáfnir is the son of Hreiðmarr and the brother of Regin and Ótr. He is attested throughout the Völsung Cycle, where he commits patricide out of greed, taking the ring and hoard of the dwarf Andvari and shapeshifting into a dragon. Fáfnir's brother, Regin, later assists Sigurð in obtaining the sword Gram by which Fáfnir is killed. Fáfnir has been identified with an unnamed dragon killed by a Völsung in other Germanic works, including Beowulf, the Nibelunglied and a number of skaldic poems. Fáfnir and his killing by Sigurð are further represented in numerous medieval carvings from the British Isles and Scandinavia, and a single axe head in a Scandinavian style found in Russia. The story of Fáfnir has continued its influence in modern literature, such as in the works of J.R.R Tolkien, who drew inspiration from the tale of Fáfnir in his portrayals of Smaug and Gollum.
Etymology
The name "Fáfnir" has been translated from Old Norse as "the embracer", (archaised: "fathomner"), stemming from the verb ("fathom, embrace") with the inchoative verb-suffix and agent noun-suffix . The spelling fáfn- stems from an excrescence following the m, introducing a short /b/ or /p/, in turn morphing into an /f/, thus something akin to /faðmnair/ → /faðmb͡hnair/ → /fahmb͡hnir/ → /fámhp͡hnir/ → /fáfnir/ (compare , Old Swedish: fambna, fampna, from ). Cognates of (the noun of ), includes , , , , , , , , and English: fathom.
The name can be interpreted in various ways. It could potentially be a play on Fáfnir's worm-form. The root sense, "the one who embraces", could refer to the worm coiling around the treasure to brood over it, but a double entendre could also be "the one of many fathoms", referencing the measurement fathom, relating to the worm's massive length.
Appearance
Before taking the form of a dragon, Fáfnir's appearance is not explicitly described. Although his brother, Regin, is described as being a dwarf in Norna-Gests þáttr and resembling a dwarf (), it is not clear if relatives of dwarves are also dwarves, nor is it clear how dwarves are conceived of as appearing. It has been noted that dwarf appearances were presented in the medieval period as highly diverse, and they could even change their form, as is the case with Andvari and potentially also Fáfnir.
While in the form of a worm in Fáfnismál, Fáfnir is described as flightless and snake-like. In the narrative of the later Völsunga saga, however, he has shoulders, suggesting legs, wings or both. This change is consistent with the wider trend in Germanic portrayals of dragons, and likely results from influence from continental Europe that was facilitated by Christianisation and the increased availability of translated romances.
Named attestations General narrative Fáfnir's tale is attested in multiple medieval accounts which refer to a shared story with a general structure as follows: Fáfnir kills his father Hreiðmarr and takes his hoard of treasure that was often given as weregild by the gods Odin, Loki, and Hœnir for their unintended killing of Hreiðmarr's son Ótr. Fáfnir kills his father and flees with the hoard and dwells in the wilderness, often at a place named Gnitaheath, where he becomes a worm-dragon ( or ). Fáfnir's brother Regin forges a sword for Sigurð and convinces him to kill Fáfnir by hiding in a pit and striking him from below as the worm goes past, which Sigurð does. Regin asks him to cook the worm's heart for him to eat. As Sigurð does this, he checks to see if it is cooked by touching it, whereupon he burns his finger and sucks it to cool it down. The blood from the heart imparts to him the ability to understand birds, who he overhears talking about how Regin will betray him. Fearing this, Sigurð kills Regin and takes the treasure, loading it up on his horse Grani.
Poetic Edda
The Poetic Edda contains two poems that mention Fáfnir. In the prose of the first, Reginsmál, the eponymous figure Regin tells Sigurð that once Odin, Loki, and Hœnir went to the foss of the dwarf Andvari who lived there in the form of a pike. In that water also lived Fáfnir and Regin's brother, Ótr who was eating a salmon on the bank, in the shape of an otter. Loki killed Ótr with a stone and the gods skinned him before seeking lodgings at the house of Hreiðmarr, the father of Fáfnir and his siblings. Seeing the otter skin, the family seized the gods and demanded that the gods fill and cover the skin in red gold as weregild. Loki caught Andvari using Rán's net and extorts the gold from him. In the poem, Andvari curses the gold which the gods give to Hreiðmarr. Fáfnir and Regin asked their father for some of the weregild but he refused, leading Fáfnir to kill him. As he dies, Hreiðmarr calls out to his daughters Lyngheiðr and Lofnheiðr, but they take no action. Fáfnir then takes all the hoard, refusing to share it with his brother, and takes to Gnitaheath, where he took the shape of a worm. Along with Andvari's ring, Andvaranaut, the treasure here is described as including the Helm of fear ().
In the second poem, Fáfnismál, the prose prologue describes Sigurð and Regin going to Gnitaheath, where they find the track Fáfnir made as he crawled to the water to drink. Sigurð digs a trench across the path and hides in it. Later, Fáfnir leaves his hoard, blowing out atter, and moves over Sigurð, who stabs him through the belly and into the heart. As the worm dies, the poem begins and consists of a conversation between him and Sigurð, in which Fáfnir asks for information about Sigurð, such as his name which he initially hides in riddles. Fáfnir then warns Sigurð against the gold, telling him that it will bring his death who responds, saying that a time will come for everyone to journey to hell. The poem moves to Fáfnir teaching Sigurð lore, such as the identity of the Norns and the island where the gods will meet with Surtr. Fáfnir then warns Sigurð of the hoard again before the worm dies. Regin then meets with Sigurð where they quarrel over who deserves the praise for the death of Fáfnir. Notably here, Regin refers to his brother as an "ancient ". Regin then cuts out Fáfnir's heart with his sword Riðill and tells Sigurð to cook it for him while he sleeps. While cooking it on a spit, Sigurð tests to see if it is done but accidentally burns his finger in the process and sucks it, putting the heart's blood into his mouth. The blood allows Sigurð to understand seven birds who are talking nearby about how Regin is going to kill Sigurð and take the hoard for himself. Fearing they were right, Sigurð chops off Regin's head, eats Fáfnir's heart, then drinks the blood of both brothers. The following prose tells how Sigurð then followed Fáfnir's trail to his lair, which is described as a house dug down into the earth, the gates, gate posts and beams of which were all made of iron. Inside, Sigurð finds among the hoard the ægishjálmr, a golden mail coat and the sword Hrotti, and loads all of it onto his horse Grani's back.
Prose Edda In the section of the Prose Edda, Skáldskaparmál, Snorri Sturluson describes the story of Fáfnir when explaining kennings for gold such as "Lair or abode of Fáfnir" and "Metal of Gnita Heath". This account tells of how Odin, Loki, and Hœnir were journeying when they came to a foss in which an otter was lying down eating a salmon. Loki killed it with a stone and they took both the otter and the fish with them as they walked. They came to a farm where lived Hreiðmarr with his sons, Regin and Fáfnir. The family recognised the otter skin as being their kinsman Ótr and bound the gods, who offered a ransom for their lives. It was agreed that the gods were to fill and cover the skin with red gold. The gods sent Loki to Svartálfaheim to gather the ransom which he fulfilled by coercing the dwarf Andvari to give up his gold and the ring, Andvaranaut. The treasure further included the sword Hrotti and the , here explicitly referred to as a helm. As Loki left, Andvari cursed the ring and warned that the treasure would be the death of anyone who owned it.
In contrast to in Reginsmál, both the brothers kill their father when he refuses to share the gold and as in the poem, when Regin asked again to share the gold, Fáfnir threatened to kill him too. Fáfnir then leaves to Gnitaheath where he made a lair and took on the form of a worm. Regin left and began working as a smith for King Hjálprekr and began fostering Sigurð. He forged the sword Gram and gave it to Sigurð, encouraging him to kill Fáfnir and take the hoard. Following Regin's advice, Sigurð dug a pit along a path Fáfnir would take to take a drink and hid in it, waiting for him to pass over. As he did, Sigurð stabbed him and the dragon died without any further conversation. As a sign of thanks, Regin asks Sigurð if he could roast his brother's heart in a fire so the smith could eat it. Agreeing, Sigurð began cooking it, but as he did, he burnt his finger on it and sucked it. The juices from the heart gave him knowledge of the speech of birds. Snorri then quotes Fáfnismál, in which the birds tell Sigurð that Regin is planning to betray him. Heeding the birds' warning, Sigurð kills Regin and takes the hoard for himself and loads it onto his horse Grani.
Völsunga saga
Völsunga saga presents the most cohesive and extensive account of the Sigurð tradition and its author likely had access to the Poetic Edda as a source.
Within it, Fáfnir's brother Regin recounts to his foster son Sigurð a story closely following the version in the Poetic and Prose Eddas, in which Odin, Loki, and Hœnir had to pay a large amount of gold as weregild for the killing of Ótr, who in this account is described as having the likeness of an otter by day. After the gods gave the gold to Hreiðmarr, Fáfnir killed his father Hreiðmarr to get all the gold for himself, venturing into the wilderness to keep his fortune. There he became ill-natured and greedy and so became a worm and took to ever lying on his treasure to protect it.
Plotting revenge to get the treasure, Regin sends Sigurð to kill the worm. Regin instructed Sigurð to dig a pit where he could lie in wait under the trail Fáfnir used to go to drink and stab him with the sword Gram as he crawls over the pit. Regin then ran away in fear, leaving Sigurð to the task. As Sigurð dug, Odin appeared as an old man with a long beard. He advised the warrior to dig more than one trench for the blood of Fáfnir to run into, and then disappeared. The earth shook as Fáfnir made his way to the stream, blowing poison before him. Sigurð, waiting in the hole below, stabbed Fáfnir in the left shoulder as he crawled over the ditch, mortally wounding the worm who thrashed about with his head and tail. As Fáfnir died, he spoke to Sigurð and asked for his name, his parentage, and who sent him on such a dangerous mission. Sigurð in return asks the dragon questions about lore as in Fáfnismál. During this, Fáfnir figured out that his brother, Regin, orchestrated his killing and foretold that the hoard would also cause Sigurð's death.
After Fáfnir's death, Sigurð cut the worm's heart out with the sword Riðill and Regin returns, drinking his brother's blood. Regin then asked if he could eat the heart, and agreeing, Sigurð roasted it on a spit. He touched it to check its doneness, and it burnt his finger. He stuck his finger in his mouth, and once Fáfnir's heart-blood touched his tongue, he became able to understand the speech of birds. He then overhears nearby birds warning him of Regin's treachery and advising him to eat the heart himself and kill Regin. Following their words, he ate some of Fáfnir's heart and saved some, before decapitating Regin with Gram.
Norna-Gests þáttr