Odin In The Saga Of The Volsung
The Saga of the Volsungs is the timeline of the Volsung family, a family that descends from the god Odin himself. Odin’s role in the text is that of an omniscient and powerful overseer, Odin is heavily involved in the character’s affairs. His decisions often affect the outcome of important events in the epic, whenever he appears in the story, it is to interfere in the lives of mortals. He is also responsible for who holds power within the Volsung family, the most powerful in the family is almost exclusively chosen by Odin. The god also plays a distant fatherly role, which sets a precedent for all of the sons who proceed him; Odin acts as the hand of fate and the director of the text. His influence on events is unmatched and it is he who defines the Saga. Odin often acts
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At the beginning of the text, Odin takes Signi on a journey “Odin brought him to where some warships law. Sigi next took to raiding… In the end Sigi was was able to take a kingdom to rule… and became a great and powerful king” (35-36). Early in the text it is evident that Odin controls the saga, in giving Signi the power to become a king, Odin birthed the Volsung bloodline and the entire saga. Another example of Odin’s interference is when Signi’s son, Rerir, wishes to have a son, but is too old to have a child. Rerir prays to the gods for the ability to conceive, “Frigg heard their prayers and told Odin [that they asked for a child] Odin was not without resources. He called one of his wish maidens…and [handed her an apple] …She let the apple fall in [Rerir’s] lap” (36). Odin bestows upon his descendent a child named Volsung, who became an amazing and renowned warrior, if it were not for divine intervention the Volsung bloodline would have never come to fruition. In addition, the marriage of Gunnar and Brynhild is only made possible by Odin’s interference. “Sigurd went to the forest and met an old man with a
At the beginning of the text, Odin takes Signi on a journey “Odin brought him to where some warships law. Sigi next took to raiding… In the end Sigi was was able to take a kingdom to rule… and became a great and powerful king” (35-36). Early in the text it is evident that Odin controls the saga, in giving Signi the power to become a king, Odin birthed the Volsung bloodline and the entire saga. Another example of Odin’s interference is when Signi’s son, Rerir, wishes to have a son, but is too old to have a child. Rerir prays to the gods for the ability to conceive, “Frigg heard their prayers and told Odin [that they asked for a child] Odin was not without resources. He called one of his wish maidens…and [handed her an apple] …She let the apple fall in [Rerir’s] lap” (36). Odin bestows upon his descendent a child named Volsung, who became an amazing and renowned warrior, if it were not for divine intervention the Volsung bloodline would have never come to fruition. In addition, the marriage of Gunnar and Brynhild is only made possible by Odin’s interference. “Sigurd went to the forest and met an old man with a