Sigmund

In Germanic mythology, Sigmund (Old Norse: Sigmundr [ˈsiɣˌmundz̠], Old English: Sigemund) is a hero whose story is told in the Völsunga saga.

In the Völsunga saga, Signý marries Siggeir, the king of Gautland (modern Västergötland).

Finally, in despair, she comes to him in the guise of a völva and conceives a child by him, Sinfjötli (named Fitela in Beowulf).

Dying, he tells Hjördís that she is pregnant and that her son will one day make a great weapon out of the fragments of his sword.

That son was to be Sigurd, who avenged his father by carving a blood eagle on Lyngvi's back.

Sigmund/Siegmund is also the name of Sigurd/Siegfried's father in other versions of the Sigurd story, but without any of the details about his life or family that appear in Norse Völsung tales and poems.

On the other hand, the Old English poem Beowulf includes Sigemund the Wælsing and his nephew Fitela in a tale of dragon slaying told within the main story.

Parallels to Sigmund's pulling the sword from the tree can be found in other mythologies (notably in the Arthurian legends).

Siegmund is a character in Richard Wagner's music drama Die Walkure, part of the larger Ring cycle, which tells the story of an incestuous romance between Siegmund and his sister Sieglinde, who have a son named Siegfried.