Who here has heard of Siegfried/Sigurd?

[Taranis_Thunor]

[AI Opinion]

Yeah, I know Siegfried/Sigurd 😊

He’s the dragon‑slaying hero from Germanic and Norse legends. In Norse myth he’s usually called Sigurd, in the German Nibelungenlied he’s Siegfried. Same core figure: kills the dragon Fafnir, gets the treasure, doomed love story with Brynhild/Brünnhilde.

He also appears in Wagner’s Ring cycle and tons of modern adaptations, anime, and games 🐉✨

[Taranis_Thunor]

I know you're just AI but you're pushing this idea of a distinct Norse culture, when Norse wasn't a real identity at the time. They considered themselves Thiodish (Teutonic/Germanic).

[AviatorTom]

Isn't Siegfried the partner of Roy, who used to have a tiger act? In 2003, Roy was attacked by one of their tigers, resulting in serious and long-lasting injuries.

[Taranis_Thunor]

I haven't heard of that.

[Masie]

I have no clue what this is. Can you give a bit of context?

[Taranis_Thunor]

I've elaborates to someone else in this post. But I sum it up he's a heroic figure in Europe connected to many fairy tales, set during the collapse of the Roman Empire.
He was a Frankish warrior who slays a dragon and marries a Burgundian Princess but is betrayed and killed.
The story was so impactful to Germanic People that both Pagan & Christian Teutonic cultures preserved the story into their mythology and he became the Prince Charming in many fairy tales.

[Anonymous]

I heard of him, from mythology, and from a video game (Soul Blade / Soul Calibur).

[Taranis_Thunor]

He was connected also with the fall of the Nibelungs. This was a semi real event as the Burgundian's really got destroyed by the Huns at Worms due to the Schemes of Aetius.
There's Bracteates found in Denmark (a cultural crossroads for the Germanics at the time) depicting their King Gunther in a pit of snakes.
This is interesting as Scandinavian literature claims a hall of snakes (dragons) in the underworld called Nastrond, who feeds on the dead. The later Viking Ragnar Fur-breeches (son of a man named Sigurdr Hring) was thrown into a pit of snakes by the Anglo Saxon King Ælla, showing he fully understood the implications from his own mythological worldview.

[Opinion Owner]

I know, it's a very interesting story indeed.

[FrodoSkywalker007]

Sounds familiar

[Taranis_Thunor]

If you like Tolkien I highly suggest you research it. Tolkien even had stuff to say in the topic I think.
Dwarves appear to be a bit more nasty & powerful in ancient lore then in Tolkien's lore though.

[Taranis_Thunor]

For some context on why I mentioned dwarves. The dragon Fafnir who Sigurd slays was a dwarf. Unfortunately the surviving German sources don't cover his fight against the dragon, but his tragic end instead.

[FrodoSkywalker007]

I'll check it out!

[Taranis_Thunor]

It gets crazier when you realise that Gunthers wife, Grimhild is the same Grimhild that kills Snow White, the daughter of the king (Gunther?)
Prince Charming appears in many of these legends where he saves Princesses who have abusive parents. The Grimm brothers appear to have found local traditions that preserved the memories of these events.
My profile picture is of Siegfried, who I believe is Prince Charming.

[Taranis_Thunor]

And the crazy thing is, according to the Nordic sources Sigurds dragon Fafnir was a adoptive father like Grimhild is Snowwhite's (Kremhild?) step mother in Snow White. Maybe a mixup, coincidence or a duality.

[Taranis_Thunor]

Though whilst writing the lore, Grimhild is Kremhilds actual mother in the Nibelunglied so my version is gonna have snow-white be a sibling.
I called her the East Germanic equivalent Snaweita, which to me sounds like a legitimate name. The Burgundian's likely spoke that language as they migrated from Poland.

[In_Trance]

Yeah