The Poetic Edda Hǫðbroddr appears in two poems of the
Poetic Edda, "
Helgakviða Hundingsbana I" and "
Helgakviða Hundingsbana II", both of which tell the story of the life of the
Ylfing Helgi Hundingsbane. In both tales, he is the son of
King Granmar (whose kingdom is not named in these poems, but described as
Södermanland in
Heimskringla), and the brother of
Guðmundr. However, in "Helgakviða Hundingsbana I", Hǫðbroddr is now a king in his own right, whereas in "Helgakviða Hundingsbana II" his father Granmar still rules and Hǫðbroddr is just a prince. "Helgakviða Hundingsbana II" also mentions another brother,
Starkaðr. Hǫðbroddr is betrothed to
Sigrún, a
valkyrie and the daughter of
King Högne. However, Sigrún does not approve of the betrothal and instead flies to Helgi Hundingsbane and urges him to battle Hǫðbroddr. In "Helgakviða Hundingsbana I", she calls Hǫðbroddr as bold as a kitten, although the following stanzas also refer to him as the bane (i.e. killer) of Ísungr (otherwise unknown). Helgi leads a large army across the sea to attack Hǫðbroddr in a bloody battle. Hǫðbroddr was supported by Högne's sons (Sigrún's brothers). With the help of valkyries, Helgi wins the battle and kills Hǫðbroddr. "Helgakviða Hundingsbana II" says that all of Granmar's sons die in the battle, and includes a description of Sigrún taunting Hǫðbroddr as he lays dying on the battlefield.
Volsunga saga In
Volsunga saga, Hodbrod appears much as he does in the
Poetic Edda. He is the son of King
Granmar and the betrothed of Sigrun, daughter of
King Hogni. He also has a brother, called Granmar like their father (equivalent to Guðmundr in
Edda). Sigrun rejects Hodbrod and urges
King Helgi to kill him. Helgi builds up an army and sets out to attack Hodbrodd, who is now king. Hodbrod gathers his own allies in defence, including Hogni, and the two forces meet at Wolfstone. Helgi kills Hodbrod under his banner, and Sigrun celebrates his death.
Gesta Danorum In
Gesta Danorum by
Saxo Grammaticus, Hothbrodus (as spelled in Book 2, also called Hodbroddus in a single mention in Book 3) is the King of Sweden. He succeeds to the throne after the deaths of his father Ragnar and his mother Swanhwid, daughter of the Danish
King Hadding. Hothbrodus conquered the East, massacring many peoples, and then had two sons named
Athislus and
Hotherus. Hothbrodus then invaded
Denmark, succeeding in killing
King Ro, but Ro's brother
Helgi retaliated, defeating Hothbrodus' army and killing Hothbrodus himself. (Saxo's Helgi is based on both the Ylfing Helgi Hundingsbane and the Danish
skjöldung king
Helgi.)
Gesta Danorum på danskæ Gesta Danorum på danskæ is an
Old Danish work based, in part on Saxo's
Gesta Danorum and another Latin chronicle called the
Chronicon Lethrense. In this work, Hothbrod is
Höðr's father and the son of
King Hadding's daughter. He had been killed by
Helghe to win all of Denmark.
Hversu Noregr byggdist In the Ættartölur (genealogies) of
Hversu Noregr byggdist, Höddbroddr was the son of
Höd, ruler of
Haðaland. Höddbroddr was the father of Hrolf, whose line continued for five further generations. One of his descendants was
Hromund Gripsson. ==References==