Ásmundar saga kappabana [The Saga of Asmund the Champion-Killer]

Ásmundar saga kappabana [The Saga of Asmund the Champion-Killer], generally believed to have been composed around 1300, belongs to the group of fornaldarsögur associated with early Germanic heroic tradition. The saga opens in Sweden, where two smiths lay a curse upon a sword destined to cost the Swedish king’s two grandsons their lives, prompting the king to attempt to dispose of the weapon. His daughter Hildr is married twice, first to Helgi, the son of the king of Húnaland. They have a son, Hildibrandr, who is fostered in Húnaland by his paternal grandfather. Helgi, away on a war expedition, is killed. Meanwhile, the land is attacked by the Danish king Álfr, who carries off the queen as war-booty and marries her to Áki. Hildr and Áki have a son, Ásmundr. Hildr’s first son, Hildibrandr, ravages...