Völund then went to Alf-heim, where, if the legend is to be believed, he found his beloved wife once more, and lived happy with her until the twilight of the gods.
But, even in Alf-heim, this clever smith continued to ply his trade, and manufactured several suits of impenetrable armor, which are described in later heroic poems. Besides Balmung and Joyeuse, Sigmund’s and Charlemagne’s noted swords, he is reported to have fashioned Miming for his son Heime, and many other remarkable blades.
“It is the mate of Miming
Of all swerdes it is king,
And Weland it wrought,
Bitterfer it is hight.”
Anglo-Saxon Poetry (Coneybeare’s tr.).
There are countless other tales of swan maidens or Valkyrs, who are said to have consorted with mortals; but the most popular of all is that of Brunhild, the wife of Sigurd, a descendant of Sigmund and the most renowned of Northern heroes.
CHAPTER XIX.
HEL.
Loki’s offspring.