Fafnir

Also known as: Fafner · Role: son of Hreidmar; lay on the gold in the likeness of a serpent · First appears: Elder Edda · The Lay of Hyndla

In the Lay of Hyndla, Fafnir is named as the one who slew Sigurd. In Gripir’s Prophecy, Gripir foretells that Sigurd will slay Fafnir and Regin at Gnitaheid, take Fafnir’s riches, and ride to Giuki.

In the Second Lay of Sigurd Fafnicide, Fafnir and Regin demand their share of the blood-fine for their slain brother Otter from their father Hreidmar. Fafnir stabs Hreidmar while he sleeps, takes all the gold after his death, and refuses Regin a share of the patrimony. In the Poetical Diction, Fafner and Regin agree to kill their father for the gold; after killing him, Fafner refuses to share it and goes to Gnita-heath, where he takes the likeness of a serpent and broods over the gold.

At Gnitaheid, Sigurd pierces Fafnir to the heart and kills him. Fafnir warns him, “Regin betrayed me, he will thee betray, he of us both will be the bane.” Regin cuts out Fafnir’s heart and drinks his blood, while Sigurd eats the heart, drinks the blood of both brothers, and takes Fafnir’s treasures.