Sigmund

This article is about the mythological hero Sigmund; for other meanings see: Sigmund (disambiguation).

In Norse mythology, Sigmund is a hero whose story is told in the Völsunga saga. He and his sister, Signý, are the children of Völsung and his wife Hljod. Sigmund is best known as the father of Sigurð the dragon-slayer, though Sigurð's tale has almost no connections to the Völsung cycle.

Völsunga saga

In the Völsunga saga, Signý marries Siggeir, the king of Gautland (modern Västergötland). Völsung and Sigmund are attending the wedding feast (which lasted for some time before and after the marriage), when Odin, disguised as a beggar, plunges a sword (Gram) into the living tree Barnstokk ("offspring-trunk") around which Völsung's hall is built. The disguised Odin announces that the man who can remove the sword will have it as a gift. Only Sigmund is able to free the sword from the tree.

Siggeir is smitten with envy and desire for the sword. He tries to buy it but Sigmund refuses. Siggeir invites Sigmund, his father Völsung and Sigmund's nine brothers to visit him in Gautland to see the newlyweds three months later. When the Völsung clan arrive, they are attacked by the Gauts; King Völsung is killed and his sons captured. Signý beseeches her husband to spare her brothers and to put them in stocks instead of killing them. As Siggeir thinks that the brothers deserve to be tortured before they are killed, he agrees.

Sigmund (comics)

Doctor Sigmund is a Dutch gag-a-day comic strip, created by Peter de Wit. It centers around a short-sized psychiatrist and his constant failing of providing his patients with proper help.

History

Sigmund made his first appearance in an educational TV documentary series for Teleac about the art of drawing comics, presented by Dutch comics artists Hanco Kolk and Peter de Wit. The episode aired on Dutch television in 1992 and dealt with gag-a-day comics. De Wit explained he came up with an idea for a gag-a-day starring a dwarf-like, one-eyed psychiatrist whose cynical attitude towards his patient causes them to hate him. The series was originally called "Mensch, durf te leeven" (after a 1919 song of the same name), but was later changed to the character's name Sigmund, a nod to Sigmund Freud. Only two years later did the comic strip actually get published. It runs in the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant and has also been published in Het Parool, Het Laatste Nieuws and Gazet van Antwerpen In Het Laatste Nieuws it was published as Meneerke Psy, but only ran for three months because readers felt the strip was too cynical. As of 2015, 25 albums have been published, special editions not included.

Sigmund (disambiguation)

Sigmund or Siegmund may refer to:

Siegmund may also refer to:

See also