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The Mythology of Wayland The Smith
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Pronunciation Guide
Weyland — WAY-lund
Ardre — AR-dreh
Vǫlundarkviða — VUH-lun-dar-KVITH-ah
Slagfiðr — SLAG-vith-ur
Hervör / Hervǫr — HAIR-vur
Niðhad — NITH-had
Níðuðr — NEE-thuth-ur
Sævarstöð — SIGH-var-stuth
Deor — DAY-or
Bǫðvildr — BUHTH-vild-ur
Wayland was a legendary blacksmith in Germanic mythology. There are runestones throughout Scandinavia that depict his legend, including the Ardre Image Stones in Sweden. He was even said to have crafted armour for the legendary hero Beowulf.
Wayland’s tale was widely told in the Germanic world, most notably in the ‘Vǫlundarkviða’ from the Poetic Edda. The Poetic Edda was a collection of mythic Old Norse poems that was compiled during the late thirteenth century CE, although the poems in it were said to have been told as early as the ninth century.
Wayland’s story began when he, along with his two brothers, Egil and Slagfiðr, encountered three swan maidens. They were so overawed by the maidens’ beauty and grace that they fell in love with them. And so, each brother married one of the swan maidens. Wayland wedded Hervör. They spent many happy years together. But then the swan maidens left the mortal realm to fulfil their fate. Egil and Slagfiðr followed them and were never seen again. Wayland, however, chose to remain. He believed that one day Hervör would return to him. And so he began making a ring to give her when she returned.
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Years went by, and still she had not returned. While Wayland waited, he resolved to dedicate himself to blacksmithing. He made countless treasures. Word of Wayland’s master craftwork spread far and wide. Then, one day, King Niðhad demanded that Wayland come to his kingdom and make treasures for him. But Wayland refused. The king didn’t take kindly to this refusal, however. He sent his armies to capture Wayland. King Niðhad’s soldiers stormed Wayland’s workshop, stealing Hervör’s ring. They then took Wayland to the island of Sævarstöð, slitting the tendons in his hamstrings so he could not escape. There, he was forced to spend his days crafting treasures for King Niðhad. But even though there seemed to be little hope of Wayland escaping his fate, he never gave up. Day after day he crafted, and day after day he thought of new ways to escape. Finally, he came up with the idea of building a set of wings that would allow him to fly away. And so, while he continued to craft treasures for the king, he secretly began building his flying contraption.
Meanwhile, the king’s two sons visited Wayland. They desired to secretly take some of the treasure for themselves. But Wayland tricked them. He killed them both and used their remains in his work. He made goblets from their skulls, jewels from their eyes, and brooches from their teeth. The next time the king came to Sævarstöð to collect Wayland’s creations, he was overjoyed with the fine things Wayland had made him.
Some time later, King Niðhad’s daughter, Bǫðvildr, came to see Wayland. Her ring — the very same ring that he had made for Hervör — was broken and needed to be repaired. Wayland agreed to help, but only if she stayed and drank with him. That evening Wayland seduced Bǫðvildr and spent the night with her.
By now, Wayland’s flying contraption was ready. He strapped it to his back and escaped from the island. He flew straight to King Niðhad’s castle and told the king of all that he had done. He told him that the goblets he drank wine from were made of his sons’ skulls, that the jewels his wife treasured so dearly were his sons’ eyes. He even told him about the night he had spent with Bǫðvildr. At that, Bǫðvildrburst into tears, saying that what Wayland said was true, but also that she was now pregnant with Wayland’s child. King Niðhad immediately ordered his archers to shoot Wayland, but Wayland easily dodged the arrows. Then, he flew away, never to be seen again. In some tellings, Wayland wore bladders filled with King Niðhad’s sons’ blood. When King Niðhad’s archers fired at Wayland, Wayland allowed them to hit him so that the arrows burst the bladders and caused the blood to rain down over the king.
The myth of Wayland was widely known among the Germanic-speaking peoples, so when the Anglo-Saxons arrived in Britain from northern continental Europe in the fifth and sixth centuries, the tale came with them. The Old English poem ‘Deor’, said to have been composed between the eighth and tenth centuries, for instance, described Wayland’s suffering in vivid detail. Another instance of Wayland’s myth in Britain was depicted on the Franks Casket, an Anglo-Saxon decorative whale-bone chest made in the early eighth century. The chest combined imagery from Germanic legend, Roman history, and Christian traditions; among these was a depiction of Wayland’s story.
On the slopes of the Berkshire Downs in Oxfordshire lie the ruins of a Neolithic long barrow known as Wayland’s Smithy. Legend has it that if you left an unshod horse at the barrow overnight, along with a silver coin, the following morning your horse would be shod, and the silver coin would be gone.
Sources
Vǫlundarkviða
Deor
DISCLAIMER: While certain dates and general historical context in this post reflect scholarly consensus, most of the content comes from mythological, legendary, and traditional sources rather than historical records, unless stated otherwise.
