Editing Fáfnir (section)

==Unnamed attestations==
A number of sources have been proposed by scholars to refer to Fáfnir and his killing, despite his name not featuring, based on similarities with named accounts of the story, such as his death at the hand of a Völsung or his stabbing from below.

===Skaldic poetry===
====Þorfinnr munnra====
[[Þorfinnr munnr]] is attributed with composing a [[lausavísa]], recorded in Ólafssaga. In this account, Olaf asked him to compose a poem about a tapestry depicting the killing of Fáfnir hanging on the walls:{{sfn|Düwel|1988|p=136}}

{| width="100%"
! width="25%" | [[Old Norse]] text{{sfn|Whaley|2012}}
! width="50%" | Modern English translation{{sfn|Whaley|2012}}
|-
|
:{{lang|non|Geisli stendr til grundar}}
:{{lang|non|Gunnar jarðar munna;}}
:{{lang|non|ofan fellr blóð á báðar}}
:{{lang|non|benskeiðr, en gramr reiðisk.}}
:{{lang|non|Hristisk hjǫrr í brjósti}}
:{{lang|non|hringi grœnna lyngva,}}
:{{lang|non|en folkþorinn fylkir}}
:{{lang|non|ferr við steik at leika.}}
|
:The sunbeam of the land of Gunnr (sword) 
:stabs into the ground of jaws (head)
:blood flows down onto both wound-ships (swords),
:and the prince grows angry.
:The sword quivers in the breast of the ring of green heathers (serpent),
:and the battle-daring leader proceeds to amuse himself with roasting.
|}

====Illugi bryndœlaskáld====
The poetry of [[Illugi bryndœlaskáld]] about [[Harald Hardrada]] contain two stanzas about the death of Fáfnir. The first refers to the killing by Sigurð:{{sfn|Düwel|1988|p=136}}
{| width="100%"
! width="25%" | [[Old Norse]] text{{sfn|Har1}}
! width="50%" | Gade translation{{sfn|Har1}}
|-
|
:{{lang|non|Vargs vas munr, þats margan}}
:{{lang|non|— menskerðir stakk sverði}}
:{{lang|non|myrkaurriða markar —}}
:{{lang|non|minn dróttinn rak flótta.}}
|
:It was the pleasure of the wolf that my lord put many to flight; 
:the necklace-diminisher (generous man = Sigurðr) pierced the dark trout of the forest (serpent = Fáfnir) with the sword.
|}

The second describes the cooking of Fáfnir's heart:
{| width="100%"
! width="25%" | [[Old Norse]] text{{sfn|Har2}}
! width="50%" | Gade translation{{sfn|Har2}}
|-
|
:{{lang|non|Enn helt ulfa brynnir}}
:{{lang|non|— eiskaldi gramr beisku}}
:{{lang|non|mildr réð orms of eldi —}}
:{{lang|non|austrfǫr þaðan gǫrva.}}
|
:Again the thirst-quencher of wolves (warrior) embarked on a well-prepared expedition eastward;
:the generous ruler moved the bitter heart of the snake across the fire.
|}

====Háttalykill====
In a fragmentary stanza in [[Háttalykill]], a reference is made to a worm being stabbed in the heart, which has been interpreted as Fáfnir:{{sfn|Düwel|1988|p=136}}

{| width="100%"
! width="25%" | [[Old Norse]] text{{sfn|Gade|2017|p=1000}}
! width="50%" | Gade translation{{sfn|Gade|2017|p=1000}}
|-
|
:{{lang|non|†arðar† vatni blœtt of vísa}}
:{{lang|non|†endi† heiðar hvals til hjarta}}
|
:…bleeding with water above the leader…
:…to the heart of the whale of the heath (serpent)… 
|}

===Old English===
The earliest known account of the Völsung tradition is the [[Sigemund]] episode in [[Beowulf]], in which a [[thegn]] recalls the [[Wælsing]] ({{langx|non|Völsung}}) Sigemund killing, with a sword, an unnamed worm that was guarding a hoard of treasure.{{sfn|Tolkien|2014|pp=290-291}} This worm is typically identified with, or seen as the English form of, Fáfnir however the Sigemund episode differs from later [[Old Norse]] accounts that attribute to Sigurð the killing.{{sfn|Shilton|1997|p=68}}

The discrepancy in killer has been variously proposed by scholars to be due to the Beowulf account representing an older version of the story, the Beowulf author making a mistake, or the existence of parallel traditions.{{sfn|Tolkien|2014|pp=290-291}}{{sfn|Crawford|2017|p=xxi|loc=Introduction}}

===Continental Germanic===
The tradition of a dragon-killing Völsung is also found in the continental Germanic record. In ''[[Nibelungenlied]]'', Sigefried ({{langx|non|Sigurð}}) kills a dragon to obtain its hoard and in this version, rather than gaining knowledge through the dragon's heart-blood, he bathes in the dragon's blood to harden his skin and protect him from weapons.{{sfn|Lienert|2015|p=38}} Similar to the account in Beowulf, this dragon is normally viewed by scholars as the German equivalent of Fáfnir.{{sfn|Gröning|2022|p=16}}{{sfn|Tally|1983|p=12}}

===Þiðreks saga===
[[Þiðreks saga]] gives an account of Sigurð killing a dragon that shows similarities with both Old Norse and continental accounts, consistent with the saga being written in Norway but likely being based on earlier German material.{{sfn|Didrik|pp=vii, 116-118|loc=Introduction, chapters 157-159}} In this telling, a smith Mymmer tries to have Sigurð killed by sending him into the woods where his brother Regin lived as a dragon. When he found the dragon, Sigurð killed it with his axe, cutting off its head. Hungry, he then boiled meat from the dead dragon but burnt his finger in the process, and so put his finger in his mouth. The juices from the meat made him able to understand the speech of birds, who he overhears telling him to kill Mymmer as he tried to have Sigurð killed. Sigurð then bathes in the dragon-blood which made his skin as hard as horn, except for where a maple leaf had stuck to him between his shoulders. Carrying the dragon head back to Mymmer, who offered gifts to make up for his ill deed, including armour made for King Herding in Nogard, the horse Grane and the sword Gram. Accepting these gifts, Sigurð then kills Mymmer and leaves to seek the maiden [[Brynhilda|Brynilla]].{{sfn|Didrik|pp=116-118|loc=Chapters 157-159}}