Tyrfing

Tyrfing or Tirfing was a magic sword which figures in a poem from the Elder Edda called The Waking of Angantýr, and in Hervarar saga. The name is also used in the saga to denote the Goths and the form Tervingi was actually recorded by Roman sources in the 4th century.

Svafrlami was the king of Gardariki, and Odin's grandson. He managed to trap the Dwarves Dvalin and Durin when they had left the rock where they dwelt. Then he forced them to forge a sword with a golden hilt that would never miss a stroke, would never rust and would cut through stone and iron as easily as through clothes.

The Dwarves made the sword, and it shone and gleamed like fire. However, in revenge they cursed it so that it would kill a man every time it was used and that it would be the cause of three great evils. They finally cursed it so that it would also kill Svafrlami himself.

When Svafrlami heard the curses he tried to slay Dvalin, but the Dwarf disappeared into the rock and the sword was driven deep into the rock missing its victim.

Svafrlami was killed by the beserker Arngrim who took the sword in his turn. After Arngrim, it was worn by Angantyr and his eleven brothers. They were all slain at Samsø, by the Swedish champion Hjalmar, and his Norwegian sworn brother Orvar-Odd; but Hjalmar, being wounded by Tyrfing, has only time to sing his death-song before he dies, and asks Orvar-Odd to bring his body to Ingeborg at Uppsala.

Angantyr's daughter, Hervor (by his wife Tofa) is brought up as a bond-maid, in ignorance of her parentage. When at last she learns it, she arms herself as an shieldmaiden, and goes to Munarvoe in Samsø, in quest of the dwarf-cursed weapon. She finds it and marries Hofund. They have two sons, Heidrek and Angantyr. Hervor secretely gave her son the sword Tyrfing. While Angantyr and Heidrek walked, Heidrek wanted to have a look at the sword. Since he had unsheathed it, the curse the Dwarves had put on the sword made Heidrek kill his brother Angantyr.

Heidrek became king of the Goths. During a voyage, Heidrek camped at the Carpathians (Harvaða fjöllum, cf. Grimm's law). He was accompanied by eight mounted thralls, and when Heidrek slept at night, the thralls broke into his tent and took Tyrfing and slew Heidrek. This was the last one of Tyrfing's three evil deeds. Heidrek's son Angantyr caught the thralls, killed them and reclaimed the magic sword, and the curse had ceased.

Angantyr was the next king of the Goths, but his illegitimate half-Hun brother Hlod (or Hlöd, Hlöðr) wanted half of the kingdom. Angantýr refused, and Gizur called Hlod a bastard and his mother a slave-girl. Hlod and 343,200 mounted Huns invade the Goths (See The Battle of the Goths and Huns). The Huns greatly outnumber the Goths. The Goths win because Angantyr uses Tyrfing. He kills his brother Hlod. The bodies of the numerous warriors choke the rivers, causing a flood which filled the valleys with dead men and horses.

[edit] References in popular culture

In the roleplaying game Shadow Hearts it is the final weapon of the vampire character Keith Valentine. It is called Demon Sword Tyrfing.
In the roleplaying game Ragnarok Online, Tirfing is a very powerful dark-element sword, which drains the user's HP as it is equipped. In order to obtain this sword, a player must complete a quest in Umbala, a city placed atop Niflheim.
In the Ragnarok manhwa, Iris enchants Chaos' sword, which is then called Tirfing and used to slay the faced worms.
In the tactical RPG Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, the protagonist Sigurd of the first half of the game is given the holy sword Tyrfing by his father, Lord Vylon.
In Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for the PlayStation, Tyrfing is a sword found in the Castle Keep. It has -30 attack power (typically not even touching enemies), but can inflict a negative status.
In the strategy game Myth: The Fallen Lords one of the berseker is named Tyrfing.
It´s one of the strongest Zweihander weapons in Valkyrie Profile for the PlayStation. A character named Arngrim is one of the 3 characters in the game who can use two-handed Swords.
Viking Metal band Thyrfing derived its name from Tyrfing.
The UK based No Name Theatre Group, produced a short dramatised movie 'Tyrfing' which retold the stories of Angantyr and Hervor. The film is used as a youth work tool to explore issues around weapons and violence.
In the tactical RPG Final Fantasy 3, a Sword named Tyrfing can be found