[sigurd battling fafnir]

Sigurd Fafnirsbani

The picture is a detail of a rock carving found at Ramsund in Sodermanland, near Eskilstuna, Sweden. The full carving depicts scenes from the story of the nordic hero Sigurd, slayer of the dragon Fafnir. As you might expect, the story is filled with violence, greed, lust, love, comedy, magic, and trechery. An English translation of the story as given in the Volsunga Saga can be found at the The Online Medieval and Classical Library hosted by Berkeley University. The University of Pittsburgh has some photos of the Sigurd stone as well as resources on germanic, myths, legends and sagas.