Half-divine son of Odin; founder of the Volsung line. The Volsunga saga ch. 1 opens the entire Volsung-Niebelung-Sigurd tradition with his story: Bredi-killing-and-banishment, Odin-aided kingdom-building, brothers-in-law-conspiracy-death. Mother left unseeded — the Volsunga saga does not name her. The genealogical anchor through whose line Sigurd Fáfnisbani descends; the foundational figure of one of the major Germanic heroic-saga cycles.