n.
or Sigurd
Hero of German and Old Norse mythology noted for his outstanding strength and courage.
He is one of the heroes of the Poetic Edda and the Nibelungenlied , and he figures in many different, sometimes inconsistent, legends. In the earliest stories, Siegfried is presented as a boy of noble lineage who grew up without parental care, but other accounts provide elaborate detail of a courtly upbringing. One legend tells of his battle with a dragon, and another of his acquiring treasure. He also plays a part in the story of Brunhild , in which he meets his death. He is the hero of Richard Wagner 's operatic tetralogy The Ring of the Nibelung. See also Kriemhild .