'''Helgi Haddingjaskati''' (Old Norse: {{IPA|non|ˈhelɡe ˈhɑdːeŋɡjɑˌskɑte|}}, meaning "Helgi the lord of the Haddingjar"<ref>The Hasdingi were a royal clan of the Vandals.</ref>) was a legendary Norse hero of whom only fragmentary accounts survive.
It is said in the end section of ''Helgakviða Hundingsbana II'', a poem of the ''Poetic Edda'', that the hero Helgi Hundingsbane and his lover Sigrún were reincarnated as Helgi Haddingjaskati and the valkyrie Kára, Halfdan's daughter, who were the protagonists of the ''Káruljóð''.<ref>Hilda Roderick Ellis, ''The Road to Hel: A Study of the Conception of the Dead in Old Norse Literature'', Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1943, repr. New York: Greenwood, 1968, {{OCLC|311911348}}, p. 139.</ref>
''Káruljóð'' is lost, but a part of the adventures of Helgi and Kára are held to survive in the legendary saga ''Hrómundar saga Gripssonar''.<ref>[https://runeberg.org/nfbk/0621.html The article ''Hrómundar saga Gripsonar''] in ''Nordisk familjebok'' (1909).</ref><ref>Henry Adams Bellows' commentary in his translation of ''Helgakviða Hundingsbana II'' (1936), [https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe20.htm at Sacred Texts].</ref> In this legend, Helgi Haddingjaskati is the champion of two Swedish kings named Haldingr. Helgi fights against the protagonist of the saga, who is named Hrómundr, but Helgi is aided in the battle by his lover Kára's magic. During the battle, she is in the shape of a swan, but by mistake Helgi hurts the swan with his sword and is no longer protected by her magic. He is then killed by Hrómundr.
A last fragmentary reference to a ''skati Haddingja'', a "ruler of the Haddings", appears in ''Kálfsvísa'', a part of Snorri Sturluson's ''Skáldskaparmál'': {| | :Dagr reið Drösli, :en Dvalinn Móðni, :Hjalmr Háfeta, :en Haki Fáki, :reið bani Belja :Blóðughófa, :en Skævaði :skati Haddingja.<ref>[https://www.heimskringla.no/wiki/Skáldskaparmál ''Skálskaparmál'' at Norrøne Tekster og Kvad, Norway.]</ref> | :Dagr rode Drösull ("Roamer"), :And Dvalinn rode Módnir ("Spirited"); :Hjálmthér, Háfeti ("High-Heels"); :Haki rode Fákr; :The Slayer of Beli :Rode Blódughófi, :And Skævadr was ridden :By the Ruler of Haddings.<ref>Translation by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur (1916) [http://www.cybersamurai.net/Mythology/nordic_gods/LegendsSagas/Edda/ProseEdda/SkaldskaparmalLXXI-LXXX.htm#skald72 at Cybersamurai] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070507052044/http://www.cybersamurai.net/Mythology/nordic_gods/LegendsSagas/Edda/ProseEdda/SkaldskaparmalLXXI-LXXX.htm |date=2007-05-07 }}.</ref> | |}
==Notes== {{reflist}}
{{Norse mythology}}
Category:Heroes in Norse myths and legends