Grane, a mythical eight-legged horse that appears in Norse mythology. Grane is the son of Odin’s own horse, Sleipnir. In Norse mythology, Grane is a horse owned by the hero Sigurd. It is the horse that Sigurd receives on the advice of the Norse god (Odin). Grane is a descendant of Odin’s own horse, Sleipnir.
1. Crowded
Sigurd tells the old man that he is going to choose a horse and asks him to accompany him to help him decide. The two take the horses deep into Busiltjorn, and all the horses swim back to shore, except for one large, young, handsome, gray horse that no one has ever ridden.
2. Archaeological evidence
Grane is believed to be depicted on several of the Sigurd stones, which depict images from the legend of Sigurd, the dragon slayer, including the inscription So 327 in Gok, Södermanland County, Sweden. In Norse iconography, the depiction of a horse carrying a chest was sufficient to represent Grane carrying the treasure after Sigurd had killed the dragon Fafnir, which is supported by a kenning in a Norse poem that refers to “Grane’s beautiful load,” indicating a common understanding of the motif.
3. Myths
In the Volsunga saga, Siguror meets a long-bearded old man he has never seen before. He tells the man that he is going to choose a horse and asks for his advice. The old man suggests that they take the horses to the river Busiltjorn. They did so, and all the horses swam back to shore except one; and that horse Siguror took for himself; gray was its hue, and young of age, large of stature, and beautiful to behold, and no man had yet crossed its back.
The old man said to him, “This horse comes from the family of Sleipnir, and it must be fed carefully, for it will be the best of all horses.” The old man, who was none other than Odin, disappeared. Siguror named the horse Grane.
After Siguror killed Fafnir, he took the dragon’s gold and tied it in his saddlebags, and placed it on Grane’s back. Therefore, a kenning for gold is Grane’s load.
Excerpt about Grane Sword and the Dragon Fafnir
Mounted on Grane, his proud horse, Sigurd rode to the Hall and presented himself before Alv, the King, and before Hiordis, his mother. Before the Hall he shouted the name of Volsung, and King Alv felt as he watched him that this youth was a match for twenty men, and Hiordis, his mother, saw the blue flame in his eyes and thought that his path through the world would be like the path of the eagle through the air.
After presenting himself before the Hall, Sigurd dismounted from Grane, stroked him and caressed him with his hands, and told him that he could now return and graze with the herd. The proud horse breathed affectionately on Sigurd and walked away.
Sigurd rode on until he came to the hut in the forest where he worked with the cunning blacksmith Regin. No one was in the hut when he entered. But on the anvil, in the smoke from the blacksmith’s fire, there was a work of Regin’s hands. Sigurd looked at it, and a hatred for what had been shown him rose up in him.
The work of Regin’s hands was a shield, a great iron shield. Hammered into that shield and colored red and brown was the image of a dragon, a dragon stretching out in a cave. Sigurd thought it was the image of the most hateful thing in the world, and the light from the blacksmith’s fire falling on it, and the smoke from the blacksmith’s fire rising around it, made it truly look like a dragon living in its own element of fire and stench.
While he was still looking at the image, Regin, the cunning blacksmith, entered the smithy. He stood by the wall and watched Sigurd. His back was bent, his hair fell over his eyes, all of them ablaze, and he looked like a beast running behind the hedges.
“Yes, look at Fafnir the Dragon, son of the Volsungs,” he said to Sigurd. “You may be the one to kill him.”
“I wouldn’t bother with such a beast. It’s all horrible to me,” said Sigurd.
“With a good sword you will kill him and win for yourself more fame than your fathers ever had,” whispered Regin.
“I will win renown as my fathers won renown, in battle with men and in the conquest of kingdoms,” said Sigurd.
“You are not a true Volsung, or you would gladly go where there is more danger and fear,” said Regin.
You have heard of Fafnir the Dragon, whose image I have carved here. If you ride to the top of the hills, you can look across the desolate land where Fafnir has his lair. Know that it was once a beautiful land where men had peace and prosperity, but Fafnir came and made his lair in a nearby cave, and his breath as he came and went from the river withered the land and turned it into the barren wasteland that men called Gnita Heath.
4. Modern influence
In Wagner’s Ring cycle of operas, the name (as “Grane”) is given to Brunnhilde’s horse. In Digimon Tamers, Grane was the name of the re-equipped ‘Ark’, which was used as a steed by Gallantmon at the end of the series. It was stated directly in episode 47 that it was named by its creators in honor of Siegfried’s horse, Grane.
Grane would later be used to transform Gallantmon into his Crimson Mode during the series finale and in one of the theatrical films. Grane also forms the Old Norse root of the etymology of the island of Guernsey via Anglo-Norman, from “Granes” (Grane’s) “ey” (dialect term for “small island”); although this was likely from the personal name of a Viking rather than a direct reference to the divine horse.
In Fire Emblem Heroes, Grane’s Shield is a skill that protects cavalry units from additional damage from enemies with anti-cavalry weapons.
