A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
Unable to reach Hermod’s island cave from the beach, Hadvor dreams of a tall woman who explains the difficulty and provides practical magical aid: a rope down the cliff, a guiding ball of thread, and a belt that prevents weakness from hunger. On waking, Hadvor finds those objects. After the lion skin is burned, she suspects that someone on the island could help them leave. Hermod tells her of a witch readily willing to help others. They visit her cave and find her with fifteen young sons. The text connects the rescue sequence but does not expressly name the dream visitor as this witch, so that identity remains an inference rather than a stated fact.
The witch lends a boat but warns that the buried giant now waits as a great whale. She tells them to call her by name in danger, although the printed story does not supply that personal name. When they do, a huge whale and fifteen smaller whales arrive behind the boat and pass it to meet the aggressor. The matching number of sons and the immediate response frame these as the witch’s assisting family in animal form. Their fight makes the sea violent enough to threaten the boat; blood colours the water before they disappear and the travellers land safely. Her role is protective throughout this encounter, distinct from the royal impostor’s coercive enchantments.
Origins & earliest records
The Yellow Fairy Book (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1894), edited by Andrew Lang, prints Hermod and Hadvor as an Icelandic tale in footnote 32. The names and episode belong to this literary retelling, which supplies no named oral narrator.
Records & interpretation
The full tale follows the enchantment, underground visits, island rescue, whale battle, rat-and-mouse ending and royal succession. Forms explicitly connected by dialogue or the narrated outcome remain together; unrelated figures with similar anatomy remain separate.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
The Yellow Fairy Book: Hermod and Hadvor
Complete selected narrative through Hermod’s marriage and Olof’s final marriage. This Hermod is not identified with the Eddic rider to Hel.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary literary retellingLang 1894: complete Hermod and HadvorResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
