The story of Ásmund and Signý has been passed down in Icelandic folklore and took its written form through the work of Scandinavian storyteller Josef Calasanz Poestion. Later, it found its way to English-speaking readers in Andrew Lang’s “The Brown Fairy Book.” Though its details are fantastical, the tale provides a glimpse into Icelandic storytelling traditions, with their themes of kinship, deception and the interaction between the natural and supernatural worlds.
Siblings in the forest: oaks, loss and danger
Ásmund and Signý were the son and daughter of a king and queen. Ásmund, with his love for the outdoors, convinced his father to grant him two giant oak trees. He hollowed them out to make them into dwellings for himself and his sister. In these wooden sanctuaries, the siblings lived together, their bond growing stronger even as hardship struck: their father left for war and their mother died, leaving them to fend for themselves.
Meanwhile, Signý’s beauty became legendary. Prince Ring, a neighbouring king’s son, heard tales of her and resolved to find her. On his journey, he encountered a beautiful woman who introduced herself as Signý. Moved by her apparent sadness over her mother’s death and taken with her charms, Ring promised to marry her. Yet, this was a trick. The woman was not Signý but a powerful giant witch. She soon demonstrated her strength by uprooting the children’s oak homes and carrying them away.
Deceit, rage and unlikely unions
Prince Ring escorted the disguised witch to his home, where her arrival and the oaks’ appearance were met with celebration. The prince prepared for marriage by presenting her with fine cloth for her wedding dress. Alone, the witch fumed, unable to sew and dependent on her giant brother for food. Ásmund, sensing danger, persuaded Signý to sew the garment to quell the witch’s anger and restore a fragile peace.
Underneath polite preparations, treacherous plans simmered. The witch’s true intentions involved violence and the summoning of her fellow giants to take control of the court. Ásmund secretly revealed her plot to Prince Ring, who acted decisively by burning down the house with the witch and her brother inside.
The ordeal ended in reconciliation: Ring met the real Signý and instantly fell in love, while Ásmund reciprocated feelings for Ring’s sister. Celebrations followed in the form of a double wedding and a restoration of the proper royal families, each couple returning to their fatherlands.
Folklorists classify Ásmund and Signý’s story as a version of the widespread tale type where the real bride is forced to work for a false one. In Iceland, several variants have been recorded, each blending local landscape, motifs of loyalty and motifs of transformation and disguise.
