Hermod and Hadvor

Andrew Lang (1844 – 1912) was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him. Lang was also a prolific author of works both fiction and non.

Hermod and Hadvor is an Icelandic fairy tale included it in The Yellow Fairy Book. It follows a widowed king Olof, who married a young queen of Hetland the Good, for this was the last will of his wife. His daughter, Hadvor, and a foster son, Hermod, took little notice of their step mother. However, the king had to go to war one day. In his absence, his children and wife had an argument over queen’s want to Hermod to marry her daugher and cursed each other.