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Helgi is attributed to two different genealogies in the sagas. He is described as an Ylfing (the Wylfings of Beowulf) in several places, but also as a Völsung since he is described as the son of Sigmund and Borghild and the brother of Sinfjotle and Sigurd. This is probably due to a merger between the legend of the Völsungs and an earlier legend of Helgi Hundingsbane.
Both Högne and Helgi are described as kings of East Götaland, which may seem to be a contradiction. However, in the Heimskringla we learn that Högne was the father-in-law of the Ylfing Hjörvard. Since both are Ylfings or married into the clan, the battle between Helgi and Högne was apparently a civil war. The existence of a civil war may explain why Hjörvard was a sea-king, a man without roof, despite being described by Sögubrot as a former ruler of East Götaland. If so, the legends may be based on a civil war where Högne had usurped the throne from Hjörvard, but was killed by Hjörvard's kinsman Helgi.
The Völsung origin is most likely a later addition, since the legends of Sigurd describe events in the 5th century and those of Helgi describe events in the 7th century. Moreover, in the 7th or 8th century poem Beowulf, the legends of Sigmund were already known.
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