Eadgils
Name
The Norse forms are based on an older (
Beowulf
The
The text of Beowulf implies that the Swedish king
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Later in the poem, it tells that during the battle, Eadgils's brother Eanmund was killed by Onela's champion Weohstan, Wiglaf's father. In the following lines, Eanmund also appears as the son of Ohtere and as a brother's child:
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Eadgils, however, survived and later, Beowulf helped Eadgils with weapons and warriors. Eadgils won the war and killed his uncle Onela. In the following lines, Eadgils is mentioned by name and as the son of Ohtere, whereas Onela is referred to as the king:
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This event also appears in the Scandinavian sources Skáldskaparmál and Skjöldunga saga – see below.
Norse sources
The allusive manner in which Eadgils and his relatives are referred to in Beowulf suggests that the scop expected his audience to have sufficient background knowledge about Eadgils, Ohthere and Eanmund to understand the references. Likewise, in the roughly contemporary Norwegian Ynglingatal, Eadgils (Aðils) is called Onela's enemy (Ála[11] dólgr), which likewise suggests that the conflict was familiar to the skald and his audience.
The tradition of Eadgils and Onela resurfaces in several Old Norse works in prose and poetry, and another matter also appears: the animosity between Eadgils and Hrólfr Kraki, who corresponds to Hroðulf in Beowulf.
Ynglingatal
The
Although its age has been debated, most scholars hold to date from the 9th century.
Þat frák enn,
at Aðils fjǫrvi
vitta véttr
of viða skyldi.
Ok dáðgjarn
af drasils bógum
Freys ôttungr
falla skyldi.
Ok við aur
ægir hjarna
bragnings burs
of blandinn varð.
Ok dáðsæll
deyja skyldi
Ála dolgr
at Uppsǫlum.[13]
- Translation: "I have learned, further, that the creature of charms [SORCERESS] had to destroy the life of Aðils. And the deed-eager descendant of Freyr [= Swedish king] had to fall off the back of the steed. And the sea [fluid] of the brains of the son of the ruler [RULER] was blended with mud. And the deed-fortunate enemy of Áli had to die at Uppsala."[13]
Note that Eadgils' animosity with Onela also appears in Ynglingatal as Aðils is referred to as Ole's deadly foe (Ála dólgr). This animosity is treated in more detail in the Skjöldunga saga and Skáldskaparmál, which follow.
The
Cujus filius Adils vel Athisl ante ædem Dianæ, dum idolorum, sacrificia fugeret, equo lapsus exspiravit. Hic genuit Eustein, [ ... ][14] |
His son Adils gave up the ghost after falling from his horse before the temple of Diana, while he was performing the sacrifices made to idols. He became sire to Øystein, [ ... ][15] |
The same information is found the Swedish Chronicle from the mid-15th century, which calls him Adhel. It is probably based on the Ynglingatal tradition and says that he fell from his horse and died while he worshipped his god.
Íslendingabók
In
- i Yngvi Tyrkjakonungr. ii Njörðr Svíakonungr. iii Freyr. iiii Fjölnir. sá er dó at Friðfróða. v Svegðir. vi Vanlandi. vii Visburr. viii Dómaldr. ix Dómarr. x Dyggvi. xi Dagr. xii Alrekr. xiii Agni. xiiii Yngvi. xv Jörundr. xvi Aun inn gamli. xvii Egill Vendilkráka. xviii Óttarr. xix Aðísl at Uppsölum. xx Eysteinn. xxi Yngvarr. xxii Braut-Önundr. xxiii Ingjaldr inn illráði. xxiiii Óláfr trételgja...[16]
As can be seen it agrees with the earlier Ynglingatal and Beowulf in presenting Eadgils as the successor of Óttarr (Ohthere).
Skjöldunga saga
The
In Sweden, Yrsa and Adillus married Scullda to the king of Öland, Hiørvardus/Hiorvardus/Hevardus (Heoroweard). As her half-brother Rolfo was not consulted about this marriage, he was infuriated and he attacked Öland and made Hiørvardus and his kingdom tributary to Denmark.
After some time, there was animosity between king Adillus of Sweden and the Norwegian king Ale of Oppland. They decided to fight on the ice of Lake Vänern. Adillus won and took his helmet, chainmail and horse. Adillus won because he had requested Rolfo's aid against king Ale and Rolfo had sent him his berserkers. However, Adillus refused to pay the expected tribute for the help and so Rolfo came to Uppsala to claim his recompense. After surviving some traps, Rolfo fled with Adillus' gold, helped by his mother Yrsa. Seeing that the Swedish king and his men pursued him, Rolfo "sowed" the gold on the Fyrisvellir, so that the king's men would pick up the gold, instead of continuing the pursuit.
As can be seen, the Skjöldunga saga retells the story of Eadgils fighting his uncle
Skáldskaparmál
Skáldskaparmál was written by Snorri Sturluson, c. 1220, in order to teach the ancient art of kennings to aspiring skalds. It presents Eadgils, called Aðils, in two sections.
The first section is the Kálfsvísa of which Snorri quotes small parts:[18]
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This is a reference to the Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern, during which Eadgils slew Onela and which also appears in the Skjöldunga saga. There is also second stanza, where Eadgils is riding his horse Slöngvir, apparently a combination famous enough to be mentioned.
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Eadgils' horse Slöngvir also appears in Snorri's later work, the Ynglinga saga.
Snorri also presents the story of Aðils and Hrólfr Kraki (
When Hrólfr heard that Aðils refused to pay, he set off to Uppsala. They brought the ships to the river Fyris and rode directly to the Swedish king's hall at Uppsala with his twelve berserkers. Yrsa welcomed them and led them to their lodgings. Fires were prepared for them and they were given drinks. However, so much wood was heaped on the fires that the clothes started to burn away from their clothes. Hrólfr and his men had enough and threw the courtiers on the fire. Yrsa arrived and gave them a horn full of gold, the ring Svíagris and asked them to flee. As they rode over the Fyrisvellir, they saw Aðils and his men pursuing them. The fleeing men threw the gold on the plain so that the pursuers would stop to collect it. Aðils, however, continued the chase on his horse Slöngvir. Hrólfr then threw Svíagris and saw how Aðils stooped down to pick up the ring with his spear. Hrólfr exclaimed that he had seen the mightiest man in Sweden bend his back.
Ynglinga saga
The Ynglinga saga was written c. 1225 by Snorri Sturluson and he used Skjöldunga saga as a source when he told the story of Aðils.[21] Snorri relates that Aðils succeeded his father Óttar (Ohthere) and betook himself to pillage the Saxons, whose king was Geirþjófr and queen Alof the Great. The king and consort were not at home, and so Aðils and his men plundered their residence at ease driving cattle and captives down to the ships. One of the captives was a remarkably beautiful girl named Yrsa, and Snorri writes that everyone was soon impressed with the well-mannered, pretty and intelligent girl. Most impressed was Aðils who made her his queen.
Some years later, Helgi (
Aðils waged a war against king Áli (Onela of Oppland), and they fought in the Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern. Áli died in this battle. Snorri writes that there was a long account of this battle in the Skjöldunga Saga, which also contained an account of how Hrólf came to Uppsala and sowed gold on the Fyrisvellir.
Snorri also relates that Aðils loved good horses and had the best horses in his days (the contemporary
Hrólfr Kraki's saga
After some time,
They were at first well received, but in his hall, Aðils did his best to stop Hrólfr with pit traps and hidden warriors who attacked the Danes. Finally Aðils entertained them but put them to a test where they had to endure immense heat by a fire. Hrólfr and his berserkers finally had enough and threw the courtiers, who were feeding the fire, into the fire and leapt at Aðils. The Swedish king disappeared through a hollow tree trunk that stood in his hall.
Yrsa admonished Aðils for wanting to kill her son, and went to meet the Danes. She gave them a man named Vöggr to entertain them. This Vöggr remarked that Hrólfr had the thin face of a pole ladder, a Kraki. Happy with his new cognomen Hrólfr gave Vöggr a golden ring, and Vöggr swore to avenge Hrólfr if anyone should kill him. Hrólfr and his company were then attacked by a troll in the shape of a boar in the service of Aðils, but Hrólfr's dog Gram killed it.
They then found out that Aðils had set the hall on fire, and so they broke out of the hall, only to find themselves surrounded by heavily armed warriors in the street. After a fight, king Aðils retreated to summon reinforcements.
Yrsa then provided her son with a silver drinking horn filled with gold and jewels and a famous ring, Svíagris. Then she gave Hrólfr and his men twelve of the Swedish king's best horses, and all the armour and provisions they needed.
Hrólfr bid a fond farewell to his mother and departed over the Fyrisvellir. When they saw Aðils and his warriors in pursuit, they spread the gold behind themselves. Aðils saw his precious Svíagris on the ground and stooped to pick it up with his spear, whereupon Hrólfr cut his back with his sword and screamed in triumph that he had bent the back of the most powerful man in Sweden.
Danish sources
Chronicon Lethrense and Annales Lundenses
The
Gesta Danorum
The Gesta Danorum (book 2), by Saxo Grammaticus, tells that Helgo (Halga) repelled a Swedish invasion, killed the Swedish king Hothbrodd, and made the Swedes pay tribute. However, he committed suicide due to shame for his incestuous relationship with Urse (Yrsa), and his son Roluo (Hrólfr Kraki) succeeded him.
The new king of Sweden, Athislus, thought that the tribute to the
At the banquet Roluo was at first not recognised by his mother, but when their fondness was commented on by Athisl, the Swedish king and Roluo made a wager where Roluo would prove his endurance. Roluo was placed in front of a fire that exposed him to such heat that finally a maiden could suffer the sight no more and extinguished the fire. Roluo was greatly recompensed by Athisl for his endurance.
When the banquet had lasted for three days, Urse and Roluo escaped from Uppsala, early in the morning in carriages where they had put all the Swedish king's treasure. In order to lessen their burden, and to occupy any pursuing warriors they spread gold in their path (later in the work, this is referred to as "sowing the Fyrisvellir"), although there was a rumour that she only spread gilded copper. When Athislus, who was pursuing the escapers saw that a precious ring was lying on the ground, he bent down to pick it up. Roluo was pleased to see the king of Sweden bent down, and escaped in the ships with his mother.
Roluo later defeated Athislus and gave Sweden to young man named Hiartuar (Heoroweard), who also married Roluo's sister Skulde. When Athislus learnt that Hiartuar and Skulde had killed Roluo, he celebrated the occasion, but he drank so much that he killed himself.
Archaeology
According to
Snorri's account that Adils had the best horses of his days, and Jordanes' account that the Swedes of the 6th century were famed for their horses find support in archaeology. This time was the beginning of the
Notes
- ^ The dating is inferred from the internal chronology of the sources and the dating of Hygelac's raid on Frisia to c. 516. It is also supported by archaeological excavations of the barrows of Eadgils and Ohthere in Sweden. For a discussion, see e.g. Birger Nerman's Det svenska rikets uppkomst (1925) (in Swedish). For presentations of the archaeological findings, see e.g. Elisabeth Klingmark's Gamla Uppsala, Svenska kulturminnen 59, Riksantikvarieämbetet (in Swedish), or this English language presentation by the Swedish National Heritage Board Archived 24 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Peterson, Lena (2007). "Lexikon över urnordiska personnamn" [Lexicon of Nordic personal names before the 8th century] (PDF). Swedish Institute for Language and Folklore. pp. 23 and 6, respectively. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2011.
- ^ Nerman (1925:104)
- ^ "Samnordisk runtextdatabas" (in Swedish).
- ^ Lines 2380–2391
- ^ Lines 2379–2390.
- ^ a b c Francis Barton Gummere (1910), Modern English translation
- ^ Lines 2609–2619.
- ^ Lines 2391–2396.
- ^ Those care-paths cold refers to his time in exile with the Geats.
- ^ Ála is the genitive case of Áli, the Old Norse form of the name Onela (see Peterson, Lena: Lexikon över urnordiska personnamn, PDF Archived 15 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine)
- ^ Hägerdal, Hans: Ynglingatal. Nya perspektiv på en kanske gammal text
- ^ Þjóðólfr ór Hvini, Ynglingatal 16". In Diana Whaley (ed.). Poetry from the Kings' Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols. p. 36.
- ^ Storm, Gustav, ed. (1880). Monumenta historica Norwegiæ: Latinske kildeskrifter til Norges historie i middelalderen. Monumenta Historica Norwegiae (Kristiania: Brøgger). p. 101.
- ISBN 87-7289-813-5.
- ^ "Guðni Jónsson's edition of Íslendingabók". Archived from the original on 8 May 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Nerman 1925:103-104
- ^ Nerman 1925:102
- ^ a b "Eddukvæði : Eddubrot". heimskringla.no. Archived from the original on 9 May 2007.
- ^ a b "Brodeur's translation". Archived from the original on 13 March 2007. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ Nerman (1925:103)
- ^ "Literary Encyclopedia entry".
- ^ Hakon according to Chronicon Lethrense proper, Athisl according to the included Annals of Lund
Bibliography and external links
- English translations of the Old Norse Hrólfs saga kraka ok kappa hans :
- The Saga of Hrolf Kraki and his Champions. Trans. Peter Tunstall (2003). Available at Norse saga: The Saga of Hrolf Kraki and Northvegr: The Saga of Hrolf Kraki.
- The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki. Translated by Jesse L. Byock. London: Penguin. 1998. ISBN 0-14-043593-X. Selection from this translation are available at The Viking Site: Excerpts from The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki.
- "King Hrolf and his champions" included in Eirik the Red: And Other Icelandic Sagas. Translated by Gwyn Jones. Oxford: Oxford World's Classics, Oxford University Press. 1961. ISBN 0-19-283530-0.
- Original texts:
- Anderson, Poul (1973). Hrolf Kraki's Saga. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-671-65426-8.
- Birger Nerman (1925). Det svenska rikets uppkomst (in Swedish).
- Beowulf:
- Beowulf read aloud in Old English
- Modern English translation by Francis Barton Gummere
- Modern English translation by John Lesslie Hall
- Ringler, Dick (May 2005), Beowulf: A New Translation For Oral Delivery Searchable text with full audio available, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries.
- Several different Modern English translations Archived 20 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- Chronicon Lethrense and Annales Lundense:
- Book 2 of Gesta Danorum at the Online and Medieval & Classical library
- The Relation of the Hrolfs Saga Kraka and the Bjarkarimur to Beowulf by Olson, 1916, at Project Gutenberg
- the Ynglinga saga in translation by Samuel Laing, 1844, at Northvegr
- The Gróttasöngr in Thorpe's translation
- Skáldskaparmál:
- Krag, C. (1991), Ynglingatal og Ynglingesaga: en studie i historiske kilder, Oslo
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Sundquist, O. (2004), Freyr"s offspring. Rulers and religion in ancient Svea society