Blenda
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Blenda is the heroine of a Swedish legend (Blendasägnen) from
Legend
According to the legend, the events took place in the time of Alle (
When the Danes learned of Småland's precarious situation, they took advantage of it and attacked the defenseless small lands. Blenda was a woman of noble descent in the
The women approached the Danes and told them how much they were impressed with the Danish men. They invited the men to a banquet where they were provided with food and drink. After a long evening, the Danish warriors fell asleep and the women killed every single one of them with axes and staffs.
When King Alle returned, he bestowed new rights on the women. They acquired equal inheritance with their brothers and husbands, the right always to wear a belt around their waists as a sign of eternal vigilance, the right to beat the drum at weddings, and so forth. The five
Historicity
The first printed text, where the legend has been connected with the inheritance rights, appeared in
The final form probably comes from local historian, Petter Rudebeck (1660–1710) since both the oldest editions of it are reminiscent of Rudebeck's methodology and language. Petter Rudebeck gathered and wrote down peasant customs, practices, myths and legends of nearly every province of Småland. In 1813, the legend was rendered in the romantic poem Blenda in the first major poem by Erik Johan Stagnelius.
If the events did take place under the reign of King Alle, it would have happened about the year 500, which would make it less surprising, as female soldiers were allowed in Sweden before Christianity. So-called
Several attempts have been made to support or discredit the legend's historicity. Some authors have proposed that it took place during the battles before the meeting of the three kings
Sources
- Nordisk familjebok (upplagan, 1905)
- Lagerbring, Sven Swea Rikes Historia: Ifrån De Äldsta Tider Til De Närwarande (1769) [1]
- OCLC 185229027
- von Dalin, Olaf Svea rikes historia (Volumes 1–4, 1747–1762)