Halga

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Halga seducing his own daughter Yrsa, by Jenny Nyström (1895).

Halga,

Proto-Norse) have been *Hailaga[2]
(dedicated to the gods).

Scholars generally agree that he appears in both

.

Whereas, not much is said about Halga in Anglo-Saxon sources, much more is said in Scandinavian ones. It is also noticed a curb in Halga storyline's direction, all of them containing a version of the story of his incestuous relationship with his own daughter

Hroðulf
.

Beowulf

Hrólf Kraki Tradition

Hrólf Kraki's saga
Ynglinga saga
Lejre Chronicle
Gesta Danorum
Beowulf
People
Hrólfr Kraki
Halfdan
Helgi
Yrsa
Adils
Áli
Bödvar Bjarki
Hjörvard
Roar
Locations
Lejre
Uppsala
Fyrisvellir
A mention of Halga in the Beowulf

In the

Hroðgar
and a daughter (who is unnamed, but called Signý in Norse sources) who was married to the king of Sweden.

59  Ðæm feower bearn    forðgerimed

60  in worold wocun    weoroda ræswa
61  heorogar. 7 hroðgar    7 halga til
62  hyrde ic þ    elan cwen

63  heaðo-Scilfingas    healsgebedda

This appears in Gummere's translation as:

59  Then, one after one, there woke to him,

60  to the chieftain of clansmen, children four:
61  Heorogar, then Hrothgar, then Halga brave;
62  and I heard that — ela's queen,

63  the Heathoscylfing’s helpmate dear.

Hroðulf
(Hrólfr Kraki) is only mentioned as Hroðgar's nephew, whereas he is specified as Halga's son in Norse sources.

Chronicon Lethrense and Annales Lundenses

The

Hroðulf). Helghe later warred in Wendland and killed the king of the Wends. He also won all of Denmark by killing a Hodbrod
. Lastly, he found out that Yrse, with whom he had slept, was his own daughter, went east and killed himself.

Both Helghe and Ro being dead, the Swedish king Hakon/Athisl

Danes to accept a dog as king. The dog king
was succeeded by Hrolf Kraki.

Gesta Danorum

If the Chronicon Lethrense reports that the Swedes humiliated the Danes after Helghe's death,

Wulfing (Ylfing). It is possible that it was the information that both killed a Hothbrodd
and were called Helgi that inspired the merger.

Saxo agrees with Beowulf and the Chronicon Lethrense by describing Helgo and Ro (

Hroðgar) as the sons of Haldanus (Healfdene
). Like the Chronicon Lethrense, he relates that Ro and Helgo shared the kingdom after Haldanus' death (of old age), Ro taking the land, and Helgo the sea. Saxo adds that Helgo was a rather tall man.

Helgo attacked and killed king Skalk of Sklavia (i.e. the king of Wendland), subduing Sklavia into a Danish province. Continuing his sea roving, Helgo arrived at Thurø, where he found and raped the young girl Thora, which resulted in Urse.

He earned the name Hundingsbane by slaying Hunding, the king of Saxony, and conquered Jutland from the Saxons and entrusted it to his commanders Heske, Eyr and Ler. He then humiliated the Saxon aristocracy by enacting a law that the killing of one of them would be no more costly in wergild than the killing of a commoner.

When Helgo after many years returned to Thurø, Thora avenged her lost virginity by sending Urse to Helgo, who unknowingly raped his own daughter. This resulted in Roluo Kraki (i.e.

Hroðulf
).

Whereas the Chronicon Lethrense and the Annales Lundenses do not explain why Halga needed to kill Hodbrod to win all of Denmark, the Gesta Danorum presents Hothbrodd as a king of Sweden, who invaded Denmark and killed Ro. After having killed Hothbrodd, avenging the death of his brother, he humiliated the Swedes by forbidding that any crime against a Swede should result in any punishment by law. Then, hating his own country, he went east and died, reputedly by throwing himself onto his own sword. He was succeeded by his son Roluo.

Hrólfr Kraki's saga

In

Froda
) and the two brothers had to seek refuge with a man called Vivil on an island, until they could avenge their father and kill Fróði.

Hróarr moved to Northumbria and married king Norðri's daughter Ögn, whereas Helgi became the new king of Denmark, but stayed unmarried. Wanting a spouse, Helgi went to the Saxons to woo their warlike queen Oluf. She was, however, not interested and humiliated Helgi by shaving his head and covering him with tar while he was asleep, and sending him back to his ship. Some time later, Helgi returned and through a ruse, he kidnapped the queen for a while during which time he got her pregnant.

Having returned to her kingdom, the queen bore a child, a girl whom she named

Hroðulf
). For his share of the kingdom, Hróarr had been given a precious ring, an heirloom. There was, however, a second relative who wanted his share, their nephew Hrókr. Since Hrókr was given neither a part of the kingdom nor the ring, he went to Northumbria, killed Hróarr and threw the ring into the water (later retrieved by Hróarr's son Agnar). Helgi avenged his brother by cutting off Hrókr's arms and legs.

Learning that Helgi and Yrsa were living happily together, Queen Oluf travelled to Denmark to tell her daughter the truth. Yrsa was shocked and although Helgi wanted their relationship to remain as it was, Yrsa insisted on leaving him. She was later taken by the Swedish king Aðils (Eadgils) as his queen, which made Helgi even more unhappy.

Later, one Yule, Helgi was visited by an ugly being while he was in his hunting house. No person in the entire kingdom would allow the being to enter their house, except Helgi. Later, the thing asked to sleep in his bed. Unwillingly he agreed, and as the thing got into bed, it turned into an elvish woman, who was clad in silk and who was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He raped her, and made her pregnant with a daughter named Skuld. Helgi forgot the woman and a couple of days after the date had passed, he was visited by the woman, who had Skuld in her arms. The daughter would later marry Hjörvarðr (Heoroweard), Hrólfr Kraki's killer.

Missing Yrsa, Helgi went to Uppsala to fetch her, but was killed by Aðils in battle. He was succeeded by his son Hrólfr.

Skjöldunga saga and Bjarkarímur

The

Hroðgar
) and Helgo and the daughter Signy.

Ingjaldus (i.e.

Skåne
, and when they were old enough, they avenged their father by killing Ingjaldus.

The two brothers both became kings of Denmark, and Roas married the daughter of the king of England. Helgo, on the other hand, raped Olava, the queen of the

Hroðulf
). After a few years, Yrsa's mother, Queen Olava, came to visit her and told her that Helgo was her own father. Yrsa returned to Adillus, leaving her son behind. Helgo died when Rolfo was eight years old, and Rolfo succeeded him. Not much later, Roas was killed by his half-brothers Rærecus and Frodo, whereupon Rolfo became the sole king of Denmark.

Ynglinga saga

In Snorri Sturluson's Ynglinga saga, a part of the Heimskringla, he mentions the tradition of Halga, Eadgils and Yrsa, and he based his account on the Skjöldunga saga (he had access to the now lost original version).

He wrote that king Halfdan's (

Hroðulf
). When the boy was three years of age, Yrsa's mother, queen Alof of Saxony, came to visit her and told her that her husband Helgi was her own father. Then Yrsa returned to Sweden and king Aðils. Hrólfr Kraki was only eight years old when Helgi died during a war expedition, and Hrólfr was proclaimed his successor.

Notes

  1. ^ The dating has never been a matter of controversy. It is inferred from the internal chronology of the sources themselves 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 2007-08-24 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Lexikon över urnnordiska personnamn Archived 2006-09-15 at the Wayback Machine PDF
  3. ^ Shippey, T. A.: Wicked Queens and Cousin Strategies in Beowulf and Elsewhere, Notes and Bibliography. In The Heroic Age Issue 5 Summer 2001. Archived 2014-02-03 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Halland according to Chronicon Lethrense proper, Lolland according to the included Annals of Lund
  5. ^ Hakon according to Chronicon Lethrense proper, Athisl according to the included Annals of Lund
  6. ^ The Relation of the Hrolfs Saga Kraka and the Bjarkarimur to Beowulf by Olson, 1916, at Project Gutenberg
  7. ^ Nerman (1925:150)
  8. ^ The Relation of the Hrolfs Saga Kraka and the Bjarkarimur to Beowulf by Olson, 1916, at Project Gutenberg

Sources

Legendary titles
Preceded by
Haldanus I
King of Denmark
in Gesta Danorum
with Ro
Succeeded by
King of Denmark
in Chronicon Lethrense
with Ro
Succeeded by
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