Heoroweard

Heoroweard is a character who appears in

Proto-Norse *Heruwarduz[1]

.
In the Norse sources, Hereoweard rebelled against
Hroðulf
/Hrólf Kraki and killed him, but otherwise the sources vary greatly. This is an account of the differences:
In the paraphrase of
Swedes in one line and of Geats
in another line. This information does not appear in any other sources.
Several sources mention that he was married to
Hrólf Kraki's saga, she was the daughter of Helgi
(Halga), whereas Saxo is vague whether it was Adils or Helgi who was her father.
Hrólf Kraki's saga does not mention where he came from, but according to
Skåne
.
In
Hroðgar (Hróar). (Consequently, he had greater right to the Danish throne than Hrólf Kraki (Hroðulf), and it is not surprising that he was the one who slew Hrólf.) He is mentioned only once, at lines 2160-2161. Beowulf, in the act of giving to his lord Hygelac
the armor of Heorogar (which Hrothgar had given to Beowulf as a reward), repeats what Hrothgar told him: "No sooner would Heorogar give it to his son, valiant Heoroweard, though he was true to him..."
He did not survive long after Hrólfs death. According to Arngrímur Jónsson's epitome of Skjöldunga saga, Hrólf Kraki's saga and the Chronicon Lethrense, he was killed shortly after. According to Hrólf Kraki's saga, he was killed during the battle, and according to the other sources, he became king but was killed the same day.

Succession

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

According to Arngrímur, Hereoweard was succeeded by Rörek (called
Skåne
. This version does not fit Bjarkimal as it relates that Rörik had been killed by Hrólf.
According to Hrólf Kraki's saga, Skuld inherited the kingdom but was killed by the Geatish king Thorir Houndsfoot and by Yrsa's men. The kingdom then passed into the hands of Hrólf's daughters.
According to Saxo, it is Höðr, Aðils' brother who became the king of both Denmark and Sweden.
In the Chronicon Lethrense, it is Haki, son of Hamund, who became the king of Denmark, but the other sources who mention him place him centuries earlier.

Comments

The Danish scholar
jarl
of Swedes, as in Saxo's patriotic tradition Swedish rulers are frequently appointed and dethroned. In order to make this possible, Saxo, or his tradition, had to make Adils defeated by the Danes and losing his kingdom. In Arngrímur's Icelandic tradition, which had a more clear conception of the Swedish line of kings, Heoroweard could not be made ruler of Sweden, and so he was named as the ruler of a kingdom on the fringe of Sweden, Öland, a kingdom which was known to be independent, but whose line of kings was no longer known.
In Arngrímur and the Chronicon Lethrense, Heoroweard is the son-in-law of Adils, married to his daughter Skuld, whereas Hrólf Kraki's saga makes him the son-in-law of Helgi (according to Olrik, he could not be married to his own cousin). The account shows that Heoroweard had close connection with Adils and Olrik suggests that the real reason behind Hrólfs voyage to Uppsala was Adils' support of Heoroweard.
However, according to
Östen
.
See also
Origins for Beowulf and Hrólf Kraki
for more on the historical background of these characters.

References

Nerman, B. Det svenska rikets uppkomst. Stockholm, 1925. Olrik, (1903) Danmarks heltedigtning I, p. 39ff.

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