Hrólfr Kraki
Hrólfr Kraki | |
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Died | 6th-century |
Known for | Semi-legendary Danish king |
Hrólfr Kraki (Old Norse: [ˈhroːlvz̠ ˈkrɑke]), Hroðulf, Rolfo, Roluo, Rolf Krage (early 6th century[1]) was a semi-legendary Danish king who appears in both Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian tradition.
Both traditions describe him as a Danish
Beowulf
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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 |
The poem Beowulf introduces Hroðulf as kinsman.[3] Later, the text explains that Hroðulf is Hroðgar's nephew and that "each was true to the other".[4] Hroðgar is given three siblings, brothers Heorogar and Halga and an unnamed sister, all the children of Healfdene and belonging to the royal clan known as the Scyldings.[5] The poem does not indicate which of Hroðgar's siblings is Hroðulf's parent, but later Scandinavian tradition establishes this as Halga.
Hroðgar and queen
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No existence of any Hreðric or Hroðmund, sons of Hroðgar, has survived in Scandinavian sources (although Hreðric has been suggested to be the same person as Hroerekr/Roricus, a Danish king generally described as a son or successor of Ingjald[9]). This Hroerekr is sometimes said to have been killed by Hrólfr, vindicating the foreshadowing in Beowulf.
The Scyldings were in conflict with another
Hrólf and Hroðulf
A common identification is that Hrólf Kraki is the same as the character Hroðulf (
Beowulf and Bjarki
The standard view is that, if
Proponents of this theory, like J. R. R. Tolkien,[11] argue that both the names Beowulf (lit. "bee-wolf", a kenning for "bear") and Bjarki are associated with bears. Bodvar Bjarki is constantly associated with bears, his father actually being one.
In some of the Hrólf Kraki material, Bödvar Bjarki aids Adils in defeating Adils' uncle Áli, in the
Hrothgar and Hróar
As for the king of the Danes,
Furthermore, the Swedish kings referenced in Beowulf are adequately matched with the 5th and 6th century
Beowulf | Hrólf Kraki, Heimskringla etc. | Relation |
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Ongenþeow |
Egil (Angantyr) | father of Ale
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Ohthere | Ottar
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brother of Áli
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Onela |
Áli
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brother of Ottar
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Eadgils | Adils |
son of Ottar
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Widsith
The poem Widsith also mentions Hroðgar and Hroðulf, but indicates that the feud with Ingeld did not end until the latter was defeated at Heorot:
lines 45–59: | |
Hroþwulf ond Hroðgar heoldon lengest | Hroðulf and Hroðgar held the longest |
sibbe ætsomne suhtorfædran, | peace together, uncle and nephew, |
siþþan hy forwræcon wicinga cynn | since they repulsed the Viking-kin |
ond Ingeldes ord forbigdan, | and Ingeld to the spear-point made bow, |
forheowan æt Heorote Heaðobeardna þrym. | hewn at Heaðobard 's army.
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This piece suggests that the conflict between the Scyldings Hroðgar and Hroðulf on one side, and the Heaðobards Froda and Ingeld on the other, was well known in Anglo-Saxon England. This conflict also appears in Scandinavian sources, but in the Norse tradition the Heaðobards had apparently been forgotten and the conflict is instead rendered as a family feud (see
Chronicon Lethrense and Annales Lundenses
The . Much later, he met Yrse, and without knowing that she was his daughter, he made her pregnant with Rolf. Eventually, Helghe found out that Yrse was his own daughter and, out of shame, went east and killed himself.
Both Helghe and Ro being dead, a Swedish king, called Hakon in the Chronicon Lethrense proper, and Athisl in the Annales – corresponding to
Rolf Krage was a big man in body and soul and was so generous that no one asked him for anything twice. His sister
This Hartwar arrived in
Gesta Danorum
The Book 2 of the
The new king of Sweden, Athislus (
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.
A young man named Wigg was impressed with Roluo's bodily size and gave him the cognomen Krage, which meant a tall tree trunk used as a ladder. Roluo liked this name and rewarded Wigg with a heavy bracelet. Wigg, then, swore to Roluo to avenge him, if he was killed. Roluo later defeated Athislus and gave Sweden to young man named Hiartuar (Heoroweard), who also married Roluo's sister Skulde. Skulde, however, did not like the fact that her husband had to pay taxes to Roluo and so incited Hiartuar to rebel against him. They so went to Lejre (a town which Roluo had built) with arms hidden in the ships, under the pretense that they wanted to pay tribute.
They were well-received, but after the banquet, when most people were drunk asleep, the Swedes and the Goths (i.e. the
Hiartuar asked Wigg if he wanted to fight for him, and Wigg said yes. Hiartuar wanted to give Wigg a sword, but he insisted on receiving it by taking the hilt. Having the hilt in his hand, Wigg pierced Hiartuar with the sword and so avenged Roluo. Swedes and Geats then rushed forward and killed Wigg. The Swedish king Høtherus (based on the god Höðr), the brother of Athislus, succeeded Roluo and became the king of a combined Sweden and Denmark.
Hrólfr Kraki's saga
In
Having returned to her kingdom, the queen bore a child, a girl which she named Yrsa after her dog. Yrsa was set to live as a shepherd, until she was 12 years old, when she met her father Helgi who fell in love with her, not knowing it was his daughter. Oluf kept quiet about the parentage and saw it as her revenge that Helgi would wed his own daughter. Helgi and Yrsa had the son Hrólfr.
Learning that Helgi and Yrsa lived 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 to live alone. She was later taken by the Swedish king Aðils (Eadgils) as his queen, which made Helgi even more unhappy. Helgi went to Uppsala to fetch her, but was killed by Aðils in battle. In Lejre, he was succeeded by his son Hrólfr.
Hrólfr soon assembled twelve great
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 Hrólf and his men twelve of the Swedish king's best horses, and all the armour and provisions they needed.
Hrólfr took a fond farewell of 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 Hrólf cut his back with his sword and screamed in triumph that he had bent the back of the most powerful man in Sweden.
Hrólfr lived in peace for some time. However, his half-elven half-sister Skuld was married to Hjörvarðr (Heoroweard) one of Hrólfr's subkings, and she began to turn her husband against Hrólfr. Under the pretext that they would wait three years before paying the accumulated tribute at one time, Skuld assembled a large army which included strong warriors, criminals, elves and norns. She used seiðr (witchcraft) to hide the great muster from Hrólfr and his champions.
They then arrived at Lejre one yule for the midwinter celebrations, with all the weapons hidden in wagons. A fight started and like in the account found in Gesta Danorum, Bödvar Bjarki fought in the shape of a spirit bear until he was awakened by Hjalti. Skuld used her witchcraft to resuscitate her fallen warriors and after a long fight Hrólfr and all his berserkers fell.
Skuld became the ruler of Denmark but did not rule well. Bödvar Bjarki's brothers
Skjöldunga saga
The .
Some years later, Helgo attacked Sweden and captured Yrsa, not knowing that she was his own daughter. He raped her and took her back to Denmark, where she bore the son Rolfo. After a few years, Yrsa's mother, queen Olava, came to visit her and told her that Helgo was her own father. In horror, Yrsa returned to Adillus, leaving her son behind. Helgo died when Rolfo was eight years old, and Rolfo succeeded him, and ruled together with his uncle Roas. Not much later, Roas was killed by his half-brothers Rærecus and Frodo, whereupon Rolfo became the sole king of Denmark.
In Sweden, Yrsa and Adillus married Scullda to the king of Öland, Hiørvardus (also called Hiorvardus and Hevardus, and who corresponds to Heoroweard in Beowulf). 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 Adillus requested Rolfo's aid against king Ale (Onela) of Oppland, and Rolfo sent him his berserkers. Adillus then won the war, but 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, and "sowed" it on the Fyrisvellir.
Hiørvardus and his queen Skullda rebelled against Rolfo and killed him. However, Hiørvardus did not live long after this and was killed. Rolfo was succeeded by his father's cousin
Skáldskaparmál
In the Skáldskaparmál by Snorri Sturluson, the story of Hrólfr Kraki is presented in order to explain why gold was known by the kenning Kraki's seed.
Snorri relates that Hrólfr was the most renowned king in Denmark for valour, generosity and graciousness. One day a poor boy called Vöggr arrived and expressed his surprise that such a great king would look like a little pole (kraki). Hrólfr said that Vöggr had given him a name and gave Vöggr a golden ring in recompense. In gratitude Vöggr swore to Hrólfr to avenge him, should he be killed.
A second tale was when the king of Sweden, Aðils (Eadgils), was in war with a Norwegian king named Áli (Onela), and they fought in the Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern. Aðils was married to Yrsa, the mother of Hrólfr and so sent an embassy to Hrólfr asking him for help against Áli. He would receive three valuable gifts in recompense. Hrólfr was involved in a war against the Saxons and could not come in person but sent his twelve berserkers. Áli died in the war, and Aðils took Áli's helmet Battle-boar and his horse Raven. The berserkers demanded three pounds of gold each in pay, and they demanded to choose the gifts that Aðils had promised Hrólfr, that is the two pieces of armour that nothing could pierce: the helmet battle-boar and the mailcoat Finn's heritage. They also wanted the famous ring Svíagris. Aðils considered the pay outrageous and refused.
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 bodies. 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 their gold on the plain so that the pursuers would stop to collect the gold. 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 Skjöldunga saga[14] was used by Snorri Sturluson as a source when he told the story of Aðils (Eadgils) and Yrsa, in his Ynglinga saga, a part of the Heimskringla. What remains of the Skjöldunga saga is a Latin summary by Arngrímur Jónsson, and so the two versions are basically the same, the main difference being that Arngrímur's version is more terse.
Snorri relates that Aðils 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 (Halga), who ruled in Lejre, attacked Sweden and captured Yrsa. He raped Yrsa, his own daughter, and took her back to Lejre, where they had a son, Hrólfr. 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. Horrified, Yrsa returned to Aðils, leaving her son behind, and stayed in Sweden for the rest of her life. When Hrólfr was eight years old, Helgi died during a war expedition and Hrólf was proclaimed king.
Snorri finishes his account by briefly mentioning that the Skjöldunga saga contained an extensive account of how Hrólf came to Uppsala and sowed gold on the Fyrisvellir.
Gróttasöngr
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This piece cannot refer to Hrólfr Kraki's saga where Froda was the half-brother of Healfdene because this Froda was killed by Hroðgar (and therefore they avenged him). It can, however, be interpreted through the Skjöldunga saga in which Hroðulf's uncle Hroðgar was murdered by his half-brother Froda.
Either Frodi's death is the one they want to avenge, or they seek vengeance for Hroðgar, killed by his half brother. The Danish equivalent of hefna is at hævne, meaning revenge (or avenging), in this case for Fródi's murder, indicating no relation to Hroðgars death, but to Frodi's. 'Kin' and 'kinsmen' share a certain reference to blood relation, yet 'brother' can also have the meaning of either: 'one of us' and 'our tribesmen', or simply 'son and brother'. After being recognized for his deeds, Yrsa will see Hroðulf as her son once more.[citation needed]
Gautreks saga
Hrólfr Kraki is mentioned briefly in Gautreks saga, written around 1300, when the adventurer Ref comes to him with a gift consisting of two dogs. In return for this gift Hrólfr gives him a helmet and a chainmail, both made of red gold.
Modern references
Danish playwright Johannes Ewald wrote a play about Rolf Krage (1770), based on Saxo's version of the story in Gesta Danorum. Danish poet Adam Oehlenschläger wrote a poem, Helge: et Digt (1814).
The American writer Poul Anderson used this story in his novel Hrolf Kraki's Saga (1973). Anderson's story begins in earlier generations and more or less follows the version in Hrolfr Kraki's Saga described above. The book was well received by many fantasy fans.
"Sellic Spell', a fictionalized treatment of the story by J. R. R. Tolkien, was published in Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary on May 22, 2014,[16] Tolkien himself explaining that his was "a limited...attempt to reconstruct the Anglo-Saxon tale that lies behind the folk-tale element in Beowulf".[17]
The Danish Navy's first
In the 2022 video game God of War Ragnarök, Hrólfr is featured as a malevolent ghostly berserker and the final opponent in a series of side-quests involving him and his twelve lieutenants.
Notes
- ^ 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 2006-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Shippey, T. A.: Wicked Queens and Cousin Strategies in Beowulf and Elsewhere, Notes and Bibliography. In The Heroic Age Issue 5 Summer 2012. Archived 2014-02-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ lines 1011-1017
- ^ lines 1162-1165
- ^ Lines 53-63
- ISBN 0-586-03279-7. page 14
- ^ Lines 1181-1188.
- ^ Modern English translation by Francis Barton Gummere
- ^ The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes. (1907–21) Volume I: "From the Beginnings to the Cycles of Romance".
- ^ Tom Shippey, J. R. R. Tolkien (London 2001) p. 31
- ^ T. A. Shippey, The Road to Middle-Earth (London 1992) p. 73
- ^ Halland according to Chronicon Lethrense proper, Lolland according to the included Annals of Lund
- ^ The Relation of the Hrolfs Saga Kraka and the Bjarkarimur to Beowulf by Olson, 1916, at Project Gutenberg
- ^ a b Nerman (1925:150)
- ^ "Northvegr - Poetic Edda - Thorpe Trans". www.northvegr.org. Archived from the original on 21 November 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ JRR Tolkien translation of Beowulf to be published after 90-year wait
- ^ C. Tolkien ed., J. R. R. Tolkien: Beowulf (London 2015) p. 355
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. Trans. Jesse L. Byock (1998). London: Penguin. 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. Trans. Gwyn Jones (1961). Oxford: Oxford World's Classics, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-283530-0.
- Original texts:
- ISBN 0-671-65426-8.
- Literary Encyclopedia entry
- 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. Beowulf: A New Translation For Oral Delivery, May 2005. Searchable text with full audio available, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries.
- Several different Modern English translations
- 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:
- Malone, Kemp. Studies in Heroic Legend and in Current Speech. S. Einarsson & N.E. Eliason, eds. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger, 1959.
- Lukman, Niels Clausen. Skjoldunge und Skilfinge. Hunnen- und Heruler-könige in Ostnordischer Überlieferung. Classica et Mediaevalia, dissertationes III. Copenhagen: Gyldendalske Boghandel Nordisk Forlag, 1943.
- Hemmingsen, Lars. By Word of Mouth: the origins of Danish legendary history - studies in European learned and popular traditions of Dacians and Danes before A.D. 1200. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Copenhagen (Dept. of Folklore), 1995.
- Anderson, Carl Edlund. Formation and Resolution of Ideological Contrast in the Early History of Scandinavia. Ph.D. thesis, University of Cambridge, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic (Faculty of English). [1]
- Overing, Gillian R., and Marijane Osborn. 'Landscape of Desire: Partial Stories of the Medieval Scandinavian World.' Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1994: 1-37. (possible sailing times and the account of a "Beowulfian" voyage on the Cattegat)