Bósa saga ok Herrauds
Encyclopedia
Bósa saga ok Herrauds or "Saga of Bósi and Herraud" is a legendary saga
written around 1300 preserved in three 15th century manuscripts relating the fantastic adventures of the two companions Herraud
(Old Norse Herrauðr) and Bósi.
, who is said to be son of King Gauti son of King Odin
of Sweden
and half-brother to King Gautrekr
the Generous, who appears as king of Västergötland
in Gautreks saga
. But chronology is flattened so that Hring is made a contemporary of Harald Wartooth
, King of Denmark
and Sweden. Hring's wife was Sylgja daughter of Jarl Sæfara ('Seafarer') of Småland
. Sæfara also had two sons named Dagfari ("Dayfarer") and Náttfari ("Nightfarer") who served King Harald.
Herraud, the primary hero of the saga, was the son of Hring and his wife Sylgja. But Hring also had an illegitimate son named Sjód (Sjóðr) who served as Hring's treasurer and tax collector and from whose name, according to the saga, the word sjödr "purse" derives. Hring preferred Sjód to Herraud.
Herraud's best friend was Bósi, the younger son of a former viking
named Thvari or Bryn-Thvari by Brynhild, a former shieldmaiden
and a daughter of King Agnar of Nóatún. Thvari had formerly partially maimed Brynhild in a duel, whence she was known as Bögu-Brynhild "Stunt-Brynhild", for she never fully recovered. Thvari then married Brynhild who bore him two sons, Smid (Smiðr) and Bósi. Smid learned some magic from their foster mother Busla who was a powerful sorceress. Bósi was sometimes called Bögu-Bósi after his mother.
Bósi was a rough boy who was eventually outlawed for maiming some other folk in a ball-game. Herraud, discontented, gained permission from his father, over Sjód's objections, be allowed to set off on a Viking expedition with five ships. Herraud was eventually joined by the exiled Bósi and they successfully plundered for five years. Meanwhile, back in East Götaland, Herraud's half-brother Sjód forcibly extorted funds from Bósi's father Thvari under the pretence that this was legal compensation for those men whom Bósi had injured. Now it chanced that Bósi's ship was driven to Wendland
where Sjód happened to be on a purchasing expedition for King Hring. The two quarreled over the matter and Bósi killed Sjód.
Herraud then returned to his father's court, offering to make compensation for Sjód's death. But King Hring refused all offers. Civil war broke out between father and son. Hring managed to capture Herraud and Bósi and prepared to execute them. But that night Busla, Bósi's foster-mother, called on her magic, appeared suddenly in King Hring's bedchamber, and threatened and harassed the king with charms and curses, until the helpless king agreed to make peace with Herraud and Bósi to the extent of sending them on a dangerous quest instead of executing them.
The two headed off to Bjarmaland
and had many adventures. An erotic encounter between Bósi and a farmer's daughter is told in amusingly explicit riddling dialogue. The two companions were able to kill a vulture that guarded the temple of Jomali
in Bjarmaland, obtained its egg, slew the priestess who was Kolfrosta the mother of King Harek of Bjarmaland, and rescued Hleid (Hleið) the sister of King Godmund
(Godmundr) of Glæsisvellir
who had been magically brought there to be turned into the new priestess. Herraud took Hleid as his wife and they and Bósi returned to East Götaland where King Hring, on receiving the shell of the vulture's egg, agreed to be reconciled with Bósi and his son.
Meanwhile King Godmund of Glæsisvellir, who did not know what had become of his sister Hleid, promised Siggeir, son of King Harek of Bjarmaland, that Siggeir could have her as his wife if he could find her. Siggeir and his brother Hrærek learned about Hleid's abduction from Bjarmaland by Herraud and Bósi and their destruction of the temple, and they set out for Götaland. There they attacked King Hring who had small strength with him, most of his forces having gone to Bråvalla. Hring was killed in battle and Hleid was taken back to Glæsisvellir.
On their return from Bråvalla, Herraud and Bósi, accompanied by Bósi's brother Smid and Bosi's foster-moster Busla, set out to rescue Hleid. They accomplished their goal after many further adventures (and two further amusingly erotic encounters between Bósi and two maidens with riddling dialogues). Herraud regained Hleid and Bósi abducted King Harek's daughter Edda. Both Smid and Busla show their magical prowess. When King Harek of Bjarmaland attacked in the form of a giant boar, a giant bitch (apparently Busla) opposed him. Both fell into the sea and were never heard of again.
Meanwhile Herraud and Hleid became the parents of a daughter, that same famous Þóra Town-Hart
(Þóra Borgarhjörtr) who kept a serpent in her bower and only he who could slay it could gain her hand in marriage. The eventual slayer and husband was the famous Ragnar Lódbrok
. The tale explains at the end that this serpent had sprung from the vulture's egg which Herraud and Bósi had obtained in their quest.
and in the latter as Herraud, Jarl of West Götaland. But Herraud's father is also called Hring in this version. A variant with two serpents instead of one appears in Saxo Grammaticus
' Gesta Danorum
(Book 9) where Herraud appears as Herothus King of Sweden. None of these accounts explain the origin of the serpent or serpents and it would seem that the story of Herraud and Bósi was in part invented as a prequel to fill that gap.
Legendary saga
A Legendary saga or Fornaldarsaga is a Norse saga that, unlike the Icelanders' sagas, takes place before the colonization of Iceland. There are some exceptions, such as Yngvars saga víðförla, which takes place in the 11th century...
written around 1300 preserved in three 15th century manuscripts relating the fantastic adventures of the two companions Herraud
Herrauðr
Herrauðr, Herraud, Herröðr, Herruðr, Herrud, Herothus or Heroth is a legendary earl of Götaland or king of Sweden, who appears in several medieval legends, in particular those relating to Ragnar Lodbrok...
(Old Norse Herrauðr) and Bósi.
The setup
The story begins with King Hring (Hringr) of ÖstergötlandÖstergötland
Östergötland, English exonym: East Gothland, is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland, and the Baltic Sea. In older English literature, one might also encounter the Latinized version, Ostrogothia...
, who is said to be son of King Gauti son of King Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and half-brother to King Gautrekr
Gautrekr
Gautrekr was a legendary Geatish king who appears in several sources, such as Gautreks saga, Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar, Bósa saga ok Herrauðs, Ynglinga saga, Nafnaþulur and Af Upplendinga konungum....
the Generous, who appears as king of Västergötland
Västergötland
', English exonym: West Gothland, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden , situated in the southwest of Sweden. In older English literature one may also encounter the Latinized version Westrogothia....
in Gautreks saga
Gautreks saga
Gautreks saga is a Scandinavian legendary saga put to text towards the end of the 13th century which survives only in much later manuscripts...
. But chronology is flattened so that Hring is made a contemporary of Harald Wartooth
Harald Wartooth
Harald Wartooth or Harold Hiltertooth was a legendary king of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and the historical northern German province of Wendland, in the 8th and 9th century...
, King of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and Sweden. Hring's wife was Sylgja daughter of Jarl Sæfara ('Seafarer') of Småland
Småland
' is a historical province in southern Sweden.Småland borders Blekinge, Scania or Skåne, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means Small Lands. . The latinized form Smolandia has been used in other languages...
. Sæfara also had two sons named Dagfari ("Dayfarer") and Náttfari ("Nightfarer") who served King Harald.
Herraud, the primary hero of the saga, was the son of Hring and his wife Sylgja. But Hring also had an illegitimate son named Sjód (Sjóðr) who served as Hring's treasurer and tax collector and from whose name, according to the saga, the word sjödr "purse" derives. Hring preferred Sjód to Herraud.
Herraud's best friend was Bósi, the younger son of a former viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
named Thvari or Bryn-Thvari by Brynhild, a former shieldmaiden
Shieldmaiden
A shieldmaiden was a woman who had chosen to fight as a warrior in Scandinavian folklore and mythology. They are often mentioned in sagas such as Hervarar saga and in Gesta Danorum. Shieldmaidens also appear in stories of other Germanic nations: Goths, Cimbri, and Marcomanni. The mythical Valkyries...
and a daughter of King Agnar of Nóatún. Thvari had formerly partially maimed Brynhild in a duel, whence she was known as Bögu-Brynhild "Stunt-Brynhild", for she never fully recovered. Thvari then married Brynhild who bore him two sons, Smid (Smiðr) and Bósi. Smid learned some magic from their foster mother Busla who was a powerful sorceress. Bósi was sometimes called Bögu-Bósi after his mother.
Bósi was a rough boy who was eventually outlawed for maiming some other folk in a ball-game. Herraud, discontented, gained permission from his father, over Sjód's objections, be allowed to set off on a Viking expedition with five ships. Herraud was eventually joined by the exiled Bósi and they successfully plundered for five years. Meanwhile, back in East Götaland, Herraud's half-brother Sjód forcibly extorted funds from Bósi's father Thvari under the pretence that this was legal compensation for those men whom Bósi had injured. Now it chanced that Bósi's ship was driven to Wendland
Wendland
Wendland may refer to either of the following regions or people:*Wendland may refer to a region once inhabited by Wends, an old Germanic term for Slavic tribes living in close proximity to the Germanic tribes:...
where Sjód happened to be on a purchasing expedition for King Hring. The two quarreled over the matter and Bósi killed Sjód.
Herraud then returned to his father's court, offering to make compensation for Sjód's death. But King Hring refused all offers. Civil war broke out between father and son. Hring managed to capture Herraud and Bósi and prepared to execute them. But that night Busla, Bósi's foster-mother, called on her magic, appeared suddenly in King Hring's bedchamber, and threatened and harassed the king with charms and curses, until the helpless king agreed to make peace with Herraud and Bósi to the extent of sending them on a dangerous quest instead of executing them.
The quest
The following day Hring exiled both Herraud and Bósi, Herraud for life and Bósi the same unless Bósi could find and bring back a vulture's egg inscribed with golden letters.The two headed off to Bjarmaland
Bjarmaland
Bjarmaland was a territory mentioned in Norse sagas up to the Viking Age and - beyond - in geographical accounts until the 16th century. The term is usually seen to have referred to the southern shores of the White Sea and the basin of the Northern Dvina River and - presumably - some of the...
and had many adventures. An erotic encounter between Bósi and a farmer's daughter is told in amusingly explicit riddling dialogue. The two companions were able to kill a vulture that guarded the temple of Jomali
Jumala
or or means "god" in Finnic languages and Volga-Finnic languages, both the Christian God and any other deity of any religion. The word is thought to have been the name of a sky god of the ancient Finnic-speaking peoples...
in Bjarmaland, obtained its egg, slew the priestess who was Kolfrosta the mother of King Harek of Bjarmaland, and rescued Hleid (Hleið) the sister of King Godmund
Godmund
Guðmundr was a semi-legendary Norse king in Jotunheim in Finnmark, ruling over a land called Glæsisvellir, which was known as the warrior's paradise.Guðmundr appears in the following legendary sagas:...
(Godmundr) of Glæsisvellir
Glæsisvellir
Glæsisvellir was a location in Jotunheim in Norse mythology. It is mentioned in sources, such as Bósa saga ok Herrauds and Hervarar saga. -Legend:...
who had been magically brought there to be turned into the new priestess. Herraud took Hleid as his wife and they and Bósi returned to East Götaland where King Hring, on receiving the shell of the vulture's egg, agreed to be reconciled with Bósi and his son.
Further adventures
At that point Herraud and Bósi headed off to aid King Harald in the famous Battle of Bråvalla and were among the few survivors.Meanwhile King Godmund of Glæsisvellir, who did not know what had become of his sister Hleid, promised Siggeir, son of King Harek of Bjarmaland, that Siggeir could have her as his wife if he could find her. Siggeir and his brother Hrærek learned about Hleid's abduction from Bjarmaland by Herraud and Bósi and their destruction of the temple, and they set out for Götaland. There they attacked King Hring who had small strength with him, most of his forces having gone to Bråvalla. Hring was killed in battle and Hleid was taken back to Glæsisvellir.
On their return from Bråvalla, Herraud and Bósi, accompanied by Bósi's brother Smid and Bosi's foster-moster Busla, set out to rescue Hleid. They accomplished their goal after many further adventures (and two further amusingly erotic encounters between Bósi and two maidens with riddling dialogues). Herraud regained Hleid and Bósi abducted King Harek's daughter Edda. Both Smid and Busla show their magical prowess. When King Harek of Bjarmaland attacked in the form of a giant boar, a giant bitch (apparently Busla) opposed him. Both fell into the sea and were never heard of again.
What happened after
Herraud became king of East Götaland as heir to his father while Bósi became king of Bjarmaland by his marriage to Edda. By one of his other erotic encounters Bósi became the father of Svidi the Bold the father of Vilmund the Absentminded.Meanwhile Herraud and Hleid became the parents of a daughter, that same famous Þóra Town-Hart
Þóra Town-Hart
Þóra Town-Hart or Þóra borgarhjörtr was the daughter of Herrauðr, the earl of Götaland and wife of Ragnar Loðbrók....
(Þóra Borgarhjörtr) who kept a serpent in her bower and only he who could slay it could gain her hand in marriage. The eventual slayer and husband was the famous Ragnar Lódbrok
Ragnar Lodbrok
Ragnar Lodbrok was a Norse legendary hero from the Viking Age who was thoroughly reshaped in Old Norse poetry and legendary sagas.-Life as recorded in the sagas:...
. The tale explains at the end that this serpent had sprung from the vulture's egg which Herraud and Bósi had obtained in their quest.
Other references to Herraud
This tale of Ragnar and the serpent also appears in Ragnars saga lodbrókar and Þáttr af Ragnars sonum, though in the former Herraud appears as Jarl Herrud (Herruðr) of GautlandGötaland
Götaland , Gothia, Gothland, Gothenland, Gautland or Geatland is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises provinces...
and in the latter as Herraud, Jarl of West Götaland. But Herraud's father is also called Hring in this version. A variant with two serpents instead of one appears in Saxo Grammaticus
Saxo Grammaticus
Saxo Grammaticus also known as Saxo cognomine Longus was a Danish historian, thought to have been a secular clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, foremost advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. He is the author of the first full history of Denmark.- Life :The Jutland Chronicle gives...
' Gesta Danorum
Gesta Danorum
Gesta Danorum is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th century author Saxo Grammaticus . It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark and is an essential source for the nation's early history...
(Book 9) where Herraud appears as Herothus King of Sweden. None of these accounts explain the origin of the serpent or serpents and it would seem that the story of Herraud and Bósi was in part invented as a prequel to fill that gap.
Alternate forms of names
- Herraud: Herrauðr; Herrud (Herruðr); Herothus, Anglicized as Heroth, Herodd.
- Bósi: Anglicized as Bosi.