Hreðel
Encyclopedia
Hrethelhttp://www.sofi.se/SOFIU/lup/urnord.pdf was the king of the Geats
, in Beowulf
. He was the son or son-in-law of Swerting
and he had three sons Hæþcyn
, Herebeald
and Hygelac
. He also had a daughter who married Ecgþeow
and had the son Beowulf.
Hrethel fostered Beowulf (his grandson) by taking him into his royal household aged seven. Fostering was a common Anglo-Saxon practice and does not indicate Beowulf's father, Ecgþeow
did not want to raise him; indeed, the practice was intended to further improve relations between families and family members, and create close tied of obligation, affection and shared responsibility. As an adult, Beowulf expressed his gratefulness to his grandfather explicitly:
'That open-handed lord beloved by the people
received me from my father I was seven years old;
King Hrethel kept me and fostered me,
gave me treasure and table-room, true to our kinship.
All his life he [loved me as his own three sons]’
- lines 2425-[2431]
Hreðel died of grief when his oldest son Herebeald
was killed by his own brother Hæþcyn
in a hunting accident, a death that could not be avenged. He was succeeded by Hæþcyn
.
King of the Geats
Geatish kings , ruling over the provinces of Götaland , appears in several sources for early Swedish history...
, in Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
. He was the son or son-in-law of Swerting
Swerting
Swerting was one of the Saxon ancestors of king Aella of Deira.He may be identical with the Swerting briefly mentioned in Beowulf, where he had the son or son-in-law Hrethel, who was the maternal grandfather of the hero Beowulf.-The Heaðobard tradition:A Swerting of the same timeframe also...
and he had three sons Hæþcyn
Hæþcyn
Hæthcyn was the son of the Geatish king Hreðel in Beowulf. The hero Beowulf was his nephew. Hæþcyn killed his elder brother Herebeald with an arrow in a hunting accident, which caused their father Hrethel to die from grief...
, Herebeald
Herebeald
Herebeald was the son of the Geatish king Hreðel in Beowulf. He was killed with an arrow by his brother Hæþcyn in a hunting accident which caused their father Hreðel to die from grief. Then Hæþcyn became king of the Geats. The hero Beowulf was his nephew....
and Hygelac
Hygelac
Hygelac was a king of the Geats according to the poem Beowulf. He was the son of Hrethel and had brothers Herebeald and Hæthcyn. His sister was married to Ecgtheow and had the son Beowulf. Hygelac was married to Hygd and they had the son Heardred, and an unnamed daughter who married Eofor...
. He also had a daughter who married Ecgþeow
Ecgþeow
Ecgþeow or Edgetho or Ecgtheow is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf. He is not mentioned outside the Beowulf manuscript, and it is not known whether he was based on a real person. He belonged to a probably Swedish family called the Waegmundings...
and had the son Beowulf.
Hrethel fostered Beowulf (his grandson) by taking him into his royal household aged seven. Fostering was a common Anglo-Saxon practice and does not indicate Beowulf's father, Ecgþeow
Ecgþeow
Ecgþeow or Edgetho or Ecgtheow is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf. He is not mentioned outside the Beowulf manuscript, and it is not known whether he was based on a real person. He belonged to a probably Swedish family called the Waegmundings...
did not want to raise him; indeed, the practice was intended to further improve relations between families and family members, and create close tied of obligation, affection and shared responsibility. As an adult, Beowulf expressed his gratefulness to his grandfather explicitly:
'That open-handed lord beloved by the people
received me from my father I was seven years old;
King Hrethel kept me and fostered me,
gave me treasure and table-room, true to our kinship.
All his life he [loved me as his own three sons]’
- lines 2425-[2431]
Hreðel died of grief when his oldest son Herebeald
Herebeald
Herebeald was the son of the Geatish king Hreðel in Beowulf. He was killed with an arrow by his brother Hæþcyn in a hunting accident which caused their father Hreðel to die from grief. Then Hæþcyn became king of the Geats. The hero Beowulf was his nephew....
was killed by his own brother Hæþcyn
Hæþcyn
Hæthcyn was the son of the Geatish king Hreðel in Beowulf. The hero Beowulf was his nephew. Hæþcyn killed his elder brother Herebeald with an arrow in a hunting accident, which caused their father Hrethel to die from grief...
in a hunting accident, a death that could not be avenged. He was succeeded by Hæþcyn
Hæþcyn
Hæthcyn was the son of the Geatish king Hreðel in Beowulf. The hero Beowulf was his nephew. Hæþcyn killed his elder brother Herebeald with an arrow in a hunting accident, which caused their father Hrethel to die from grief...
.