Saxo's kings of Sweden
Encyclopedia
Saxo's kings of Sweden appear in the Danish
Gesta Danorum
by Saxo Grammaticus
.
Some kings (e.g. Athisl/Adils, Hunding
/Fjölnir
, Halfdan
, Sigurd Ring
, Ragnar Lodbrok
and Erik and Alrik) are based on the same traditions as the West Norse Ynglingatal
, Ynglinga saga
and Historia Norwegiae
. Moreover, the dynasties are the same, i.e. the descendants of the god Frey (i.e. the Ynglings) and intermediary Skjöldungs.
However, there are many differences. These differences are not only due to a considerable distance in time from the kings they describe and to the traditions being kept in different parts of Scandinavia
. Whereas Ynglingatal glorifies the Norwegian kings by their Swedish origins, Saxo's Swedish kings are there to glorify the Danes by being dominated by them, the task of which might have needed some creativity from Saxo's side and/or Danish tradition. On the other hand, it did not need to move the Ynglings to Norway and so describes kings following Ingjald as kings of Sweden as Ynglings as well.
This list is presently incomplete:
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...
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...
by 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...
.
Some kings (e.g. Athisl/Adils, Hunding
Hunding
Hunding is a municipality in the district of Deggendorf in Bavaria in Germany....
/Fjölnir
Fjölnir
In Norse mythology, Fjölnir, Fjölner, Fjolner or Fjolne was a Swedish king of the House of Yngling, at Gamla Uppsala. Fjölnir appears in a semi-mythological context as the son of Freyr and his consort Gerðr...
, Halfdan
Halfdan
Halfdan was a late 5th and early 6th century legendary Danish king of the Scylding lineage, the son of king named Fróði in many accounts, noted mainly as the father to the two kings who succeeded him in the rule of Denmark, kings named Hroðgar and Halga in the Old English poem Beowulf and named...
, Sigurd Ring
Sigurd Ring
Sigurd Hring was a Swedish and Danish king mentioned in many old Scandinavian legends. According to Bósa saga ok Herrauds, there was once a saga on Sigurd Hring, but this saga is now lost...
, Ragnar Lodbrok
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:...
and Erik and Alrik) are based on the same traditions as the West Norse Ynglingatal
Ynglingatal
Ynglingatal is a skaldic poem listing the kings of the House of Ynglings, dated by most scholars to the late 9th century.The original version is attributed to Þjóðólfr af Hvini who was the skald of a Norwegian petty king named Ragnvald the Mountain-High and who was a cousin of Harald Fairhair...
, Ynglinga saga
Ynglinga saga
Ynglinga saga is a legendary saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It was first translated into English and published in 1844....
and Historia Norwegiae
Historia Norvegiæ
Historia Norwegiæ is a short Latin history of Norway written by an anonymous monk. The only extant manuscript, in the private possession of the Earl of Dalhousie and kept at Brechin Castle, Scotland, is fragmentary; what we have of the Historia is found on folios 1r-12r...
. Moreover, the dynasties are the same, i.e. the descendants of the god Frey (i.e. the Ynglings) and intermediary Skjöldungs.
However, there are many differences. These differences are not only due to a considerable distance in time from the kings they describe and to the traditions being kept in different parts of Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
. Whereas Ynglingatal glorifies the Norwegian kings by their Swedish origins, Saxo's Swedish kings are there to glorify the Danes by being dominated by them, the task of which might have needed some creativity from Saxo's side and/or Danish tradition. On the other hand, it did not need to move the Ynglings to Norway and so describes kings following Ingjald as kings of Sweden as Ynglings as well.
This list is presently incomplete:
- HundingHundingHunding is a municipality in the district of Deggendorf in Bavaria in Germany....
(corresponding to FjölnirFjölnirIn Norse mythology, Fjölnir, Fjölner, Fjolner or Fjolne was a Swedish king of the House of Yngling, at Gamla Uppsala. Fjölnir appears in a semi-mythological context as the son of Freyr and his consort Gerðr...
in the Norse sagaNorse sagaThe sagas are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, about early Viking voyages, the battles that took place during the voyages, about migration to Iceland and of feuds between Icelandic families...
s). - Erik and Alrik (corresponding to Erik and Alrek in the Norse sagas)
- Halfdan Eriksson
- SiwardSiwardSiward may refer to:* Siward, king of Götaland* Siward , Bishop of St. Martins* Siward, Earl of Northumbria , Anglo-Scandinavian earl of Northumbria...
- HalfdanHalfdanHalfdan was a late 5th and early 6th century legendary Danish king of the Scylding lineage, the son of king named Fróði in many accounts, noted mainly as the father to the two kings who succeeded him in the rule of Denmark, kings named Hroðgar and Halga in the Old English poem Beowulf and named...
vs. Erik Frodisson (corresponding to Halfdan vs. AunAunAne, On, One, Auchun or Aun the Old , English: Edwin, was a mythical Swedish king of the House of Yngling, the ancestors of Norway's first king, Harald Fairhair...
) - UngvinYngwinYngwin was, according to Gesta Danorum, a king in Götaland, who was a close friend to one of the Danish kings named Halfdan.This Danish king had no sons, so he left his treasures and his kingdom to Yngwin...
of GötalandGötalandGötaland , Gothia, Gothland, Gothenland, Gautland or Geatland is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises provinces...
at the death of Halfdan (apparently corresponding to Aun's return from Götaland to reclaim the Swedish throne at the death of Halfdan) - Ragnvald (his position corresponds to Ongentheow/Egil)
- HothbroddHothbroddHothbrodd was a legendary Norse hero, details of whose life appear in several related variations.In the legends of the Ylfing Helgi Hundingsbane, he was the son of king Granmar of Södermanland, and he was killed by Helgi....
(his position corresponds to OhthereOhthereOhthere, Ohtere , Óttarr, Óttarr vendilkráka or Ottar Vendelkråka was a semi-legendary king of Sweden who would have lived during the 6th century and belonged to the house of Scylfings...
/Ottar Vendelkråka). - Athisl (corresponding to Eadgils in BeowulfBeowulfBeowulf , 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...
and to Adils in the Norse sagas) - Hiartuar (who killed Hrólf KrakiHrólf KrakiHrólfr Kraki, Hroðulf, Rolfo, Roluo, Rolf Krage was a legendary Danish king who appears in both Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian tradition. His name would in his own language have been *Hrōþiwulfaz .Both traditions describe him as a Danish Scylding, the nephew of Hroðgar and the grandson of Healfdene...
, but only Saxo makes him a king of Sweden) - Hother (Athisl's brother but not the same as EanmundEanmundEanmund was a Swedish prince of the Scylfing dynasty. Unlike his relatives, Eanmund is only mentioned in Beowulf. Eanmund was the son of Ohthere, and was the brother of Eadgils...
. Surprisingly, he is based on the Norse god Höder) - Alver (AlfYngvi and AlfYngvi and Alf were two legendary Swedish kings of the House of Yngling.According to Ynglingatal, Historia Norwegiae and Ynglinga saga, Yngvi and Alf were the sons of Alrik....
) - Ingild (corresponds to both IngjaldIngjaldIngjald illråde or Ingjaldr hinn illráði was a legendary Swedish king of the House of Ynglings. Ingjald may have ruled in the 7th century, and he was the son of the former king Anund....
and YngviYngvi and AlfYngvi and Alf were two legendary Swedish kings of the House of Yngling.According to Ynglingatal, Historia Norwegiae and Ynglinga saga, Yngvi and Alf were the sons of Alrik....
) - Sigurd RingSigurd RingSigurd Hring was a Swedish and Danish king mentioned in many old Scandinavian legends. According to Bósa saga ok Herrauds, there was once a saga on Sigurd Hring, but this saga is now lost...
(the same as in the Norse sagas) - Ragnar LodbrokRagnar LodbrokRagnar 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 same as in the Norse sagas) - Björn IronsideBjörn IronsideBjörn Ironside was a semi-legendary king of Sweden who would have lived sometime in the 9th century. Björn Ironside is said to have been the first ruler of a new dynasty...
- Erik WeatherhatErik WeatherhatErik Weatherhat was a mythical king of Sweden.According to the Swedish Chronicle, the cognomen Weatherhat refers to the accommodating wind he enjoyed as pillaged the Baltic Sea region....
(may be the same as Erik Anundsson)