Skuld (princess)
Encyclopedia
Skuld was a princess
of Scandinavia
n legend who married Heoroweard
and encouraged him to kill Hroðulf (Hrólfr Kraki). The accounts of her vary greatly from source to source.
tells that one Yule
, Helgi (appears as Halga
in Beowulf
) was visited by an ugly being
while he was in his hunting house. No person in the entire kingdom allowed the being to enter the house, except Helgi. Later, the thing asked to sleep in his bed. Unwillingly he agreed, and as the thing got into the bed, it turned into an elvish
woman, who was clad in silk and who was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He ravished her, and made her pregnant. Helgi forgot the woman and a couple of days after the date had passed, he was visited by the woman, who had Skuld on her arms. The daughter would marry Hjörvarðr (Heoroweard
).
Much later when her half-brother Hrólfr Kraki was king of the Daner
, Skuld 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 was a great sorceress
used seiðr
(witchcraft) to hide the great muster from Hrólfr and his champions. They then arrived at Lejre
one Yule
for the midwinter blót
s, with all the weapons hidden in wagons to ambush the king at night. A battle ensued and, in the account found in Gesta Danorum, Bödvar Bjarki fought in the shape of a spirit bear
until he was awakened by Hjalti. To overcome him, Skuld cast the most powerful spell to resuscitate her fallen warriors and after a long fight Hrólfr and all his eleven champions fell, with the sole exception of Vöggr
who promises to avenge the king.
As Hjörvarðr was also killed in the battle, Skuld became the Queen of Denmark
but did not rule well and only for a short time. Bödvar Bjarki's brothers Elk-Froði and Thorir (Þorir) Houndsfoot went to Denmark to avenge their brother. The Swedish
queen Yrsa
gave them a large Swedish army headed by Vöggr. They seize the wicked elf queen by surprise, just as she had suddenly attacked the king, tying her arms so she could not use her magic arts. With no spells to prevent it, they then slew all of her supernatural rabble. After this, a cruel vengeance was exacted on the captured Skuld in retribution for her treachery and fratricide
and she was torture
d to death through a variety of the most dreadful ways. The rule over the kingdom was then restored to King Hrólfr's daughters. When all this was accomplished, everyone went home.
relates that Helgo (Halga) was the king of Denmark together with his brother Roas (Hroðgar
). Helgo raped Olava, the queen of the Saxons
, and she bore a daughter named Yrsa. The girl later married King Adillus (Eadgils
), the king of Sweden. Yrsa and Adillus had the daughter Scullda.
Yrsa and Adillus married their Scullda to the king of Öland
, Hiørvardus (also called Hiorvardus and Hevardus, and who corresponds to Heoroweard in Beowulf). As her half-brother Rolfo (Hrólfr Kraki, Hroðulf) was not consulted about this marriage, he was infuriated and he attacked Öland and made Hiørvardus and his kingdom tributary to Denmark.
Hiørvardus and his queen Skullda rebelled against Rolfo and killed him. However, Hiørvardus did not live long after this and was himself killed.
(book 2), by Saxo Grammaticus
, tells that Roluo (Hrólfr Kraki) defeated Athislus (Eadgils) and gave Sweden to young man named Hiartuar (Heoroweard), who was seized by passion tp Roluo's beautiful but heartless sister Skulde and married her.
The ambitious Skulde, however, did not like the fact that her husband had to pay taxes to Roluo and so incited Hiartuar to rebell 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 Geats) proceeded to kill everyone at Roluo's residence. After a long battle, involving Roluo's champion Bjarki, who fought in the shape of a spirit bear until he was awakened by his comrade Hjalti the Geats won and Roluo was killed.
Hiartuar asked Wigg (Vöggr) 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.
(and the included Annales Lundenses) tell that Rolf Krage's sister Skulda was married against Rolf's will to Hartwar/Hiarwarth (Heoroweard), a German
earl of Skåne, but reputedly Rolf had given Skulda to him together with Sweden.
Hjartwar arrived in Zealand with a large army and said that he wanted to give his tribute to Rolf, but killed the sleeping Rolf together with all his berserkers after these intoxicated themselves at a banquet Rolf had given in honor of his sister's arrival. Only one survived, Wigge (Vöggr), who played along until he was to do homage to Hjartwar. Then, he pierced Hartwar with a sword, and so Hjartwar was only king one morning. However, according to a reputation, it was instead an Ake who killed Hjartwar with seven dagger-stabs and so became king.
Princess
Princess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....
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,...
n legend who married Heoroweard
Heoroweard
Heoroweard is a character who appears in Beowulf and also in Norse legends, where he is named Hjörvarðr or Hiartuar. If he existed in real life, his name would have been Proto-Norse *Heruwarduz....
and encouraged him to kill Hroðulf (Hrólfr Kraki). The accounts of her vary greatly from source to source.
Hrólfr Kraki's saga
Hrólfr Kraki's sagaHrólfs saga kraka
Hrólfs saga kraka, the Saga of King Hrolf kraki, is a late legendary saga on the adventures of Hrólfr Kraki and his clan, the Skjöldungs. The events can be dated to the late 5th century and the 6th century. It is believed to have been written in the period c. 1230 - c. 1450...
tells that one Yule
Yule
Yule or Yuletide is a winter festival that was initially celebrated by the historical Germanic people as a pagan religious festival, though it was later absorbed into, and equated with, the Christian festival of Christmas. The festival was originally celebrated from late December to early January...
, Helgi (appears as Halga
Halga
Halga, Helgi, Helghe or Helgo was a legendary Danish king living in the early 6th century. His name would in his own language have been *Hailaga ....
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...
) was visited by an ugly being
Loathly lady
The loathly lady is a common literary device used in medieval literature, most famously in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Wife of Bath's Tale. The motif was prominent in Celtic mythology and to a lesser extent Germanic mythology, where the lady often represented the sovereignty of the...
while he was in his hunting house. No person in the entire kingdom allowed the being to enter the house, except Helgi. Later, the thing asked to sleep in his bed. Unwillingly he agreed, and as the thing got into the bed, it turned into an elvish
Elf
An elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
woman, who was clad in silk and who was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He ravished her, and made her pregnant. Helgi forgot the woman and a couple of days after the date had passed, he was visited by the woman, who had Skuld on her arms. The daughter would marry Hjörvarðr (Heoroweard
Heoroweard
Heoroweard is a character who appears in Beowulf and also in Norse legends, where he is named Hjörvarðr or Hiartuar. If he existed in real life, his name would have been Proto-Norse *Heruwarduz....
).
Much later when her half-brother Hrólfr Kraki was king of the Daner
Daner
The Danes were a North Germanic tribe residing in modern day Denmark. They are mentioned in the 6th century in Jordanes' Getica, by Procopius, and by Gregory of Tours....
, Skuld 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 was a great sorceress
Sorceress
Sorceress may refer to:*Sorcerer*Witch*Magician *Sorceress , a character from the Spyro the Dragon series*Sorceress, a class in The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind*Sorceress, a character class from Diablo II...
used seiðr
Seiðr
Seid or seiðr is an Old Norse term for a type of sorcery or witchcraft which was practiced by the pre-Christian Norse. Sometimes anglicized as "seidhr," "seidh," "seidr," "seithr," or "seith," the term is also used to refer to modern Neopagan reconstructions or emulations of the...
(witchcraft) to hide the great muster from Hrólfr and his champions. They then arrived at Lejre
Lejre
Lejre is a town with a population of 2,343 and a municipality on the island of Zealand in east Denmark. It belongs to Region Sjælland. The town's Old Norse name was Hleiðra. The municipality has an area of 240 km² and a total population of ca. 26,603 . Its mayor is Mette Touborg, representing the...
one Yule
Yule
Yule or Yuletide is a winter festival that was initially celebrated by the historical Germanic people as a pagan religious festival, though it was later absorbed into, and equated with, the Christian festival of Christmas. The festival was originally celebrated from late December to early January...
for the midwinter blót
Blót
The blót was Norse pagan sacrifice to the Norse gods and the spirits of the land. The sacrifice often took the form of a sacramental meal or feast. Related religious practices were performed by other Germanic peoples, such as the pagan Anglo-Saxons...
s, with all the weapons hidden in wagons to ambush the king at night. A battle ensued and, in the account found in Gesta Danorum, Bödvar Bjarki fought in the shape of a spirit bear
Berserker
Berserkers were Norse warriors who are reported in the Old Norse literature to have fought in a nearly uncontrollable, trance-like fury, a characteristic which later gave rise to the English word berserk. Berserkers are attested in numerous Old Norse sources...
until he was awakened by Hjalti. To overcome him, Skuld cast the most powerful spell to resuscitate her fallen warriors and after a long fight Hrólfr and all his eleven champions fell, with the sole exception of Vöggr
Vöggr
Vöggr, Vogg, Wigg or Wigge was a young 6th century man in Scandinavian legend notable for giving Hrólfr Kraki his cognomen kraki, and for avenging his death.-Skáldskaparmál:...
who promises to avenge the king.
As Hjörvarðr was also killed in the battle, Skuld became the Queen 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...
but did not rule well and only for a short time. Bödvar Bjarki's brothers Elk-Froði and Thorir (Þorir) Houndsfoot went to Denmark to avenge their brother. The Swedish
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....
queen Yrsa
Yrsa
Yrsa, Yrse, Yrs or Urse was a tragic heroine of Scandinavian legend.She appears in several versions relating to her husband, the Swedish king Eadgils, and/or to her father and rapist/lover/husband Halga and their son Hroðulf...
gave them a large Swedish army headed by Vöggr. They seize the wicked elf queen by surprise, just as she had suddenly attacked the king, tying her arms so she could not use her magic arts. With no spells to prevent it, they then slew all of her supernatural rabble. After this, a cruel vengeance was exacted on the captured Skuld in retribution for her treachery and fratricide
Fratricide
Fratricide is the act of a person killing his or her brother....
and she was torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d to death through a variety of the most dreadful ways. The rule over the kingdom was then restored to King Hrólfr's daughters. When all this was accomplished, everyone went home.
Skjöldunga saga
The Skjöldunga sagaSkjöldunga saga
The Skjöldunga saga was a Norse saga on the legendary Danish dynasty of the Skjöldungs, the same dynasty featured in the Old English poem Beowulf...
relates that Helgo (Halga) was the king of Denmark together with his brother Roas (Hroðgar
Hroðgar
Hroðgar, King Hroþgar, "Hrothgar", Hróarr, Hroar, Roar, Roas or Ro was a legendary Danish king, living in the early 6th century....
). Helgo raped Olava, the queen of the Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
, and she bore a daughter named Yrsa. The girl later married King Adillus (Eadgils
Eadgils
Eadgils, Adils, Aðils, Adillus, Aðísl at Uppsölum, Athisl, Athislus or Adhel was a semi-legendary king of Sweden, who is estimated to have lived during the 6th century....
), the king of Sweden. Yrsa and Adillus had the daughter Scullda.
Yrsa and Adillus married their Scullda to the king of Öland
Öland
' is the second largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of 1,342 km² and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. The island has 25,000 inhabitants, but during Swedish Midsummer it is visited by up to 500,000 people...
, Hiørvardus (also called Hiorvardus and Hevardus, and who corresponds to Heoroweard in Beowulf). As her half-brother Rolfo (Hrólfr Kraki, Hroðulf) was not consulted about this marriage, he was infuriated and he attacked Öland and made Hiørvardus and his kingdom tributary to Denmark.
Hiørvardus and his queen Skullda rebelled against Rolfo and killed him. However, Hiørvardus did not live long after this and was himself killed.
Gesta Danorum
The Gesta DanorumGesta 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 2), 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...
, tells that Roluo (Hrólfr Kraki) defeated Athislus (Eadgils) and gave Sweden to young man named Hiartuar (Heoroweard), who was seized by passion tp Roluo's beautiful but heartless sister Skulde and married her.
The ambitious Skulde, however, did not like the fact that her husband had to pay taxes to Roluo and so incited Hiartuar to rebell against him. They so went to Lejre
Lejre
Lejre is a town with a population of 2,343 and a municipality on the island of Zealand in east Denmark. It belongs to Region Sjælland. The town's Old Norse name was Hleiðra. The municipality has an area of 240 km² and a total population of ca. 26,603 . Its mayor is Mette Touborg, representing the...
(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
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
(i.e. the Geats) proceeded to kill everyone at Roluo's residence. After a long battle, involving Roluo's champion Bjarki, who fought in the shape of a spirit bear until he was awakened by his comrade Hjalti the Geats won and Roluo was killed.
Hiartuar asked Wigg (Vöggr) 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
Höðr
Höðr is the brother of Baldr in Norse mythology. Guided by Loki he shot the mistletoe missile which was to slay the otherwise invulnerable Baldr....
), the brother of Athislus, succeeded Roluo and became the king of a combined Sweden and Denmark.
Chronicon Lethrense and Annales Lundenses
The Chronicon LethrenseChronicon Lethrense
Chronicon Lethrense is a small Danish medieval work from the 12th century, written in Latin.-Themes:...
(and the included Annales Lundenses) tell that Rolf Krage's sister Skulda was married against Rolf's will to Hartwar/Hiarwarth (Heoroweard), a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
earl of Skåne, but reputedly Rolf had given Skulda to him together with Sweden.
Hjartwar arrived in Zealand with a large army and said that he wanted to give his tribute to Rolf, but killed the sleeping Rolf together with all his berserkers after these intoxicated themselves at a banquet Rolf had given in honor of his sister's arrival. Only one survived, Wigge (Vöggr), who played along until he was to do homage to Hjartwar. Then, he pierced Hartwar with a sword, and so Hjartwar was only king one morning. However, according to a reputation, it was instead an Ake who killed Hjartwar with seven dagger-stabs and so became king.