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78-544: Both traditions describe him as a Danish Scylding , the nephew of Hroðgar and the grandson of Healfdene . The consensus view is that Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian traditions describe the same people. Whereas the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf and Widsith do not go further than treating his relationship with Hroðgar and their animosity with Froda and Ingeld , the Scandinavian sources expand on his life as

156-509: A bipedal dragon. Other scholars such as Sherman Kuhn (1979) have questioned Grendel's description as a monster, stating: There are five disputed instances of āglǣca [three of which are in Beowulf , lines] 649, 1269, 1512 ... In the first ... the referent can be either Beowulf or Grendel. If the poet and his audience felt the word to have two meanings – monster and hero – the ambiguity would be troublesome; but if by āglǣca they understood

234-570: A dragon at the end of Beowulf , Bödvar Bjarki and Hjalti help each other slay the creature in Denmark. Proponents of this theory, like J. R. R. Tolkien , 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

312-569: 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

390-427: 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

468-597: A king of Götaland. Moreover, like Beowulf, Bödvar Bjarki arrives in Denmark from Götaland (Geatland), and upon arriving in Denmark he kills a beast that has been ravaging the Danish court for two years. The monster in Hrólf Kraki' s saga, however, is quite unlike the Grendel of Beowulf ; but it does have characteristics of a more typical dragon , a creature which appears later in Beowulf . Just as Beowulf and Wiglaf slay

546-521: A large Swedish army headed by Vöggr. They captured Skuld before she could use her magic and tortured her to death. Then they raised a mound for Hrólfr Kraki where he was buried together with his sword Skofnung . The Skjöldunga saga 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 ),

624-537: A large army and said that he wanted to give his tribute to Rolf, but killed Rolf together with all his men. Only one survived, Wigg , who played along until he was to do homage to Hartwar. Then, he pierced Hartwar with a sword, and so Hartwar was king for only one morning. The Book 2 of the Gesta Danorum by Saxo Grammaticus contains roughly the same information as the Chronicon Lethrense and

702-415: 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

780-555: A scribe who thought it was an abbreviation for the name of the poem's hero, who is quite a different person). Halfdan/Healfdene seems to be the direct son of Beaw in the poem. But all Scandinavian sources that mention both Skjöld and Halfdan put Halfdan some generations after Skjöld and make no mention of King Beaw (save for a genealogy in the Prologue to Snorri Sturluson 's Edda which is taken from English traditions). According to Saxo Grammaticus ' Gesta Danorum (Book 1), Skjöld

858-492: A single physical appearance, and best thought of as a social grouping, some broadly shared traits have been identified such as living on the periphery of the world, outside society. In both Old Norse and Old English accounts, these borders between the realms of humanity and those of supernatural beings are often marked by water, such as rivers or the surface of lakes . This is notably consistent with Grendel's depiction as living in marshes and Maxims II , which identifies fens as

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936-481: 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 . Kings of the Danes are in bold and marked with an asterisk (*). Kings of

1014-485: A þyrs , types of beings from wider Germanic mythology . He is also described as a descendant of the Biblical Cain and "a creature of darkness, exiled from happiness and accursed of God, the destroyer and devourer of our human kind." He is usually depicted as a monster or a giant , although his status as a monster, giant, or other form of supernatural being is not clearly described in the poem and thus remains

1092-554: Is "harrowed" by the sounds of singing that come every night from the mead hall of Heorot built by King Hroðgar . Unable to bear it any more, he attacks Heorot. Grendel continues to attack the Hall every night for twelve years, killing its inhabitants and making this magnificent mead hall unusable. To add to his monstrous description, the poet details how Grendel consumes the men he kills, "now that he could hope to eat his fill." Beowulf hears of these attacks and leaves his native land of

1170-475: Is Fróði under whose reign the world achieves peace. This Fróði is also the father of a son named Fridleif according to Saxo. There are other differing accounts of Halfdan's ancestors. The names, number, and order of legendary Danish kings are very inconsistent in extant texts and it would appear that different writers and story tellers differently arranged what tales of legendary Danish kings they knew in whatever order seemed best to them. In all accounts Halfdan

1248-413: Is God's adversary. Beowulf tears off Grendel's arm, mortally wounding the creature. Grendel flees but dies in his marsh den. There, Beowulf later engages in a fierce battle with Grendel's mother in a mere, over whom he triumphs with a sword found there. Following her death, Beowulf finds Grendel's corpse and removes his head, which he keeps as a trophy. Beowulf then returns to the surface and to his men at

1326-571: Is father of Helgi (called Halga in Beowulf ) and Hróar (called Hrothgar in Beowulf ). Helgi is father of the famous Hrólf Kraki (called Hrothulf in Beowulf ). In Beowulf , another son of Healfdene/Halfdan named Heorogar is father of Heoroweard who corresponds to Hjörvard in the Old Norse accounts where Hjörvard's parentage is not told. The Old Norse accounts make Hjörvard to be the husband of Hrólf's sister and tell how Hjörvard rebelled against King Hrólf and burned him in his hall. But Hjörvard

1404-472: Is instead rendered as a family feud (see Hrólf Kraki's saga and Skjöldunga saga ). The Chronicon Lethrense and the included Annales Lundenses tell that Haldan ( Healfdene ) had two sons, Helghe ( Halga ) and Ro ( Hroðgar ). When Haldan died of old age, Helghe and Ro divided the kingdom so that Ro ruled the land, and Helghe the sea. One day, Helghe arrived in Halland / Lolland and slept with Thore,

1482-588: Is known both as Fróði Mikilláti and Fróði the Peace-lover and looks suspiciously like a duplicate of the other peaceful Fróði. Snorri makes this second Fróði the father of Halfdan and of another son named Fridleif. Saxo in Books 4–5, long after the reign of Halfdan and the fall of the Skjöldung dynasty, also introduces a king named Dan, the third king with that name in his account, whose son is Fridleif whose son

1560-447: Is still asleep, so he seizes the man and devours him. Grendel grabs a second warrior, but is shocked when the warrior grabs back with fearsome strength. As Grendel attempts to disengage, the reader discovers that Beowulf is that second warrior. Beowulf uses neither weapon nor armour in this fight. He also places no reliance on his companions and has no need of them. He trusts that God has given him strength to defeat Grendel, whom he believes

1638-625: The Annales – corresponding to Eadgils – forced the Danes to accept a dog as king. The dog king was succeeded by Rolf Krage. Rolf Krage was a big man in body and soul and was so generous that no one asked him for anything twice. His sister Skulda was married against Rolf's will to Hartwar or Hiarwarth ( Heoroweard ), a German earl of Skåne , but reputedly Rolf had given Skulda to him together with Sweden . This Hartwar arrived in Zealand with

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1716-660: The Annales Lundenses , i.e. that Ro ( Hroðgar ) and Helgo ( Halga ) were the son of Haldanus ( Healfdene ). When Haldanus died of old age, Ro took the land and Helgo the water. One day during his sea roving, Helgo arrived at Thurø , where he found and raped the young girl Thora, which resulted in Urse ( Yrsa ). When Helgo after many years returned to Thurø, Thora avenged her lost virginity by sending Urse to Helgo who, unknowingly raped his own daughter. This resulted in Roluo , who

1794-564: The Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern . In Beowulf , the hero Beowulf aids Eadgils in Eadgils' war against Onela . As far as this Swedish adventure is concerned, Beowulf and Bödvar Bjarki are one and the same. This match supports the hypothesis that the adventure with the dragon is also originally derived from the same story. As for the king of the Danes, Hroðgar , he is identical to Hróar or Ro ,

1872-506: The Daner might be smaller if he married the Danish king's mother and so took Urse for a queen. However, after some time, Urse was so upset with the Swedish king's greed that she thought out a ruse to run away from the king and at the same time liberate him of his wealth. She incited Athislus to rebel against Roluo, and arranged so that Roluo would be invited and promised a wealth in gifts. At

1950-519: 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 Rörek , who, however, had to leave Skåne to Valdar and could only keep Zealand . In the Skáldskaparmál by Snorri Sturluson , the story of Hrólfr Kraki is presented in order to explain why gold

2028-457: The Geats to destroy Grendel. He is warmly welcomed by King Hroðgar, who gives a banquet in celebration. Afterwards Beowulf and his warriors bed down in the mead hall to await the inevitable attack. Grendel stalks outside the building for a time, spying the warriors inside. He then makes a sudden attack, bursting the door with his fists and continuing through the entry. The first warrior Grendel finds

2106-437: The "ninth hour". He returns to Heorot, where a grateful Hroðgar showers him with gifts. J. R. R. Tolkien (1936) argues for the importance of Grendel's role in the poem as an "eminently suitable beginning" that sets the stage for Beowulf's fight with the dragon: "Triumph over the lesser and more nearly human is cancelled by defeat before the older and more elemental." Tolkien argues that "the evil spirits took visible shape" in

2184-418: The 790s. The tale of Agnar tells how he was cut in half by the warrior Bödvar Bjarki ( Warlike little Bear ), and how he died "with his lips separated into a smile". One major parallel between Agnar and Grendel would thus be that the monster of the poem has a name perhaps composed of a combination of the words gren and daelan . The poet may be stressing to his audience that Grendel "died laughing", or that he

2262-420: 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

2340-699: The Field of History' ( German : Forschungen auf dem Gebiete der Geschichte ), by the descent of this family from an eponymous king Scyld, but the title is sometimes applied to rulers who purportedly reigned before him, and the supposed king may be an invention to explain the name. There was once a Norse saga on the dynasty, the Skjöldunga saga , but it survives only in a Latin summary by Arngrímur Jónsson . According to Anglo-Saxon legends recounted in Widsith and other sources such as Æthelweard ( Chronicon ),

2418-451: The Hrólf Kraki tradition, but differently accounted for, seemingly indicating that Scandinavian tradition had forgotten who exactly Hreðric / Rorik / Hrok was and various story tellers subsequently invented details to explain references to this personage in older poems. The future slaying of Hreðric may be the occasion of the future burning of the hall of Heorot in the beginning of the poem – though some take it instead to refer to

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2496-458: The Prose Edda , giving Old Norse forms for some of the names. The following list gives the supposed pedigree. The number, names, and order of the Skjöldung kings vary greatly in different texts until one comes to Halfdan /Healfdene. All Old English texts call Scyld's son and successor Beaw or some similar name. (The name was expanded to Beowulf in the poem Beowulf , probably in error by

2574-527: The Swedes are marked with a dagger (†). Name spellings are derived from Oliver Elton 's 1905 translation, The First Nine Books of the Danish History of Saxo Grammaticus , via Wikisource . In Hrólfr Kraki's saga , Halfdan ( Healfdene ) had three children, the sons Helgi ( Halga ) and Hróarr ( Hroðgar ) and the daughter Signý. The sister was the eldest and married to Sævil Jarl, with whom she had

2652-509: The Swedish kings referenced in Beowulf are adequately matched with the 5th and 6th century Swedish kings in Uppsala (see also Swedish semi-legendary kings ): This has obviously nothing to do with a common origin of the Beowulf and Hrólf Kraki legends in particular but simply reflects a shared genealogical tradition. The poem Widsith also mentions Hroðgar and Hroðulf, but indicates that

2730-403: 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

2808-416: 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

2886-528: 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 if he wanted to fight for him, and Wigg said yes. Hiartuar wanted to give Wigg

2964-413: The characteristic living place for þyrsas . Katherine O'Keefe (1981) has suggested that Grendel resembles a berserker , because of numerous associations that seem to point to this possibility. Sonya R. Jensen (1998) argues for an identification between Grendel and Agnar, son of Ingeld, and suggests that the tale of the first two monsters is actually the tale of Ingeld, as mentioned by Alcuin in

3042-458: The characters of Grendel and the dragon; however, the author's concern is focused on Beowulf. Tolkien's essay was the first work of scholarship in which Anglo-Saxon literature was seriously examined on its literary merits – not just for scholarship about the origins of the English language, or what historical information could be gleaned from the text, as was common in the 19th century. During

3120-462: The children of Healfdene and belonging to the royal clan known as the Scyldings . 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 Wealhþeow had two young sons, Hreðric and Hroðmund , and Hroðulf would be their guardian in case Hroðgar dies. In a deliberately ironic passage it appears that

3198-408: The daughter of one of Ro's farmers. This resulted in a daughter named Yrse . 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

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3276-545: The decades following Tolkien's essay, the exact description of Grendel was debated by scholars. Indeed, because his exact appearance is never directly described in Old English by the original Beowulf poet, part of the debate revolves around what is known, namely his descent from the biblical Cain (the first murderer in the Bible ). Grendel is called a sceadugenga – "shadow walker", in other words "night goer" – given that

3354-491: The dragon in Beowulf . Tolkien points out that while Grendel is the descendant of the Biblical Cain, he "cannot be dissociated from the creatures of northern myth". He notes that Cain is presented as the ancestor of beings such as eotenas and ylfe , which he equates with their Old Norse cognates of jötnar and álfar . He further argues that this blending of traditions is intentional and seen throughout

3432-567: The earliest ancestor of Scyld was a culture-hero named Sceaf , who was washed ashore as a child in an empty boat, bearing a sheaf of wheat. This is said to have occurred on an island named Scani or Scandza ( Scania ), and according to William of Malmesbury ( Gesta regum Anglorum ) he was later chosen as King of the Angles, reigning from Schleswig . His descendants became known as Scefings, or more usually Scyldings (after Sceldwea ). Snorri Sturluson adopted this tradition in his Prologue to

3510-548: The father of a king Frotho I who is father of Haldanus I . Snorri Sturluson in his Edda , along with some other Old Norse texts, makes Skjöld to be father of Fridleif father of Fróði under whose reign the world was at peace. Snorri mentions this Fróði son of Fridleif in the Ynglinga saga also. But in this work Snorri also introduces a second, later Fróði, said to be son of certain Dan Mikilláti. The second Fróði

3588-717: The feud with Ingeld did not end until the latter was defeated at Heorot : 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

3666-544: The foreshadowing in Beowulf . The Scyldings were in conflict with another clan or tribe named the Heaðobards led by their king Froda and his son Ingeld . It is in relation to this war that Hroðulf is mentioned in the other Anglo-Saxon poem where he appears, Widsith . A common identification is that Hrólf Kraki is the same as the character Hroðulf ( Hroðgar 's nephew) in Beowulf . There seems to be some foreshadowing in Beowulf that Hroðulf will attempt to usurp

3744-450: The gold that Aðils had taken from Helgi after the battle. Hrólfr departed with 120 men and his twelve berserkers and during a rest they were tested by a farmer called Hrani ( Odin in disguise) who advised Hrólfr to send back all his troops but his twelve berserkers, as numbers would not help him against Aðils. 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

3822-439: 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

3900-445: The king at Lejre and on his relationship with Halga , Hroðgar's brother. In Beowulf and Widsith , it is never explained how Hroðgar and Hroðulf are uncle and nephew. Hrólf Kraki Tradition The poem Beowulf introduces Hroðulf as kinsman. Later, the text explains that Hroðulf is Hroðgar's nephew and that "each was true to the other". Hroðgar is given three siblings, brothers Heorogar and Halga and an unnamed sister, all

3978-432: The king of Sweden, with whom she had the daughter Scullda . 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

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4056-618: The legendary death of Hrólf Kraki, who in Icelandic sources is said to have died in the burning of his hall by his brother-in-law Hjörvard . The standard view is that, if Beowulf himself has a 'cognate' character in Rolf Kraki's story, it is Bödvar Bjarki (Bodvar Biarke), who also has a younger companion, Hjalti (Hialte) – perhaps matching the Beowulf character Wiglaf . Beowulf comes from Geatland (=  Götaland ) and one of Bödvar Bjarki's elder brothers, Thorir , becomes

4134-591: 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 Elk-Froði and Þorir Houndsfoot went to Denmark to avenge their brother. The Swedish queen Yrsa gave them

4212-451: The mightiest man in Sweden bend his back. Scylding The Scyldings ( OE Scyldingas) or Skjǫldungs ( ON Skjǫldungar), both meaning "descendants of Scyld /Skjǫldr", were, according to legends, a clan or dynasty of Danish kings, that in its time conquered and ruled Denmark and Sweden together with part of England, Ireland and North Germany. The name is explained in many texts, such as Friedrich Christoph Dahlmann 's 'Research on

4290-436: The monster was repeatedly described to be in the shroud of darkness. After Grendel's death, Hroðgar describes him as vaguely human in shape, though much larger: Grendel's disembodied head is also so large that it takes four men to transport it. Furthermore, when Grendel's torn arm is inspected it is described as being covered in impenetrable scales and horny growths. Some scholars have linked Grendel's descent from Cain to

4368-595: The monsters and giants of the Cain tradition . Alfred Bammesgerber (2008) looks closely at line 1266 where Grendel's ancestry is said to be the "misbegotten spirits" that sprang from Cain after he was cursed. He argues that the word in Old English geosceaftgasta should be translated "the great former creation of spirits". In 1936, J. R. R. Tolkien 's Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics discussed Grendel and

4446-410: The poem more generally. Grendel specifically is described as both an eoten and a þyrs , cognate with Old Norse : jötunn and þurs respectively; it has been proposed that the poet and the audience of the poem would have seen Grendel as belonging to this same group of beings as the jötnar of Scandinavian tradition . While jötnar in Old Norse accounts are highly diverse, lacking

4524-425: The queen trusts Hroðulf, not suspecting that he will murder her sons to claim the throne for himself: 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 ). This Hroerekr is sometimes said to have been killed by Hrólfr, vindicating

4602-419: 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

4680-465: The son Hrókr. Halfdan was murdered by his own brother Fróði ( Froda ) and the two brothers had to seek refuge with a man called Vivil on an island, until they could avenge their father and kill Fróði. Whereas Hróarr moved to Northumbria and married the king's daughter, Helgi (i.e. Halga ) went to the Saxons wanting to woo their warlike queen Oluf. She was, however, not interested and humiliated Helgi by shaving his head and covering him with tar, while he

4758-607: The subject of scholarly debate. The character of Grendel and his role in the story of Beowulf have been subject to numerous reinterpretations and re-imaginings. Grendel is feared by all in Heorot but Beowulf, who kills both him and his mother. Grendel is a figure in the poem Beowulf, preserved in the Nowell Codex . Grendel, being cursed as the descendant of the Biblical Cain , along with elves and other eotens ,

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4836-471: The throne from Hroðgar's sons Hreðric and Hroðmund , a deed that also seems to be referred to in Saxo Grammaticus 's Gesta Danorum (Book 2), where we find: "... our king, who laid low Rorik , the son of Bok the covetous, and wrapped the coward in death." Rorik is the form we would expect Hreðric to take in Danish and we find personages named Rorik or Hrok or similar in most version of

4914-424: The uncle of Hrólf Kraki who in other sources outside of Beowulf rules as a co-king with his brother Helgi. But in those sources it is Hróar / Hroðgar who dies before his brother or who departs to Northumberland to rule his wife's kingdom leaving Helgi / Halga the sole rule of Denmark. In Beowulf Halga/Helgi has died and Hroðgar is the primary ruler with Hroðulf son of Halga as a junior co-ruler. Furthermore,

4992-497: 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

5070-475: Was gren-dael[ed] or "grin-divid[ed]", after having his arm torn off at the shoulder by Beowulf, whose name means bee-wolf or bear . Peter Dickinson (1979) argued that seeing as the considered distinction between man and beast at the time the poem was written was simply man's bipedalism , the given description of Grendel being man-like does not necessarily imply that Grendel is meant to be humanoid, going as far as stating that Grendel could easily have been

5148-400: Was a gifted man, both physically and intellectually and as brave as he was tall. After some time Helgo repelled a Swedish invasion, avenged Ro by killing the Swedish king Hothbrodd , and made the Swedes pay tribute. However, he committed suicide due to shame for his incestuous relationship with Urse. Roluo succeeded him. The new king of Sweden, Athislus ( Eadgils ), thought that the tribute to

5226-409: Was asleep, and sending him back to his ship. Some time later, Helgi returned and through a ruse, he kidnapped the queen for a while during which time he made her pregnant. 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

5304-463: 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

5382-481: Was himself soon slain and with him the rule of the Skjöldung dynasty ended. A later lineage said to be of Skjöldung descent: Grendel Grendel is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf (700–1000 CE). He is one of the poem's three antagonists (along with his mother and the dragon ), all aligned in opposition against the protagonist Beowulf . He is referred to as both an eoten and

5460-405: 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

5538-446: 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

5616-458: 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

5694-550: 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 berserkers named Hrómundr harði, Hrólfr skjóthendi, Svipdagr , Beigaðr , Hvítserkr inn hvati, Haklangr, Harðrefill, Haki inn frækni, Vöttr inn mikilaflaði, Starólfr, Hjalti inn hugprúði and Bödvar Bjarki . After some time, Bödvar Bjarki encouraged Hrólfr to go Uppsala to claim

5772-442: 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

5850-497: 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

5928-460: 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

6006-416: Was succeeded by a son named Gram . Since gram is also a simple adjective meaning "fierce" and a common kenning for "king", it might be that Saxo or a source has misunderstood some account referring to Beaw as being gram or a gram and wrongly taken it here as a personal name. Saxo has much to tell of this Gram who becomes the father of Hadingus of whom he has even more to relate, Hadingus in turn becomes

6084-452: 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

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