The girls of Småland by Hugo Hamilton (1830)

Blenda is the heroine of a legend from Småland, who leads the women of Värend in an attack on a pillaging Danish army and annihilates it.   SmÃ¥land? is a historical province (landskap) in southern Sweden. ... Värend is one of the constituent small countries at the unification of the province Smalandia, in Sweden. ...

The legend was recorded in the 1680s and according to the legend it took place in the time of the Geatish king Alle (A-S Ælla), when this king lead the Geats in an attack against Norway. King Alle had marshalled not only the West Geats, but also the South Geats (or Riding Geats) of Småland, and so many men had left for Norway that the region was virtually defenseless. Events First Portuguese governor was appointed to Macau The Swedish city Karlskrona was founded as the Royal Swedish Navy relocated there. ... Geatish kings existed since the provinces of Götaland/Gautland/Geatland are considered to have been more or less independent with their own petty kings. ... Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ... Geatas (but also often Goths, Gautar Old Norse, Götar in Swedish) is the Old English spelling of the name of the Geats, a Scandinavian people living in Götaland, land of the Geats, currently within the borders of modern Sweden. ...   SmÃ¥land? is a historical province (landskap) in southern Sweden. ...

When the Danes learnt of Småland's precarious situation, they took advantage of it and attacked the defenseless small lands. Blenda was a woman of noble descent in the Konga Hundred and she decided to send the fiery cross to rally all the womenfolk in the hundreds of Konga, Albo, Kinnevald, Norrvidinge and Uppvidinge. The women armies assembled on the Brávellir, which according to Smålandish tradition is located in Värend and not in Östergötland. Konga Hundred, or Konga härad, was a hundred of Smalandia in Sweden. ... Members of the second Ku Klux Klan at a rally during the 1920s. ... A hundred is an administrative division, frequently used in Europe and the West, which historically was used to divide a larger region into smaller geographical units. ... Konga Hundred, or Konga härad, was a hundred of Smalandia in Sweden. ... Allbo Hundred, or Allbo härad, was a hundred of Smalandia in Sweden. ... Kinnevald Hundred, or Kinnevalds härad, was a hundred of Smalandia in Sweden. ... Norrvidinge Hundred, or Norrvidinge härad, was a hundred of Smalandia in Sweden. ... Uppvidinge Hundred, or Uppvidinge härad, was a hundred of Smalandia in Sweden. ... Brávellir (Old Norse) or BrÃ¥valla (modern Scandinavian) was the name of the central plain of Östergötland (East Götaland), in Norse mythology. ...   SmÃ¥land? is a historical province (landskap) in southern Sweden. ... Östergötland is the name of a geographical region in Sweden which can refer to: Ostrogothia, or Östergötland - a historical Province of Sweden Östergötland County, or Östergötlands län - a current County of Sweden The Eastern part of Götaland - an ancient Land of Sweden This is...

The women approached the Danes and told them how much they were impressed with the Danish men. They invited the men to a banquet where they were provided with food and drink. After a long evening, the Danish warriors fell asleep and the women killed every single one of them with axes and staffs.

When king Alle returned, he bestowed new rights on the women. They acquired equal inheritance with their brothers and husbands, the right always to wear a belt around their waists as a sign of eternal vigilance, the right to beat the drum at weddings, and so forth. The five hundreds were combined into the land of Värend, which means the "defense", since it was a bulwark for Geatland. Blenda's village was called Värnslanda and a location near the battle ground was called Bländinge. A hundred is an administrative division, frequently used in Europe and the West, which historically was used to divide a larger region into smaller geographical units. ... Götaland, Gothia, Gothland [1], Gotland (AHD), Gautland or Geatland, is a historical land of Sweden, and was a separate kingdom, before Sweden was unified. ...

Historicity

Several attempts have been made to support or discredit the legend's historicity. Dalin conjectured that the event had taken place in the 1270s when Erik Glipping attacked Småland. Lagerbring proposed that it taken place during king Sven Grade's attack on Sweden in the 1150s. Other authors have proposed that it took place at the time of Sigurd Jorsalfar's attack on Kalmar, 1123, or during the battles before the meeting of the three kings Inge I, Magnus Barefoot and Eric Evergood at Kungahälla in 1101. Schlyter has suggested that the legend was invented to explain why the women of Värend had equal share in the inheritance with the men. For broader historical context, see 1270s and 13th century. ... Eric V Klipping (1249-1286) was King of Denmark (1259-1286) and son of Christopher I. Until 1264 he ruled under the auspices of his mother, the competent Queen Dowager Margaret Sambiria. ... Events Åhus, Sweden gains city privileges City of Airdrie, Scotland founded King Sverker I of Sweden is deposed and succeeded by Eric IX of Sweden. ... Sigurd I Magnusson (1089?-1130), nicknamed Sigurd Jorsalfar (Sigurd the Crusader) was king of Norway 1103-1130. ... Kalmar (population 59,308) is a Municipality in southeastern Sweden, on the mainlands coast of the Baltic Sea, strategically watching over the narrow sound to the large island Öland, since 1972 connected by the Öland bridge. ... Events First Council of the Lateran confirms Concordat of Worms and demands that priests remain celibate End of the reign of Emperor Toba of Japan. ... ... Magnus Barefoot (1073-1103), son of Olav Kyrre, was king of Norway from 1093 until 1103. ... Eric I of Denmark (born circa 1070 - died 1103) was king of Denmark following his brother Olaf I in 1095. ... Events A second wave of crusaders arrives in the newly established Kingdom of Jerusalem, after being heavily defeated by Kilij Arslan I at Heraclia. ...

The first printed text where the legend has been connected with the inheritance rights appears in Stiernhöök's De iure sueonum et gothorum vetusto (1672:186), where he writes that the inheritance rights were awarded by king Hakon Ring (Sigurd Ring) to the women after the Battle of Brávellir, in which they had shown valour against Harald Wartooth. The legend appears in embellished form in the various pleas made in the 1680s and 1690s in order to defend the equal inheritance and the Church's new prohibitions against church drums. The final forms come probably from Peter Rudbeck, since both the oldest editions of it remind of Rudbeck's methodology and language. Sigurðr hringr, Sigurd Ring (ca 750) was a Swedish king mentioned in sources such as the Heimskringla, Gesta Danorum, Hervarar Saga and Sögubrot af Nokkrum. ... The Battle of Brávellir or the Battle of BrÃ¥valla was a legendary battle that took place on the Brávellir between Sigurd Ring, king of Sweden and the Geats of West Götaland, and Harald Hildetand, king of Denmark and the Geats of East Götaland. ... Harald Hildetand at the Battle of Bråvalla. ... Events First Portuguese governor was appointed to Macau The Swedish city Karlskrona was founded as the Royal Swedish Navy relocated there. ... Events Giovanni Domenico Cassini observes differential rotation within Jupiters atmosphere. ...

The legend has been rendered as a poem by Erik Johan Stagnelius, and as an opera. Erik Johan Stagnelius born October 14, 1793 in Gärdslösa on Ölandia, death April 3, 1823 in Stockholm at the age of 29. ...

Source

• Nordisk familjebok