Gautreks saga (Gautrek's Saga) is a Scandinavian legendary saga put to text towards the end of the 13th century which survives only in much later manuscripts. It seems to have been intended as a compilation of traditional stories, often humorous, about a legendary King Gautrek of West Götaland, to serve as a kind of prequel to the already existing Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar (Saga of Hrólf son of Gautrek). See also king of the Geats. Fornalder (times past), painting by Peter Nicolai Arbo A Fornaldarsaga, literally a tale of times past, or Legendary saga is a Norse saga which unlike the Icelandic sagas takes place before the colonization of Iceland. ... Centuries: 12th century - 13th century - 14th century Decades: 1150s 1160s 1170s 1180s 1190s - 1200s - 1210s 1220s 1230s 1240s 1250s Years: 1200 1201 1202 1203 1204 1205 1206 1207 1208 1209 Events and Trends 1200 University of Paris receives charter from Philip II of France 1202-1204 Fourth Crusade - diverted to... Westrogothia (Västergötland) is a historical Province (landskap) in the southwest of Sweden. ... Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar is a Scandinavian legendary saga which was put to text in Iceland in the 13th century. ... Geatish kings existed since the provinces of Götaland/Gautland/Geatland are considered to have been more or less independent with their own petty kings. ...

About the saga

As it stands, the saga seems incomplete, for a promise is made that the tale will return to King Gautrek of Götaland and his sons, to "the same story as told in Sweden", and that promise is not kept. Indeed, other than the reference to Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar, no sons are mentioned. But Gautrek it seems was mentioned in many tales, according to a passage near the end, for generosity and bravery but not for deep thinking. It is probable there were many more amusing anecdotes to that effect that the author planned to include. Götaland Maps of Swedens historical three lands, and Österland in Finland. ... Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar is a Scandinavian legendary saga which was put to text in Iceland in the 13th century. ...

The tale begins with one explanation of Gautrek's strangeness, relating how Gautrek's father-to-be, King Gauti of West Götaland, became lost while hunting and spent the night in an isolated homestead of strange, arguably insane, backwoods bumpkins: a stingy farmer named Skafnörtung 'Skinflint', his equally stingy wife Tötra 'Tatters', and their three sons and three daughters. That night Gauti fathered Gautrek on Snotra who was the eldest of the farmer's daughters and supposedly the most intelligent of the bunch. The account bristles with grisly humor as it relates how one by one the members of this family of boobies committed suicide over the most trivial losses until at last only Snotra and her child survived. At that point Snotri took the child Gautrek to Gauti's court and King Gauti, years later on his deathbed, made Gautrek his heir. Gaut, Gauti, Guti, Gothus are name forms based on the same Proto-Germanic root. ...

Then, in a very different style, the story jumps to an account of the ancestry, birth, and earliest exploits of Starkad who is perhaps the grimmest and strangest of Scandinavian legendary heroes. This account was probably extracted or retold from a lost saga about Starkad and included only because King Vikar, who appears prominently in it, is father of Jarl Neri who plays a very important role in the material following and also because Eirík king of Sweden who appears in it was prominent in Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar. A high point of this section is the evocative episode where Starkad's foster-father Grani Horsehair awakened his foster-son Starkad at about midnight, took him to an island where eleven men were at council, and sitting in a twelfth chair revealed himself as the god Odin. A long dialogue occurred between the gods Thor and Odin in which Thor and Odin alternately bestowed different curses and blessings upon Starkad. Starkad, Starkotter, Starkodder, Starkadhr (ice. ... Scandinavia is a region in Northern Europe named after the Scandinavian Peninsula. ... Víkar (Old Norse nominative case form Víkarr; Latin Wicarus) was a legendary Norwegian king who found himself and his ships becalmed for a long period. ... Neri may be: Alain Néri, French polician Antonio Neri, Italian glassmaker Fernando Carlos Redondo Neri, Argentian footballer Filippo de Neri Francesca Neri, Italian actor Francesco Neri Giancarlo Neri, sculptor Giulio Neri Ippolito Neri (1652-1708) Joseph Neri, philosopher and Jesuit Laura Neri, Greek film director Luigi Del Neri, football... Alrik and Erik fighting Alrek and Eirík (Old Norse Alrekr and Eiríkr ) were two legendary kings of Sweden. ... For other meanings of Odin, Woden or Wotan see Odin (disambiguation), Woden (disambiguation), Wotan (disambiguation). ... Thor carries his hammer and wears his belt of strength (MS SÁM 66, 18th century). ...

The tale then tells of Gautrek's marriage to Alfhild daughter of King Harald of Wendland and Alfhild's subsequent death by illness years later for which reason the grieving Gauthrek went somewhat out of his mind, ignored all matters of state, and spent all his time on Alfhild's burial mound, flying his hawk. Wends (German: Wenden, Latin: Venedi) is the English name for some Slavic people from north-central Europe particularly the Sorbs living in modern-day Germany. ...

The final section is an account of folk tale kind relating how Ref, the lazy son of a farmer, forced his father's stupendous ox as gift upon the stingy but extraordinarily intelligent Jarl Neri and requested only Neri's advice in return. Jarl Neri normally never accepted gifts because he was too stingy to repay them. But he took the ox and gave Ref a whetstone in return, telling him how to employ it as a gift to King Gautrek to get greater wealth. On Neri's advice, Ref visited king after king, in each case giving part or all of that which he received from the previous king and getting in return a greater gift. At last, through Neri's advice and trickery, Ref gained the hand of Gautrek's daughter Helga and an earldom that Neri held from King Gautrek.

Legendary chronology

Snorri Sturluson introduces Gauti and Gautrek in his Ynglinga saga where Gauti "after whom Gautland (Götaland) is named" is mentioned as the father of Gautrek the Generous the father of King Algaut the father of Gauthild who married Ingjald the son of King Önund of Sweden. This should make Gautrek approximately contemporary with Önund's father Yngvar or possibly Yngvar's father Eystein in whose days, according to Snorri, the Danish king Hrólf Kraki died. And indeed Hrólf Kraki is one of the kings whom Ref visits in the saga. Another king visited by Ref is Ælle of England and the historical King Ælle of Deira could well be contemporary to the legendary Hrólf Kraki of Denmark. However in the section concerning Starkad, the kings of Sweden are the brothers Alrek and Eirík which, if one trusts the order of kings in the Ynglinga saga, would put Gautrek generations earlier. The Ynglinga saga was originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet Snorri Sturluson about 1225. ... Ingjald centralizing Sweden Ingjaldr hinn illráði or Ingjald illrÃ¥de (ill-ruler), ca 640 - ca 650, was a legendary Swedish king of the House of Ynglings. ... Anunds mound, a grave associated with Anund. ... Ingvar or Yngvar Harra, Proto-Norse *Ingu-Hariz (d. ... Östen or Eystein (d. ... Hrólf Kraki (Old Norse), Rolf Kraki or Rolf Krake was a legendary king at Lejre on the isle of Zealand, Denmark, described in several old sagas and other documents such as the Leire chronicle and Gesta Danorum by Saxo Grammaticus. ... Ælla (Ella, Ille) (d. ... Alrik and Erik fighting Alrek and Eirík (Old Norse Alrekr and Eiríkr ) were two legendary kings of Sweden. ...

However in Bósa saga ok Herrauds (The saga of Herraud and Bósi), Gautrek's supposed half-brother Hring is a contemporary of King Harald Wartooth.he was gay Bósa saga ok Herrauds (Old Norse Bósa saga ok Herrauðs) Saga of Bósi and Herraud is an Old Norse saga written around 1300 preserved in three 15th century manuscripts relating the fantastic adventures of the two companions Herraud (Old Norse Herrauð) and Bósi. ... Harald Hildetand at the Battle of Bråvalla Haraldr hilditönn, Harald Wartooth or Harald Hildetand was the king of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Wendland. ...

Bibliography and external links

• English translations:
  • Ancestry: Gautrek's saga
  • "King Gautrek" in Seven Viking Romances. Trans. Pálsson, Hermann and Edwards, Paul (1985). Harmondsworth, England: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-044474-2.
  • "King Gautrek" in Gautrek's Saga and other medieval tales. Trans. Pálsson, Hermann and Edwards, Paul (1968). London: University of London Press. ISBN 0-340-09396-X.
  • Gautrek's Saga. Trans. Fox, Denton and Pálsson, Hermann (1974). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-1925-0.
• Original text:
  • Gautreks saga in Old Norse from heimskringla.no
  • Snerpa: Netúgáfan: Fornrit: Gautreks saga
  • University of Oregon: Norse: Fornaldarsögur norðurlanda: Gautreks saga
  • Sagnanet: Gautreks saga

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