Hugo Hamilton, 1830 This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert...

Hugo Hamilton, 1830 This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert...

Hrolf Kraki fleeing the Swedish king Adils on the Fýrisvellir

Hrólf Kraki ( Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). Formally, it can be divided into two similar dialects: West Norse Old Icelandic and Old Norwegian East Norse Old Danish and Old Swedish In the 11th... Old Norse), Rolf Kraki or Rolf Krake was a legendary This article treats the generic title monarch. For the origins of the word king and its English use, see Germanic king. For other meanings of the word, see Monarch (disambiguation) A monarch is a type of ruler or head of state. The word derives from Greek monos archein, meaning one... king at Lejre is a municipality in east Denmark, in the county of Roskilde on the peninsula of Zealand. The municipality covers an area of 88 km², and has a total population of 8,497. External links Official website Categories: Municipalities of Denmark ... Lejre on the isle of This article is about the Danish island. For the Dutch province, see Zeeland; for the Pacific island country named after the province, see New Zealand. Zealand (Danish: Sjælland) is the largest island of Denmark. It is separated from Funen by the Great Belt and from Scania in Sweden by... Zealand, Denmark (disambiguation). The Kingdom of Denmark is geographically the smallest Nordic country and is part of the European Union. It is located in Scandinavia, which is in northern Europe. Denmark borders the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, and consists of a peninsula attached to Northern Germany named Jutland (Jylland... Denmark, described in several old The Norse sagas or Viking sagas (Icelandic: Íslendingasögur), are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, about early Viking voyages, about migration to Iceland, and of feuds between Icelandic families. They were written in the Old Norse language. The texts are epic tales in prose, often with stanzas or... sagas and other documents such as the Leire chronicle and Bishop Asgar, etching by the Danish-Norwegian illustrator Louis Moe (1857—1945) Gesta Danorum (Deeds of the Danes) is a work of Danish history, by 12th century author Saxo Grammaticus (Saxo the Grammarian). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark. Gesta Danorum In sixteen books, written... Gesta Danorum by Saxo, etching by the Danish-Norwegian illustrator Louis Moe (1857—1945) Saxo Grammaticus (estimated. 1150 - 1220) was a Danish medieval historian of whose life practical nothing is known. The sixteen books of Danish history of this time, known as the Gesta Danorum, are attributed to him, and also contribute... Saxo Grammaticus. The content of the saga is also related by Snorri Sturlason (1178 – September 23, 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet and politician. He was twice law-speaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He was the author of the Younger Edda or Prose Edda, which is comprised of Gylfaginning (the fooling of Gylfe), a narrative of Norse... Snorri Sturluson in his The Ynglinga saga or Ynglingesaga, was originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet Snorri Sturluson about 1225 CE. He based it on an earlier Ynglingatal which is attributed to the Norwegian 10th century skald Tjodolf of Hvin, and which also appears in Historia Norwegiae. The Ynglinga saga is... Ynglinga saga and summarized in the Latin epitome to the now-lost Skjöldunga saga. The same personage appears in the Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. See IPA in Unicode if you have display problems. Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) is an early form of the English language which was spoken in England around the year 1000. It is a... Old English poem The first page of Beowulf This article describes Beowulf, the epic poem. For the person Beowulf, see Beowulf (hero). For other uses, see Beowulf (disambiguation). Beowulf is a traditional heroic epic poem in Old English alliterative verse. At 3182 lines, it is far more substantial than any similar work in... Beowulf as Hrothulf. The following summary is a composite which ignores variations between accounts.

Parentage

Hrólf Kraki's father is Helgi means holy and is an old Nordic name still used in e.g. Iceland. Helgi or Halga (Beowulf) was a Danish Scylding/Skjöldung king. He was the son of Halfdan (Healfdene), the brother of Hróar (Hrothgar) and the father of Hrólf Kraki (Hrothulf). Helgi was killed... Helgi son of Old Norse persons with the name Halfdan (half dane) (Old Norse sources) or Healfdene (Beowulf) or Haldan (Danish Latin sources) was probably kings. Present time: Halfdan Rasmussen (famous dane) Halfdan (Old Norse) (some may be literary figures) Halfdan the Old Halfdan Hvitbeinn Halfdan Ragnarsson Halfdan the Black Halfdan the Mild... Halfdan. His mother is Yrsa learns of her true fathers identity In Scandinavian legendary tradition Yrsa is the illegitimate daughter of Helgi whom Helgi later unwittingly married and on whom he fathered his famous son Hrólf Kraki. Yrsa left Helgi on learning the truth and became the wife of King Adils of... Yrsa who is also his elder sister, being Helgi's daughter fathered upon a -1... Saxon This article treats the generic title monarch. For the origins of the word king and its English use, see Germanic king. For other meanings of the word, see Monarch (disambiguation) A monarch is a type of ruler or head of state. The word derives from Greek monos archein, meaning one... queen who was either raped by Helgi or seduced into marrying him. In revenge, the queen tricked her daughter and her husband into having a liaison. After Yrsa learned that Helgi was her father, she went home to Saxony to live with her mother.

Kingship

Later Yrsa married Adils pursuing Hrolf Kraki on the Fýrisvellir Eadgils (Beowulf), Adils the Great, or Athisl (Saxo Grammaticus) (all forms are based an older Aðgils, the Anglo-Saxon form is not etymologically identical but it was the only corresponding name used by the Anglo-Saxons) was a Swedish king of... Adils (Eadgils) the king of The Kingdom of Sweden ( Swedish: Konungariket Sverige  listen?) is a Nordic country in Scandinavia, in Northern Europe. It is bordered by Norway on the west, Finland on the northeast, the Skagerrak Strait and the Kattegat Strait on the southwest, and the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia on... Sweden, the son of Ottar ( This is about the Swedish king Ohthere. For the Norwegian voyager by the same name, see Ottar from Hålogaland Ohþere, Ohthere, Ohtere or Ottar Vendelkråka (Vendelcrow) (ca 515 - ca 530) was a king of the Swedish house of Scylfings. He was the son of Ongenþeow and... Ohthere), Helgi died and was succeeded by his brother Hróar ( Hroðgar (Hrothgar, Hróar, Ro), legendary Danish king. According to the epic poem Beowulf, he ruled Denmark when the Geatish hero Beowulf arrived to defeat the monster Grendel and he was married to Wealhþeow. He was supposed to have built a famous hall called Heorot, and according to... Hrothgar) since Hrólf was still a young boy. After Hróar's death, Hrólf became the king of the Danes. Many heroes came to advise and fight for Hrólf, most notably Bödvar Bjarki is the hero appearing in tales of Hrólf Kraki in the Saga of Hrölf Kraki, in the Latin epitome to the lost Skjöldunga saga, and as Biarco in Saxo Grammaticus Gesta Danorum. Some think he and the hero Beowulf in... Bödvar Bjarki (bödvarr means "battle"), who may be the Scandinavian version of Beowulf is the hero of the Anglo-Saxon poem by his name (see Beowulf). His story overlaps the saga of Hrólf Kraki where he corresponds to a certain extent to the Scandinavian hero Bödvar Bjarki. Beowulf was the son of Ecgþeow, a banished warrior of the apparently... Beowulf. Twelve in particular were recognized as his best men. Not long after Hrólf became king, Adils requested his assistance in battle against his uncle, Áli ( Onela was according to Beowulf a Swedish king during the first half the 6th century. He was the son of Ongentheow (Egil) and the brother of Ohthere (Ottar). He usurped the Swedish throne but was killed by his nephew Eadgils (Adils), who won by hiring foreign assistance (Geatish in Beowulf... Onela). Hrólf sent his twelve companions, led by Bödvar Bjarki, Áli was defeated and Adils gained the kingdom.

But when Adils pursuing Hrolf Kraki on the Fýrisvellir Eadgils (Beowulf), Adils the Great, or Athisl (Saxo Grammaticus) (all forms are based an older Aðgils, the Anglo-Saxon form is not etymologically identical but it was the only corresponding name used by the Anglo-Saxons) was a Swedish king of... Adils refused to pay Hrólf's men the expected tributes for their help, Hrólf Kraki set off to Gamla Uppsala is an area rich in archaeological remains seen from the grave field whose larger mounds (left part) are close to the royal mounds. The building beyond the mounds is the church and to its right is the low Ting-mound and then the museum. Gamla Uppsala (Old Uppsala... Gamla Uppsala. Hrólf and his men evaded traps set for them by Adils. When Adils gathered reinforcements, Hrólf's mother/sister Yrsa then gave him a silver Horn may refer to: horn (anatomy), a hollow, pointed projection of the skin of various animals Horn, Austria horn (diacritic), a diacritic mark used to indicate that a normally rounded vowel such as o or u is to be pronounced unrounded horn (instrument) horn, a slang term for any wind... horn filled with General Name, Symbol, Number Gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11 (IB), 6, d Density, Hardness 19300 kg/m3, 2.5 Appearance Metallic yellow Atomic properties Atomic weight 196.96655 amu Atomic radius (calc.) 135 (174) pm Covalent radius 144 pm van der Waals radius 166... gold and A gemstone is a mineral, rock (as in lapis lazuli) or petrified material that when cut or faceted and polished is collectible or can be used in jewellery. Others are organic, such as amber (fossilised tree resin) and jet (a form of coal). Some beautiful gemstones are too soft or... jewels and a famous ring called Sviagris 'Pig of the Swedes' (the pig was a symbol of wealth and fertility). Hrólf was also joined by a young man named Vögg (Wig) who gives him the nickname Kraki, perhaps 'spindly pole' in reference to height and gangliness. With the treasure given them by Yrsa, Hrólf and his men flee over the Fy´risvellir ( Hrolf Kraki fleeing the Swedish king Adils on the Fýrisvellir Fyrisvellir, Fyris Wolds or Fyrisvallarna was the marshy plain (vellir) south of Gamla Uppsala where travellers had to leave the ships and walk to the Temple at Uppsala and the hall of the Swedish king. The name is related... Fyris Wolds). When Adils and his men pursued them, Hrólf spilled out the gold to occupy the pursuers with treasure collecting. Adils, however, overtook Hrólf who in desperation threw away Sviagris. When Adils stooped to pick it up with his spear Hrólf ungloriously cut him in the back screaming that he had bent the back of the most powerful man in Sweden, stole the ring once again and fled

(Incidentally, the meaning of kraki is unclear. The word does refer to a primitive ladder consisting of a conifer trunk with only the stubs of its branches left. It could indicate that Rolf is physically unimpressive, especially compared to some of his twelve companions—or it could be applied to someone of unusual tallness.)

Death by burning

After a long and peaceful reign, Hrólf was This page deals with the type of injury called burns; for other meanings of burn see burn (disambiguation) In medicine, a burn is a type of injury to the skin caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, or radiation (an example of the latter is sunburn). Immediate first aid for burns consists... burned to death by his relative Hjörvard (see Heoroweard, Hjörvard, Hjorvard or Hiar(t(h))uar is a character who appears both in Beowulf and in Norse mythology, where he is named Hjörvard. Hereoweard rebelled against Hrólf Kraki and killed him, but otherwise the sources vary greatly. In the paraphrase of Bjarkimal in Gesta Danorum... Heoroweard for more about this personage). In this See also the town of Battle, East Sussex, England Generally, a battle is an instance of combat between two or more parties wherein each group will seek to defeat the others. Battles are most often fought during wars. Battles may be small scale, only involving a handful of individuals, perhaps... battle all Hrólf's men are killed but Vögg. Vögg pretended to swear loyalty to Hjörvard, but as he accepted the new king's sword, he stabbed Hjörvard to death and so avenged Hrólf Kraki's death. With Hrólf's and Hjörvard's deaths the rule of the Skjöldung ( Old English Scylding (plural Scyldingas) and Old Norse Skjöldung (plural Skjöldungar), meaning in both languages Shielding, refers to members of a legendary royal family of Danes and sometimes to their people. The name is explained in many text by the descent of this family from an eponymous king... Scylding) dynasty came to an end. The sources vary greatly about who succeeded Hrólf on the Danish throne.

Origins of the tale

The Hrólf Kraki saga has several interesting similarities to that of The first page of Beowulf This article describes Beowulf, the epic poem. For the person Beowulf, see Beowulf (hero). For other uses, see Beowulf (disambiguation). Beowulf is a traditional heroic epic poem in Old English alliterative verse. At 3182 lines, it is far more substantial than any similar work in... Beowulf. The character names given in parentheses here are the Old English names from Beowulf of characters who correspond to those in Rolf's story. See Origins for Beowulf and Hrólf Kraki.

The concept of Hrólf ruling over a golden age and surrounded by legendary heroes may be compared to the myths of King Arthur is an important figure in the mythology of Great Britain. He is the central character in Arthurian legends (known as the Matter of Britain), although there is disagreement about whether Arthur, or a model for him, ever actually existed and in the earliest mentions and Welsh texts he... King Arthur and the For other uses, see Round Table (disambiguation). In the legend of King Arthur, the Round Table was a mystical table in Camelot around which King Arthur and his knights sat to discuss matters crucial to the security of the realm. In some versions, the wizard Merlin also has a seat... Round Table and to those of Statue of Charlemagne in Frankfurt, a Romantic interpretation of his appearance from the 19th century Charlemagne (c. 742 or 747 – January 28, 814) (or Charles the Great, in German Karl der Große, in Latin Carolus Magnus, giving rise to the adjective form Carolingian), was king of the... Charlemagne and his twelve peers in the The chansons de geste, Old French for songs of heroic deeds, are the epic poetry that appears at the dawn of French literature. Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste. Subjects Written in Old French by the earliest poets, the trouv res, they... chansons de geste.

A modern version

The American writer Poul Anderson (November 25, 1926 - July 31, 2001) was a prolific science fiction author of the Golden Age; some of his short stories were first published using the pseudonyms A. A. Craig, Michael Karageorge, and Winston P. Sanders. Poul Anderson also wrote fantasy books, such as the King of Ys... Poul Anderson used this story in his novel Hrolf Kraki's Saga. Anderson's story begins in earlier generations and differs in some events from the account given here. The book was well received by many fantasy fans. However, it has been criticized on the grounds that its frequent explanations, especially of the characters' feelings and motives, are incompatible with the saga traditions.

Alternate Anglicizations

Rolf, Roulf, Rolf Krake.

Bibliography and external links

• English translations of the Old Norse Hrólfs saga kraka ok kappa hans :
  • The Saga of Hrolf Kraki and his Champions. Trans. Peter Tunstall ( 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Events January January 1 - Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil. Pascal Couchepin becomes President of the Confederation in... 2003). Available at Norse saga: The Saga of Hrolf Kraki (http://freespace.virgin.net/o.e/egd/Hrolf.html) and Northvegr: The Saga of Hrolf Kraki (http://www.northvegr.org/lore/oldheathen/034.php).
  • The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki. Trans. Jesse L. Byock (1998). London: Penguin. ISBN 014043593X. Selection from this translation are available at The Viking Site: Excerpts from The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki (http://www.viking.ucla.edu/hrolf/maincontents.html).
  • "King Hrolf and his champions" included in Eirik the Red: And Other Icelandic Sagas. Trans. Gwyn Jones (1961). Oxford: Oxford World's Classics, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0192835300.
• Original texts:
  • University of Oregon: Norse: Fornaldarsögur norðurlanda: Hrólfs saga kraka ok kappa hans (http://server.fhp.uoregon.edu/IRE/Document.ire/Norse/html/0201i.html)
  • Sagnanet: Hrólfs saga kraka (http://saga.library.cornell.edu/saganet/?MIval=/ManuscriptSagasB&language=english&STitle=Hr%F3lfs%20saga%20kraka)
• Anderson, Poul (1973). Hrolf Kraki's Saga. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0345235622. New York: Del Rey Books. ISBN 0345258460. Reprinted 1988 by Baen Books, ISBN 0671654268.