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 and Hrolf Kraki fleeing the Swedish king Adils on the Fýrisvellir 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... Hrólf Kraki are two well-known characters in the myths and sagas of ancient Scandinavia is the cultural and historic region of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The Scandinavian countries are Norway, Sweden and Denmark, which recognize each other as parts of Scandinavia. The collective label Scandinavia reflects the cultural similarity, and the strong historical ties, between these countries despite their political independence. The terms Fennoscandia... Scandinavia.

Both are supposed to have lived sometime around 450–550 AD, and much has been discussed over the years regarding their origins.

Character alignments

There are several characters in Beowulf that apparently match the names known from other ancient northern tales and sagas.

• A common assumption is that Hrólf Kraki, would be the same as the character of Hrothulf in Beowulf (Hrothgar's nephew). There seems to be some foreshadowing in 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 that Hrothulf will attempt to usurp the throne from Hrothgar's sons Hrethric and Hrothmund, a deed that seems to be referred to in 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's 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, (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 Hrethric to take in Danish and we find personages named Rorik or Hrok or similar in most version of the Hrólf Kraki story but differently accounted for, seemingly indicating that Scandinavian tradition and Icelandic tradition had forgotten who exactly Hrethric/Rorik/Hrok was and various story tellers subsequently invented details to explain references to this personage in older poems. The future slaying of Hrethric 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 the legendary death of Hrólf Kraki who in Norse souces is said to have died in the burning of his hall by his brother-in-law 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... Hjörvard.
• The standard view seems to be that – if 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 himself has a 'cognate' character in Rolf Kraki's story – it is 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 (Bodvar Biarke), who also has a younger companion, Hjalti (Hialte) – perhaps matching the Beowulf character Wiglaf is a young well-regarded Swedish warrior of the Waegmunding clan, in Beowulf. His father was Weohstan, one of the champions of the Swedish kings who had slain the fugitive Swedish prince Eanmund and taken his sword. Wiglaf is called the last of the Waegmundings and when his father... Wiglaf.
• Beowulf comes from Geatland (= Götaland) and one of Bödvar Bjarki's elder brothers, Thorir, becomes a king of Götaland. Morever, like Beowulf, Bödvar Bjarki arrives to Denmark from Götaland (Geatland), and upon arriving to Denmark he kills a beast that has been ravaging the Danish court for two years.
• According to this theory, the name of Beowulf originates from:

  beo (bee) + wulf (wolf), i.e. Bee-Wolf, i.e. a This article is about kenning as a poetic notion. See Kenning (disambiguation) for other meanings. In literature, a kenning is a compound poetic phrase substituted for the usual name of a person or thing. For example the sea in Old English could be called seġl-rād... kenning for Bear (the wolf/hunter of bees).

  So Bjarki can be interpreted as cognate to Beowulf.
• As for the king of the Danes, 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, he is identical to Hróar or Ro, 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/Hrothgar who dies before his brother or who departs to For other places with this name, see Northumberland Northumberland is a county in England, on the border with Scotland. The countys largest boundaries were from the river Humber in the south, to the Forth in the North, as the kingdom of Northumbria under King Edwin. At present, however, the... Northumberland to rule his wife's kingdom leaving Helgi/Halga the sole rule of Denmark. In Beowulf Halga/Helgi has died and Hrothgar is the primary ruler with Hrothulf son of Halga as a junion co-ruler.

• Furthermore, the Swedish kings referenced in Beowulf are adequately matched with the 5th and 6th century 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... Swedish kings in This article is about the modern city of Uppsala. If youre searching for the Uppsala of Norse mythology, see Gamla Uppsala. Uppsala [˘ɵpsɑːla] is a City and a Municipality of Sweden, located about 70 km north of Stockholm. It is the fourth largest city... Uppsala (see also The semi-legendary kings of Sweden are the long line of Swedish kings who preceded Eric the Victorious, according to sources such as the Norse Sagas, Beowulf, Rimbert, Adam of Bremen and Saxo Grammaticus, but who are of disputed historicity, due to the fact that many of them appear in... Swedish semi-legendary kings):

In some of the Hrólf Kraki material, Bödvar Bjarki aids Adils in defeating Adils' uncle Áli. In Beowulf, the hero Beowulf aids Eadgils in Eagils' war against 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. As far as the 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 the same story.

It is thus likely, that Beowulf and Hrólf Kraki's story are two versions of the same original Germanic heroic epic. Like the The Ramsund carving depicting the Saga of the Völsungs The Volsunga saga is a late 13th century Icelandic prose rendition of the story of Sigurd and Brynhild, and the destruction of the Burgundians. It is largely based on epic poetry. The Nibelungenlied is another telling of some of the... Volsunga saga and The Nibelungenlied is an epic poem in Middle High German that takes Burgundian kings as its subject matter. It is the work of an anonymous poet from the Danube, dating from about 1190/1200. He re-worked various pre-Christian Teutonic and Nordic heroic motifs and oral traditions into a... Nibelungenlied, there are similar patters and corresponding personalities. It is also possible that Beowulf and Hrólf Kraki's tale are based on real events in the same way as the Volsunga saga and Nibelungenlied.

However, Bödvar Bjarki and Beowulf are given distinct genealogies. Although Beowulf does have some bear-like characteristics, he is never said in the epic to change his skin or project his fetch (in the shape of a bear) as Bjarki did. Some of the similarities could perhaps be accounted for by common literary traditions and devices. For instance, both accounts resemble in various ways a Bears Son Tales are a group of tales found from Europe and North America. Similar characteristics include a monster to be defeated by a hero who is descended from a bear, or has attributes of a bear, usually after others fail in the attempt. In some stories the monster... Bear Son Tale.

Geographical definitions

The geographical placements of Beowulf's Weder-Geats as well as the other geograhically referenced places in Beowulf are subject to much debate.

• Hroar is supposed to have founded Roskilde (population 52,572) is an ancient city in Denmark, situated in the island of Zealand, 30 km west of Copenhagen. Roskilde was the capital of Denmark until about 1400, when that role transferred to Copenhagen. The citys early importance is evident from the fact that the Roskilde cathedral... Roskilde (e.g. 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 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). This modern and medieval town in northern Sjælland (Zealand), Denmark, is where the ancient kingdom seat 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 was located. This then would seem appropriate a place for Hrothgar to have built the great hall of Heorot is the stronghold of king Hrothgar in the epic poem Beowulf. The Heorot series by Steven Barnes, Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven is named after the stronghold. It contains the following books: The Legacy of Heorot (1987) Beowulfs Children (1995) published as The Dragons of Heorot in the... Heorot.
• The identity of the Geats (Gautar Old Norse or Götar in Swedish) is the Old English spelling of the name of a Scandinavian people living in Götaland, land of the Geats, currently within the borders of modern Sweden. The name of the Geats lives on in the Swedish counties of Västerg... Geats has been contested. From a linguistic point of view, the question has a simple answer since Geat is plainly the The Anglo-Saxons refers collectively to the groups of Germanic tribes who achieved dominance in southern Britain from the mid-5th century, forming the basis for the modern English nation. Origins of the word The term Anglo_Saxon goes back to the time of King Alfred, who seems to have frequently... Anglo-Saxon form of 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 Gaut and modern Swedish Göt. This is also the generally accepted view. Moreover, in the Liber Monstrorum, Chlochilachus or Huiglaucus who is identified with Hygelac (Old Norse Hugleikr) (d. 516) is the king of the Geats in the first part of Beowulf. He is the son of Hrethel and has the brothers Herebeald and Haethcyn. His sister is married to Ecgtheow and has the son Beowulf. The hero Beowulf is consequently his nephew. Hygelac... Hygelac (Hugleikr) is described as rex Getarum. However, the Geats (Gautar Old Norse or Götar in Swedish) is the Old English spelling of the name of a Scandinavian people living in Götaland, land of the Geats, currently within the borders of modern Sweden. The name of the Geats lives on in the Swedish counties of Västerg... Geats have been identified with quite a number of different peoples and areas, by different authors for various purposes – such as the Gotlanders, the Goths, the Jutes, etc., etc. However, in Beowulf, there is no such confusion. The Geats, the Danes and the Jutes (Eotenas) are described as three distinct nations (for good review of relevant discussion see the Chambers book referenced below). And as a learned fiction (see the Leake ref. below).
• Wherever the Weder-Geats place their origin, it is supposedly (according to Beowulf) located only two nights sail-way from the Danes great hall Heorot. This distance corresponds well to the distance between Sjælland and the estuary of Göta älv (the narrow riverine gate of the traditional Götaland between Viken (the bay) is a landscape defined by Oslofjord in southeastern Norway which terminates at Terra Scania on the coast of West Sweden. The cultural hub is centred in Oslo and the capital of the region was formerly at Borre. It comprises the historical provinces of Westfold, Östfold, Ranrike, Vingulmark... Viken (a former The Kingdom of Norway is a Nordic country on the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, bordering Sweden, Finland and Russia, with territorial waters bordering Danish and British waters. It has a very elongated form and has an extensive coastline along the North Atlantic Ocean, where Norways famous fjords... Norwegian province) and Halland is the name of a geographical region in Sweden which can refer to: Hallandia, or Halland - a historical Province of Sweden Halland County, or Hallands län - a current County of Sweden This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share... Halland (belonged formerly to 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)). However, this distance may not be totally reliable – which in turns leave the field open for various interpretations that accommodates the different views on where to place the Geats.

References

Alignment of characters in the Sagas

There has been some work on possible equivalences between the Beowulf characters and the characters from the various Norse sagas and king-lists, etc.

Here are some references:

• Malone, Kemp. Studies in Heroic Legend and in Current Speech. S. Einarsson & N.E. Eliason, eds. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger, 1959.
• Lukman, Niels Clausen. Skjoldunge und Skilfinge. Hunnen- und Heruler-könige in Ostnordischer Überlieferung. Classica et mediaevalia, dissertationes III. Copenhagen: Gyldendalske Boghandel Nordisk Forlag, 1943.
• Hemmingsen, Lars. By Word of Mouth: the origins of Danish legendary history - studies in European learned and popular traditions of Dacians and Danes before A.D. 1200. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Copenhagen (Dept. of Folklore), 1995.
• Anderson, Carl Edlund. Formation and Resolution of Ideological Contrast in the Early History of Scandinavia. Ph.D. thesis, University of Cambridge, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic (Faculty of English). [1] (http://www.carlaz.com/phd/)

General Beowulf discussions

For other references on Beowulf, see the page for 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. Also the following sources are of interest.

• Chambers, Raymond W. Beowulf: an introduction to the study of the poem with a discussion of the stories of Offa and Finn. Cambridge: Cambridge Uni. Press, 1921 (2nd rev. ed., 1932).
• Leake, Jane Acomb. The Geats of Beowulf: a study in the geographical mythology of the Middle Ages. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1967.
• Smithers, George V. 'The Geats in Beowulf'. Durham University Journal 63.2 (1971).