Absalon was a Danish statesman and prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Roskilde from 1158 to 1192 and archbishop of Lund from 1178 until his death. He was the foremost politician and church father of Denmark in the second half of the 12th century, and was the closest advisor of King Valdemar I of Denmark. He was a key figure in the Danish policies of territorial expansion in the Baltic Sea, Europeanization in close relationship with the Holy See, and reform in the relation between the Church and the public. He combined the ideals of Gregorian Reform with loyal support of a strong monarchical power.
Gesta Danorum is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus. It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark and is an essential source for the nation's early history. It is also one of the oldest known written documents about the history of Estonia and Latvia.
Magnus Olafsson, better known as Magnus the Good, was King of Norway from 1035 and King of Denmark from 1042 until his death in 1047.
Álfhildr was the name of several women in Norse mythology and legend. The name is composed of Old Norse words, alf 'elf, fairy' and hildr 'battle'. As of 2010 it was common in Norway.
Hrothgar was a semi-legendary Danish king living around the early sixth century AD.
Yrsa, Yrse, Yrs or Urse was a tragic heroine of early Scandinavian legend.
Awilda, also known as Alwilda, was a female pirate. The story of Awilda is doubted by some historical scholars and considered to be a legend.
Sigurd Ring according to legend was a king of the Swedes, being mentioned in many old Scandinavian sagas. According to these sources he was granted rulership over Sweden as a vassal king under his uncle Harald Wartooth. Later he would take up arms against his uncle Harald in a bid to overthrow him and take the crown of Denmark, a conflict which Sigurd eventually won after the legendary Battle of the Brávellir, where it is said that Odin himself intervened and killed Harald. In the Sagas, Sigurd is also known for being the father of the Norse Viking hero and legendary king of Denmark and Sweden, Ragnar Lodbrok. According to Bósa saga ok Herrauds, there was once a saga on Sigurd Ring, but this saga is now lost.
Harald Wartooth or Harold Hiltertooth was a semi-legendary king of Denmark who is mentioned in several traditional sources. He is held to have (indirectly) succeeded his father as king of Zealand and to have expanded his realm. According to different sources, he may have ruled over Jutland, part of Sweden and the historical northern German province of Wendland. He is said to have been finally defeated and killed at the legendary Battle of Bråvalla.
Geatish kings, ruling over the provinces of Götaland (Gautland/Geatland), appear in several sources for early Swedish history. Today, most of them are not considered historical.
The Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern was a 6th-century battle recorded in the Norse sagas and referred to in the Old English epic Beowulf. It has been dated to c. AD 530.
Ásmundar saga kappabana is the saga of Asmund the Champion-Killer, a legendary saga from Iceland, first attested in the manuscript Stockholm, Royal Library, Holm. 7, 4to, from the first half of the fourteenth century. It is essentially an adaptation of the German Hildebrandslied, but it has assimilated matter from the Tyrfing Cycle.
Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar is a Scandinavian legendary saga which was put to text in Iceland in the 13th century. It has a prequel in Gautreks saga.
The Jomsvikings were a legendary order of Viking mercenaries or conquerors of the 10th and 11th centuries. Though reputed to be staunchly dedicated to the worship of the Old Norse gods, they would allegedly fight for any lord who could pay their substantial fees, even if they may be Christian. The institution of the Jomsvikings would itself foreshadow those of the later religious and chivalric orders of the Middle Ages.
Hagbard and Signe or The Red Mantle is a 1967 internationally co-produced drama film based on the story of Hagbard and Signy from the twelfth-century work Gesta Danorum by Saxo Grammaticus, directed by Gabriel Axel and starring Gitte Hænning. The film won a Technical Prize at the 1967 Cannes Film Festival.
Alfheim is an ancient name for an area corresponding to the modern Swedish province of Bohuslän.
Yngwin ("Yngve") was, according to Gesta Danorum, a king in Götaland, who was a close friend to one of the Danish kings named Halfdan.
In the twelfth-century Danish history Gesta Danorum, Siward,, was an ancient king in Götaland, who had a daughter named Alfhild, who became a legendary Viking pirate.
Rusla, also known as the "Red Woman" from Middle Irish Ingean Ruagh, was a legendary Norwegian shield-maiden mentioned in the Gesta Danorum or "History of the Danes" of Saxo Grammaticus and in the Irish annals. According to Saxo, Rusla was the daughter of a fifth or sixth century king of Telemark called Rieg, and sister of Tesandus (Thrond), who was dispossessed of his throne by a Danish king named Omund. Rusla formed a pirate fleet to attack all Danish ships as revenge for the affront to her brother. Rusla was always accompanied by another woman, Stikla, who was her deputy in all raids. Stikla turned to piracy to avoid marriage, and her name is the origin of the Norwegian city of Stiklestad.
Alfhild or Alvildam was a legendary Saxon princess mentioned in Gesta Danorum. Her suitors: the king of the Danes, Skiod and the governor of the Alamanni Skat fought for her hand, the former winning. Later she gave birth to a son.
