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According to the Ynglinga saga , Hugleik or Ochilaik was a Swedish king of the House of Yngling.[ citation needed ] He was the son of Alf and Bera.
Some commentators have identified Hugleik with the Geatish king Hygelac. However, although both kings were killed in battle, Chlochilaicus/Hygelac was reportedly killed near the coast of France/Frisia, while Hugleik was allegedly killed at Fyrisvellir in Sweden.[ citation needed ]
When Hugleik's father and uncle had killed each other, Hugleik inherited the Swedish throne. Like his father, he was not a warrior, but preferred to stay at home. He was reputed to be as greedy as he was rich and, he preferred to be in the company of jesters, seidmen and völvas who entertained him.[ citation needed ]
Haki and Hagbard (the hero of the legend of Hagbard and Signy) were two famous sea-kings who had amassed a great force of warriors, and they occasionally plundered together. Haki arrived in Sweden with his troops to assault Uppsala. Haki was a murderous fighter and around himself he had his twelve hirdmen of whom one was the legendary old warrior Starkad (who had been in the service of Hugleik's grandfather Erik and great-uncle Alrik).[ citation needed ]
Hugleik had also mustered a large army and he was aided by two famous warriors named Svipdag and Geigad.[ citation needed ]
The two armies met on the Fyrisvellir (Fyris Wolds) and a great battle ensued. The Swedish army was defeated, but the two champions Svipdag and Geigad pushed onwards even though Haki's champions were six times as many. They were both captured by Haki, and then Haki attacked the shield-circle around Hugleik and killed him together with both his sons.[ citation needed ]
Saxo Grammaticus knows of this story but he renders Huglet(h)us as an Irish king who was killed by the Dane Haco (given as Hakon in the following translation ). The motivation behind describing Hugleik as an Irish king was probably identical to what Saxo described as the motivation behind the attack: even the farthest kingdoms of the world might not be untouched by the Danish arms.[ citation needed ]
Saxo writes that Starkad and Haki brought their fleet to Ireland where lived the rich and greedy king Hugleik. Hugleik was never generous to an honourable man, but spent all his riches on mimes and jugglers. In spite of his avarice, Hugleik had the great champions Geigad and Svipdag.[ citation needed ]
When the battle began, the jugglers and mimes panicked and fled, and only Geigad and Svipdag remained to defend Hugleik, but they fought like an entire army. Geigad dealt Starkad a wound on the head, which was so severe that Starkad would later sing songs about it.[ citation needed ]
Starkad killed Hugleik and made the Irish flee. He then had the jugglers and mimes whipped and beaten, in order to humiliate them. Then the Danes brought Hugleik's riches out to Dublin to be publicly looted, and there was so much of it that none cared for its strict division.[ citation needed ]
Hygelac was a king of the Geats according to the poem Beowulf. It is Hygelac's presence in the poem which has allowed scholars to tentatively date the setting of the poem as well as to infer that it contains at least some points of historical fact. Beowulf gives Hygelac's genealogy: according to the poem, he was the son of Hrethel and had two brothers Herebeald and Hæþcyn, as well as an unnamed sister who was married to Ecgtheow and was the mother of the hero Beowulf. Hygelac was married to Hygd, and they had a son Heardred and an unnamed daughter who married Eofor. When Hygelac's brother Hæþcyn was fighting with the Swedes, Hygelac arrived at Hrefnesholt one day too late to save his brother Hæþcyn, but he managed to rescue the surviving Geatish warriors, who were besieged by the Swedish king Ongentheow and his three sons. The Swedes found refuge at a hill fort but were assaulted by the Geats. In the battle, the Swedish king was slain by Eofor. After the death of his brother Herebeald, Hygelac ascended the Geatish throne. After he was killed during a raid on Frisia, Hygelac was succeeded by Heardred, according to Beowulf.
Hrólfr Kraki, Hroðulf, Rolfo, Roluo, Rolf Krage was a semi-legendary Danish king who appears in both Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian tradition.
Halfdan the Old was an ancient, legendary king from whom descended many of the most notable lineages of legend. A second Halfdan the Old is the purported great-grandfather of Ragnvald Eysteinsson.
Eadgils, Adils, Aðils, Adillus, Aðísl at Uppsölum, Athisl, Athislus or Adhel was a semi-legendary king of Sweden, who is estimated to have lived during the 6th century.
Yrsa, Yrse, Yrs or Urse was a tragic heroine of early Scandinavian legend.
Haki, Hake or Haco, the brother of Hagbard, was a famous Scandinavian sea-king, in Norse mythology. He is mentioned in the 12th century Gesta Danorum, and in 13th-century sources including Ynglinga saga, Nafnaþulur, and the Völsunga saga. If historical, he would have lived in the 5th century.
The Battle of Brávellir or the Battle of Bråvalla was a legendary battle, said to have taken place c. 770, that is described in the sagas as taking place on the Brávellir between Sigurd Hring, king of Sweden and the Geats of Västergötland, and his uncle Harald Wartooth, king of Denmark and the Geats of Östergötland.
Starkad was either an eight-armed giant or the human grandson of the aforementioned giant in Norse mythology.
Swerting is briefly mentioned in Beowulf, where he had a son or son-in-law, Hrethel, who was the maternal grandfather of the hero Beowulf.
A sea-king (sækonungr) in the Norse sagas is generally a title given to a powerful Viking chieftain, even though the term sea-king may sometimes predate the Viking age.
Víkar was a legendary Norwegian king who found himself and his ships becalmed for a long period. To raise a wind, a human blood sacrifice was needed, and the lots fell on King Víkar himself. Starkad (Starkaðr), Víkar's counselor urged a mock hanging from a tree instead, but in giving this advice Starkad had been prompted by the god Odin, who desired Víkar's death. According to the account in Gautreks saga, when Starkad let loose the branch, the apparent reed-stalk with which Starkad stabbed at the king was seen to be a real spear, the stump under Víkar's feet fell away, and the calf guts which had been used instead of rope turned into a strong withy. Víkar died. Saxo Grammaticus in Gesta Danorum refers to a similar version relating a magic transformation, but prefers or invents a more rational account in which Starkad tied the osier very tightly so that Víkar could hardly breathe and then stabbed Víkar with his sword. This was the first of Starkad's three great crimes.
Hagbard and Signe (Signy) or Habor and Sign(h)ild were a pair of lovers in Scandinavian mythology and folklore whose legend was widely popular. The heroes' connections with other legendary characters place the events in the 5th century AD. Hagbard and his brother Haki were famous sea-kings. Like the name Hagbard (Hagbarðr), the legend is believed to have continental Germanic origins.
The name Sigar can refer to four people in Scandinavian mythology, surrounding the legends of Sigurd the dragon slayer. One of them only appears as the friend of Helgi Hjörvarðsson in the eddic lay Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar. The other two appear as the villainous members of the same clan in several sources.
Heoroweard is a character who appears in Beowulf and also in Norse legends, where he is named Hjörvarðr or Hiartuar. If he existed in real life, his name would have been Proto-Norse *Heruwarduz.
The Heaðobards were possibly a branch of the Langobards, and their name may be preserved in toponym Bardengau, in Lower Saxony, Germany.
The Battle of Fýrisvellir was fought in the 980s on the plain called Fýrisvellir, where modern Uppsala is situated, between King Eric the Victorious and an invading force. According to Norse sagas, this force was led by his nephew Styrbjörn the Strong. Eric won the battle, and became known as "the Victorious".
Freawaru, introduced in l. 2020 of the poem Beowulf, is the daughter of King Hroðgar and Queen Wealhþeow.
Ingeld or Ingjaldr was a legendary warrior who appears in early English and Norse legends. Ingeld was so well known that, in 797, Alcuin wrote a letter to Bishop Higbald of Lindisfarne questioning the monks' interest in heroic legends with: 'Quid enim Hinieldus cum Christo?' - What has Ingeld to do with Christ?
The Swedish-Geatish wars refer to semi-legendary 6th century battles between Swedes and Geats that are described in the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf. Little has survived of such battles in the Norse sagas, and later 11th century-13th century wars between Swedes and Geats, notably involving the Geatish clans House of Stenkil and House of Sverker, are referred to as Swedish civil wars.