| Sigfred | |
|---|---|
 Sigfred (II) as depicted in 1670 | |
| King of the Danes | |
| Reign | 812 (with opposition) |
| Predecessor | Hemming |
| Successor | Harald Klak and Ragnfred |
| Born | 8th century Denmark |
| Died | 812 Denmark |
| Dynasty | Sigfredian |
| Father | unknown, probably a brother of Gudfred |
| Religion | Norse paganism |
Sigfred was a competitor for the Danish throne in 812. His brief appearance inaugurated a period of throne struggles in Denmark which lasted until 827.
In the early 9th century King Gudfred had made Denmark into an expansive power which threatened the Carolingian positions in Frisia, Saxony and the Slavic lands. However, the kingdom was not strictly hereditary since rulers were taken by assemblies of chiefs and peasants. Apart from the House of Gudfred, another lineage strove for power. The members based their claim on kinship with a former King Harald who might have ruled in the 8th century. Since the Houses of Gudfred and Harald often bore the same names (such as Gudfred and Hemming) they were probably related. [1]
Gudfred's nephew and successor Hemming had a short and peaceful reign and passed away in 812. He is known to have had two brothers called Håkon and Angantyr, but we do not hear more about them. Another nephew of Gudfred, Sigfred, aspired to succeed him. He was, however, challenged by another claimant called Anulo (Ale), who was a grandson or nephew (nepos) of Harald and probably the son of the chief Halfdan who submitted to Charlemagne in 807. The two rival kings summoned their followers and met in a huge battle which, according to the Frankish annals, cost the lives 10,940 men on both sides. If correct this would have meant a very considerable loss of manpower for this era. Both Sigfred and Anulo were killed in the melée. However, Anulo's side won, and his brothers Harald Klak and Ragnfred were made kings of the Danish realm. [2] The new rulers sought friendship with the Carolingian Empire. However, they were soon challenged by the five sons of Gudfred and were expelled in the following year.
Sigfred and Anulo are mentioned by the historian Adam of Bremen in c. 1075 who believed that they were both nephews of Gudfred. [3] Adam's Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum was known to some High medieval Norse writers who elaborated on his data. Thus the unusual name Anulo was misinterpreted as Hring (Latin annulus meaning "ring") while Sigfred was equated with the common medieval name Sigurd. [4] Various king lists such as the Gesta Danorum of Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1200) combine the names as Sigurd Hring and present this figure as the father and predecessor of the renowned Viking ruler Ragnar Lodbrok, conflated with historical Ragnfred. [5]
Ragnar Lodbrok, according to legends, was a Viking hero and a Swedish and Danish king. He is known from Old Norse poetry of the Viking Age, Icelandic sagas, and near-contemporary chronicles. According to traditional literature, Ragnar distinguished himself by conducting many raids against the British Isles and the Holy Roman Empire during the 9th century. He also appears in Norse legends, and according to the legendary sagas Tale of Ragnar's Sons and a Saga about Certain Ancient Kings, Ragnar Lodbrok's father has been given as the legendary king of the Swedes, Sigurd Ring.
Hemming I was a king in Denmark from 810 until his death. He was the successor of King Gudfred, his uncle.
Gudfred was a ninth century Danish king who reigned from at least 804 to 810. Alternate spellings include Godfred (Danish), Göttrick (German), Gøtrik (Danish), Gudrød (Danish), and Godofredus (Latin). He stands at the threshold of the History of Denmark in the sense that he is the first ruler about whom we have substantial knowledge from contemporary sources. He waged offensive war against the Carolingian Empire with some success, but was murdered under murky circumstances before a major confrontation had taken place. There is no unambiguous trace of Gudfred in the later Norse sagas, and his history can only be traced from the hostile Frankish texts which makes an assessment of his role problematic. His paternity is unknown but he may have been closely related to Sigfred, who preceded him as king of Denmark c. 770–804. He was the uncle of the later Danish King Hemming (810–812) and the father of King Horik I (813–854).
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.
Randvér or Randver was a legendary Danish king. In Nordic legends, according to Sögubrot and the Lay of Hyndla, he was the son of Ráðbarðr the king of Garðaríki and Auðr the Deep-Minded, the daughter of the Danish-Swedish ruler Ivar Vidfamne. In these two sources, Auðr had Randver's brother, Harald Wartooth, in a previous marriage.
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.
Sigurd Snake-in-the-eye or Sigurd Áslaugsson was a semi-legendary Viking warrior and Danish king active from the mid to late 9th century. According to multiple saga sources and Scandinavian histories from the 12th century and later, he is one of the sons of the legendary Viking Ragnar Lodbrok and Áslaug. His historical prototype might have been the Danish King Sigfred who ruled briefly in the 870s. Norwegian kings' genealogies of the Middle Ages name him as an ancestor of Harald Fairhair and used his mother's supposed ancestry the Völsung to create an ancestry between Harald and his descendants and Odin.
Olof was a king who, according to a late source, ruled in Denmark in about 900 after usurping power. Evidence for his historicity is only circumstantial, since he belongs to a period of Danish history when very little is known from textual sources.
Harald 'Klak' Halfdansson was a king in Jutland around 812–814 and again from 819–827.
Sigfred was an eighth century Danish king who is known to have reigned from before 777 to after 798. Fragments of his reign can be traced via Frankish sources.
Nordalbingia was one of the four administrative regions of the medieval Duchy of Saxony, the others being Angria, Eastphalia, and Westphalia. The region's name is based on the Latin name Alba for the Elbe River and refers to an area predominantly located north of the Lower Elbe, roughly corresponding with the present-day Holstein region. Situated in what is now Northern Germany, this is the earliest known dominion of the Saxons.
Webiorg, Wigbiorg or Veborg, was a legendary Scandinavian shieldmaiden who, according to the sagas, participated in the Battle of Bråvalla, which occurred in Sweden in approximately 750. She was of Swedish or Danish origin.
Horik I or Hårik was a king of the Danes. He was co-ruler from 813, and sole king from c. 828 until his violent death in 854. His long and eventful reign was marked by Danish raids on the Carolingian Empire of Louis the Pious, son and successor of Charlemagne.
Horik II, also known as Hårik or, in late sources, Erik Barn, was King of the Danes from the fall of Horik I in 854 to an unknown date between 864 and 873. During his reign the Danish kingdom showed tendencies of breaking up. After his demise under unknown circumstances, Denmark entered a long period of obscurity, until the rise of the Jelling dynasty in the 10th century.
Reginfrid was a co-King of Denmark from 812, when Hemming I died, to 813, when he and his brothers were ousted by the sons of a previous king, Gudfred. He was probably a son of Halfdan, a Danish leader who became a vassal of Charlemagne in 807, and brother of Anulo, Hemming, and Harald Klak. He was probably also related to the Danish king he succeeded.
Helge was a Danish king who ruled at the end of the 9th century. There is no contemporary evidence for his existence, since he is only mentioned in a source from the 11th century.
Anulo or Ale was a pretender-king who vied for the Danish throne in 812. He represents the appearance of the House of Harald which competed with the House of Gudfred for power in Denmark until c. 857 and possibly longer.