Last updated Halga seducing his own daughter Yrsa, by Jenny Nyström (1895).
Halga, Helgi, Helghe or Helgo was a legendary Danish king living in the early 6th century.[1] His name would in his own language (Proto-Norse) have been *Hailaga[2] (dedicated to the gods).
Scholars generally agree that he appears in both Anglo-Saxon (Beowulf) and Scandinavian tradition (Norse sagas and Danish chronicles).[3] In both traditions, he was a Scylding, the son of Healfdene and the brother of Hroðgar. In Beowulf, his relationship to Hroðulf is not explained, but if he was not his father, as in the Scandinavian tradition, he was at least his uncle. Both traditions also mention his family's feud with Froda and Ingeld.
Whereas, not much is said about Halga in Anglo-Saxon sources, much more is said in Scandinavian ones, all of them containing a version of the story of his incestuous relationship with his own daughter Yrsa. This liaison resulted in Halga's son Hroðulf.
In the Anglo-SaxonepicBeowulf, Halga is hardly mentioned. He appears early in the poem where he is listed as the brave Halga, one of the four children of Healfdene, the others being Heorogar, Hroðgar and a daughter (who is unnamed, but called Signý in Norse sources) who was married to the king of Sweden.
59 Ðæm feower bearn forðgerimed
60 in worold wocun weoroda ræswa 61 heorogar. 7 hroðgar 7 halga til 62 hyrde ic þ elan cwen
63 heaðo-Scilfingas healsgebedda
This appears in Gummere's translation as:
59 Then, one after one, there woke to him,
60 to the chieftain of clansmen, children four: 61 Heorogar, then Hrothgar, then Halga brave; 62 and I heard that — ela's queen,
63 the Heathoscylfing’s helpmate dear.
Hroðulf (Hrólfr Kraki) is only mentioned as Hroðgar's nephew, whereas he is specified as Halga's son in Norse sources.
Chronicon Lethrense and Annales Lundenses
The Chronicon Lethrense (and the included Annales Lundenses) tells that Haldan (Healfdene) had two sons, Helghe and Ro (Hroðgar). When Haldan died of old age, Helghe and Ro divided the kingdom so that Ro ruled the land, and Helghe the sea. One day, Helghe arrived in Halland/Lolland[4] and slept with Thore, the daughter of one of Ro's farmers. This resulted in a daughter named Yrse. Much later, he met Yrse, and without knowing that she was his daughter, he made her pregnant with Hrólfr Kraki (Hroðulf). Helghe later warred in Wendland and killed the king of the Wends. He also won all of Denmark by killing a Hodbrod. Lastly, he found out that Yrse, with whom he had slept, was his own daughter, went east and killed himself.
Both Helghe and Ro being dead, the Swedish king Hakon/Athisl[5] (i.e. Eadgils) forced the Danes to accept a dog as king. The dog king was succeeded by Hrolf Kraki.
Gesta Danorum
If the Chronicon Lethrense reports that the Swedes humiliated the Danes after Helghe's death, Saxo Grammaticus mentions nothing of this, but instead he has Helgo humiliate the Swedes in his Gesta Danorum, book 2. He also confused, or merged, Helgo with Helgi Hundingsbane, who in other sources is either a Völsung or a GeatishWulfing (Ylfing). It is possible that it was the information that both killed a Hothbrodd and were called Helgi that inspired the merger.
Saxo agrees with Beowulf and the Chronicon Lethrense by describing Helgo and Ro (Hroðgar) as the sons of Haldanus (Healfdene). Like the Chronicon Lethrense, he relates that Ro and Helgo shared the kingdom after Haldanus' death (of old age), Ro taking the land, and Helgo the sea. Saxo adds that Helgo was a rather tall man.
Helgo attacked and killed king Skalk of Sklavia (i.e. the king of Wendland), subduing Sklavia into a Danish province. Continuing his sea roving, Helgo arrived at Thurø, where he found and raped the young girl Thora, which resulted in Urse.
He earned the name Hundingsbane by slaying Hunding, the king of Saxony, and conquered Jutland from the Saxons and entrusted it to his commanders Heske, Eyr and Ler. He then humiliated the Saxon aristocracy by enacting a law that the killing of one of them would be no more costly in wergild than the killing of a commoner.
When Helgo after many years returned to Thurø, Thora avenged her lost virginity by sending Urse to Helgo, who unknowingly raped his own daughter. This resulted in Roluo Kraki (i.e. Hroðulf).
Whereas the Chronicon Lethrense and the Annales Lundenses do not explain why Halga needed to kill Hodbrod to win all of Denmark, the Gesta Danorum presents Hothbrodd as a king of Sweden, who invaded Denmark and killed Ro. After having killed Hothbrodd, avenging the death of his brother, he humiliated the Swedes by forbidding that any crime against a Swede should result in any punishment by law. Then, hating his own country, he went east and died, reputedly by throwing himself onto his own sword. He was succeeded by his son Roluo.
Hrólfr Kraki's saga
In Hrólfr Kraki's saga, Halfdan (Healfdene) had three children, the sons Helgi and Hróarr (Hroðgar) and the daughter Signý. The sister was the eldest and married to Sævil Jarl, with whom she had the son Hrókr. Halfdan was murdered by his own brother Fróði (Froda) and the two brothers had to seek refuge with a man called Vivil on an island, until they could avenge their father and kill Fróði.
Hróarr moved to Northumbria and married king Norðri's daughter Ögn, whereas Helgi became the new king of Denmark, but stayed unmarried. Wanting a spouse, Helgi went to the Saxons to woo their warlike queen Oluf. She was, however, not interested and humiliated Helgi by shaving his head and covering him with tar while he was asleep, and sending him back to his ship. Some time later, Helgi returned and through a ruse, he kidnapped the queen for a while during which time he got her pregnant.
Having returned to her kingdom, the queen bore a child, a girl whom she named Yrsa after her dog. Yrsa was set to live as a shepherd until she was 12 years old, when she met her father Helgi, who fell in love with her, not knowing it was his daughter. Oluf kept quiet about the parentage and saw it as her revenge that Helgi would wed his own daughter. Helgi and Yrsa had a son, Hrólfr Kraki (Hroðulf). For his share of the kingdom, Hróarr had been given a precious ring, an heirloom. There was, however, a second relative who wanted his share, their nephew Hrókr. Since Hrókr was given neither a part of the kingdom nor the ring, he went to Northumbria, killed Hróarr and threw the ring into the water (later retrieved by Hróarr's son Agnar). Helgi avenged his brother by cutting off Hrókr's arms and legs.
Learning that Helgi and Yrsa were living happily together, Queen Oluf travelled to Denmark to tell her daughter the truth. Yrsa was shocked and although Helgi wanted their relationship to remain as it was, Yrsa insisted on leaving him. She was later taken by the Swedish king Aðils (Eadgils) as his queen, which made Helgi even more unhappy.
Later, one Yule, Helgi was visited by an ugly being while he was in his hunting house. No person in the entire kingdom would allow the being to enter their house, except Helgi. Later, the thing asked to sleep in his bed. Unwillingly he agreed, and as the thing got into bed, it turned into an elvish woman, who was clad in silk and who was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He raped her, and made her pregnant with a daughter named Skuld. Helgi forgot the woman and a couple of days after the date had passed, he was visited by the woman, who had Skuld in her arms. The daughter would later marry Hjörvarðr (Heoroweard), Hrólfr Kraki's killer.
Missing Yrsa, Helgi went to Uppsala to fetch her, but was killed by Aðils in battle. He was succeeded by his son Hrólfr.
Ingjaldus (i.e. Ingeld, but here he is presented as Halfdan's half-brother) attacked Halfdan, killed him and married Sigrith. Ingjaldus and Sigrith had the sons Rærecus and Frodo (Froda), while Signy grew up with her mother until she was married to Sævil, the jarl of Zealand. Roas and Helgo survived by hiding on an island near Skåne, and when they were old enough, they avenged their father by killing Ingjaldus.
The two brothers both became kings of Denmark, and Roas married the daughter of the king of England. Helgo, on the other hand, raped Olava, the queen of the Saxons, and she bore a daughter named Yrsa. The girl later married king Adillus (Eadgils), the king of Sweden. Some years later, Helgo attacked Sweden and captured Yrsa, whom he raped. His daughter bore him the son Rolfo (Hroðulf). After a few years, Yrsa's mother, Queen Olava, came to visit her and told her that Helgo was her own father. Yrsa returned to Adillus, leaving her son behind. Helgo died when Rolfo was eight years old, and Rolfo succeeded him. Not much later, Roas was killed by his half-brothers Rærecus and Frodo, whereupon Rolfo became the sole king of Denmark.
Ynglinga saga
In Snorri Sturluson's Ynglinga saga, a part of the Heimskringla, he mentions the tradition of Halga, Eadgils and Yrsa, and he based his account on the Skjöldunga saga (he had access to the now lost original version).
He wrote that king Halfdan's (Healfdene) son Helgi ruled in Lejre. He invaded Sweden with such a large army that king Aðils (Eadgils) could not do anything else but to flee Uppsala. Helgi amassed a great deal of booty and took queen Yrsa (whom Aðils had found in Saxony) with him. Yrsa bore a son named Hrólfr Kraki (Hroðulf). When the boy was three years of age, Yrsa's mother, queen Alof of Saxony, came to visit her and told her that her husband Helgi was her own father. Then Yrsa returned to Sweden and king Aðils. Hrólfr Kraki was only eight years old when Helgi died during a war expedition, and Hrólfr was proclaimed his successor.
Notes
↑ The dating has never been a matter of controversy. It is inferred from the internal chronology of the sources themselves and the dating of Hygelac's raid on Frisia to c. 516. It is also supported by archaeological excavations of the barrows of Eadgils and Ohthere in Sweden. For a discussion, see e.g. Birger Nerman's Det svenska rikets uppkomst (1925) (in Swedish). For presentations of the archaeological findings, see e.g. Elisabeth Klingmark's Gamla Uppsala, Svenska kulturminnen 59, Riksantikvarieämbetet (in Swedish), or this English language presentation by the Swedish National Heritage BoardArchived 2007-08-24 at the Wayback Machine
Hrólfr Kraki, Hroðulf, Rolfo, Roluo, Rolf Krage was a semi-legendary Danish king who appears in both Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian tradition.
Hrothgar was a semi-legendary Danish king living around the early sixth century AD.
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.
Old English Scylding and Old Norse Skjöldung, meaning in both languages "People of Scyld/Skjöld" are the members of a legendary royal family of Danes, especially kings. The name is explained in many texts, such as Friedrich Christoph Dahlmann's 'Research on the Field of History', by the descent of this family from an eponymous king Scyld, but the title is sometimes applied to rulers who purportedly reigned before him, and the supposed king may be an invention to explain the name. There was once a Norse saga on the dynasty, the Skjöldunga saga, but it survives only in a Latin summary by Arngrímur Jónsson.
Halfdan was a late 5th and early 6th century legendary Danish king of the Scylding (Skjöldung) lineage, the son of king named Fróði in many accounts, noted mainly as the father to the two kings who succeeded him in the rule of Denmark, kings named Hroðgar and Halga in the Old English poem Beowulf and named Hróar and Helgi in Old Norse accounts.
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.
Skuld was a princess of Scandinavian legend who married Heoroweard and encouraged him to kill Hroðulf in Hrólfs saga kraka. The accounts of her vary greatly from source to source. Skuld is derived from the Old Norse verb skulla, "need/ought to be/shall be"; its meaning is "that which should become, or that needs to occur". Other similarly named characters appear in the Skjöldunga saga and the Gesta Danorum, as well as the Chronicon Lethrense.
The dog king is a Scandinavian tradition which appears in several Scandinavian sources: Chronicon Lethrense, Annals of Lund, Gesta Danorum, Heimskringla, Hversu Noregr byggðist and probably also in Skáldatal.
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?
Heorogar was a Danish king who appears in the Old English poem Beowulf as the eldest son of Healfdene (Halfdan), and the brother of Hroðgar (Hroar), and Halga (Helgi). The people in parentheses are personages found also in Norse sources.
Hreðric and Hroðmund were the sons of the Danish king Hroðgar and his queen, Wealhþeow, in the Old English epic Beowulf. They are only mentioned in passing, and there seems to be some foreshadowing in Beowulf that their cousin, Halga's son Hroðulf, i.e. Hrólfr Kraki, would usurp the throne from them.
Valdar was the name of several legendary Danish kings.
Vöggr, Vogg, Wigg or Wigge was a young 6th century man in Scandinavian legend notable for giving Hrólfr Kraki his cognomen kraki, and for avenging his death.
Hrólfs saga kraka, the Saga of King Rolf Kraki, is a late legendary saga on the adventures Hrólfr Kraki, a semi-legendary king in what is now Denmark, and his clan, the Skjöldungs. The events can be dated to the late 5th century and the 6th century. A precursor text may have dated to the 13th century, but the saga in the form that survived to this day dates to ca. 1400. 44 manuscripts survive, but the oldest one of them is from the 17th century, although a manuscript is known to have existed c. 1461 at the monastery of Möðruvellir in Iceland.
Harald Valdarsson, also known as Harald the Old appears only by name in Hversu Noregr byggðist, but his father, sons and descendants played a central role in the politics of Scandinavian legends.
Hrœrekr Ringslinger or Ringscatterer, Old Norse: Hrærekr slöngvanbaugi, Old Danish: Rørik Slængeborræ or Rørik Slyngebond was a legendary 7th-century king of Zealand or Denmark, who appears in Chronicon Lethrense, Annals of Lund, Gesta Danorum, Sögubrot, Njáls saga, Hversu Noregr byggðist, Skjöldunga saga, and Bjarkarímur. Connection with such historical figures such as Horik I, who ruled Denmark around 854 for a dozen or so years, or the founder of the Rurik dynasty is fraught with difficulty.
Hrolf Kraki's Saga is a fantasy novel by American writer Poul Anderson. It was first published by Ballantine Books as the sixty-second volume of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in October, 1973, and has been reprinted a number of times since. The novel was nominated for the British Fantasy Award in 1973.
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