Secondary sources
Nerman, B., Det svenska rikets uppkomst. Stockholm, 1925.
| Clans (characters) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Translating Beowulf | ||
| Scholars | ||
| Related | ||
| Hrólf Kraki's saga |
| Ynglinga saga |
| Lejre Chronicle |
| Gesta Danorum |
| Beowulf |
| People |
| Hrólfr Kraki |
| Halfdan |
| Helgi |
| Yrsa |
| Adils |
| Áli |
| Bödvar Bjarki |
| Hjörvard |
| Roar |
| Locations |
| Lejre |
| Uppsala |
| Fyrisvellir |
Onela was, according to Beowulf , a Swedish king, the son of Ongentheow and the brother of Ohthere. He usurped the Swedish throne, but was killed by his nephew Eadgils, who won by hiring foreign assistance.
In Scandinavian sagas a Norwegian king by the same name exists, Áli (the Old Norse form of Onela, also rendered as Ole, Åle or Ale), who had the cognomen hinn Upplenzki ("from Oppland").
The name stems from the Proto-Norse *Anula (diminutive with l-suffix to a name starting with *Anu-, or directly of an appellative *anuz, "ancestor"). [1]
In the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf , Onela plays a central part in the Swedish-Geatish wars. Onela and his brother Ohthere were the sons of the Swedish king Ongenþeow. When the Geatish king Hreðel died, Onela and Ohthere saw the opportunity to pillage in Geatland starting the Swedish-Geatish wars:
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The war ended with Ongenþeow's death. [4]
It is implied by the poem that Onela eventually became king, because Ohthere's two sons, Eanmund and Eadgils, had to seek refuge with Heardred, Hygelac's successor as king of the Geats. [5] This caused Onela to attack the Geats. During the battle, Eanmund was killed by Onela's champion Weohstan [6] and Heardred was killed as well, [7] after which Onela returned home. [8]
Eadgils, however, survived and later, Beowulf helped him avenge Eanmund by slaying Onela. [9]
By a conjectural emendation of line 62 of this poem some editors represent Onela as the son-in-law of Healfdene/Halfdan king of Denmark.
The animosity between Eadgils and Onela also appears in Scandinavian tradition. In the Norse sagas, which were mostly based on Norwegian versions of Scandinavian legends, Onela seems to appear as Áli of Uppland, and is called Norwegian. By the time Ynglingatal was used as a source by Snorri Sturluson, there appears no longer to have been a Scandinavian tradition of Áli as a relation of Eadgils. [10]
The earliest extant Scandinavian source where Onela appears is the 9th century skaldic poem Ynglingatal , Eadgils (Aðils) is called Onela's enemy (Ála dólgr). Ála is the genitive case of Áli, the Old Norse form of the name Onela. [1]
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In Skáldskaparmál , compiled by Snorri Sturluson and in Arngrímur Jónsson's Latin summary of Skjöldunga saga , the battle hinted at in Beowulf is treated in more detail.
Snorri first quotes the Kálfsvísa but only small parts of it: [13]
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Snorri then relates that Aðils was in war with a Norwegian king named Áli, and they fought in the Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern. Aðils was married to Yrsa, the mother of Hrólfr (Hroðulf) and so sent an embassy to Hrólfr asking him for help against Áli. He would receive three valuable gifts in recompense. Hrólfr was involved in a war against the Saxons and could not come in person but sent his twelve berserkers, including Bödvar Bjarki. Áli died in the war, and Aðils took Áli's helmet Battle-boar and his horse Raven. The berserkers demanded three pounds of gold each in pay, and they demanded to choose the gifts that Aðils had promised Hrólfr, that is the two pieces of armour that nothing could pierce: the helmet battle-boar and the mailcoat Finn's heritage. They also wanted the famous ring Svíagris. Aðils considered the pay outrageous and refused.
In the Ynglinga saga , Snorri relates that king Eadgils fought hard battles with the Norwegian king who was called Áli hinn upplenzki. They fought on the ice of Lake Vänern, where Áli fell and Adils won. Snorri relates that much is told about this event in the Skjöldunga saga, and that Adils took Hrafn (Raven), Áli's horse.
The Saga of the Skjöldungs is lost but in the end of the 16th century, Arngrímur Jónsson saved a piece of information from this saga in Latin. He wrote: There was animosity between king Adils of Sweden and the Norwegian king Áli of Uppland. They decided to fight on the ice of Lake Vänern. Adils won and took his helmet, chainmail and horse.
Nerman, B., Det svenska rikets uppkomst. Stockholm, 1925.
| Clans (characters) | | |
|---|---|---|
| Translating Beowulf | ||
| Scholars | ||
| Related | ||
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.
The Ynglings were a dynasty of kings, first in Sweden and later in Norway, primarily attested through the poem Ynglingatal. The dynasty also appears as Scylfings in Beowulf. When Beowulf and Ynglingatal were composed sometime in the eighth to tenth centuries, the respective scop and skald (poet) expected his audience to have a great deal of background information about these kings, which is shown in the allusiveness of the references.
Ongentheow was the name of a semi-legendary Swedish king of the house of Scylfings, who appears in Old English sources.
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.
Ohthere, also Ohtere, was a semi-legendary king of Sweden of the house of Scylfings, who is said to have lived during the Germanic Heroic Age, possibly during the early 6th century.
Eysteinn was a semi-legendary king of Sweden, the son of Eadgils. He was the father of Ingvar. The Eysteinn tumulus (Östens hög) in Västerås near Östanbro has been linked to King Eysteinn by some popular historians.
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.
Halga, Helgi, Helghe or Helgo was a legendary Danish king living in the early 6th century. His name would in his own language (Proto-Norse) have been *Hailaga.
Eanmund was a Swedish prince of the Scylfing dynasty, whose existence is alleged in Beowulf.
Heardred, died c. 530, is the son of Hygelac, king of the Geats, and his queen Hygd, in Beowulf. After Hygelac's death, in Frisia, Hygd wants to make Hygelac's nephew Beowulf, king of Geatland, as she fears that the young Heardred won't be able to defend his people. Beowulf, however, declares his trust in the young man and Heardred is proclaimed king.
Weohstan, Wēohstān or Wīhstān is a legendary character who appears in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf, and scholars have pointed out that he also appears to be present in the Norse Kálfsvísa.
Beowulf is a legendary Geatish hero in the eponymous epic poem, one of the oldest surviving pieces of English literature.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.