Domar King of Sweden

Notes:

In Norse mythology, the Swedish king Domar (Old Norse Dómarr, "Judge") of the House of Ynglings was the son of Domalde. He was married to Drott, the sister of Dan the Arrogant who gave his names to the Danes. Drott and Dan are in this work said to be the children of Danp son of Ríg.

His rule lasted long and after the sacrifice of his father Domalde, the crops were plentiful and peace reigned. Consequently, there is not much to tell about his reign, and when he died at Uppsala, he was transported over the Fyris Wolds (Fyrisvellir) and burnt on the banks of the river, where a stone was raised over his ashes.

He was succeeded by his son Dyggvi.

Snorri Sturluson wrote of Domar in his Ynglinga saga (1225):

Dómarr hét sonr Dómalda, er þar næst réð ríki; hann réð lengi fyrir löndum, ok var þá góð árferð ok friðr um hans daga. Frá honum er ekki sagt annat, en hann varð sóttdauðr at Uppsölum, ok var fœrðr á Fyrisvöllu ok brendr þar á árbakkanum, ok eru þar bautasteinar hans. Domald's son, called Domar, next ruled over the land. He reigned long, and in his days were good seasons and peace. Nothing is told of him but that he died in his bed in Upsal, and was transported to the Fyrisvold, where his body was burned on the river bank, and where his standing stone still remains.
The information about Domar's marriage appears after Snorri has presented Domar's son Dyggvi (Danish tongue refers to the Old Norse language as a whole and not only to the dialect of Denmark):

Móðir Dyggva var Drótt, dóttir Danps konungs, sonar Rígs, er fyrstr var konungr kallaðr á danska tungu; hans ættmenn höfðu ávalt síðan konungsnafn fyrir hit œzta tignarnafn. Dyggvi var fyrstr konungr kallaðr sinna ættmanna; en áðr váru þeir dróttnar kallaðir, en konur þeirra dróttningar, en drótt hirðsveitin. En Yngvi eða Ynguni var kallaðr hverr þeirra ættmanna alla ævi, en Ynglingar allir saman. Drótt dróttning var systir Dans konungs hins mikilláta, er Danmörk er við kend.[2] Dygve's mother was Drott, a daughter of King Danp, the son of Rig, who was first called "king" in the Danish tongue. His descendants always afterwards considered the title of king the title of highest dignity. Dygve was the first of his family to be called king, for his predecessors had been called "Drottnar", and their wives "Drottningar", and their court "Drott". Each of their race was called Yngve, or Yngune, and the whole race together Ynglinger. The Queen Drott was a sister of King Dan Mikillati, from whom Denmark a took its name.
As for Domar, Snorri included a piece from Ynglingatal (9th century):

Ok þess opt
of Yngva hrör
fróða menn
of fregit hafðak,
hvar Dómarr
á dynjanda
bana háalfs
of borinn væri;
nú þat veitk,
at verkbitinn
Fjölnis niðr
við fýri brann. I have asked wise men to tell
Where Domar rests, and they knew well.
Domar, on Fyrie's widespread ground,
Was burned, and laid on Yngve's mound.
The Historia Norwegiæ presents a Latin summary of Ynglingatal, older than Snorri's quotation:

Iste [Domald] genuit Domar qui in Swethia obiit morbo. Hujus filius Dyggui [...] Domalde begot Domar, who died in Sweden. Likewise Dyggve, his son, [...]
The even earlier source Íslendingabók cites the line of descent in Ynglingatal and also gives Dómarr as the successor of Dómaldr and the predecessor of Dyggvi: viii Dómaldr. ix Dómarr. x Dyggvi.

Family/Spouse: Drott. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

In Norse mythology, Dyggvi or Dyggve (Old Norse "Useful, Effective") was a Swedish king of the House of Ynglings. Dyggvi died and became the concubine of Hel, Loki's daughter. Dyggvi was succeeded by his son Dag the Wise. According to Snorre Sturlason, Dyggvi was the nephew of Dan, the eponymous anchestor of Denmark, through his sister Drott, and was the first to be called King by his family.

Snorri Sturluson wrote of Dygvvi's father Domar in his Ynglinga saga (1225):

Dyggvi hét son hans, er þar næst réð löndum, ok er frá honum ekki sagt annat, en hann varð sóttdauðr.

Dygve was the name of his son, who succeeded him in ruling the land; and about him nothing is said but that he died in his bed.

About Dyggvi's mother Snorri had more to say:

Móðir Dyggva var Drótt, dóttir Danps konungs, sonar Rígs, er fyrstr var konungr kallaðr á danska tungu; hans ættmenn höfðu ávalt síðan konungsnafn fyrir hit œzta tignarnafn. Dyggvi var fyrstr konungr kallaðr sinna ættmanna; en áðr váru þeir dróttnar kallaðir, en konur þeirra dróttningar, en drótt hirðsveitin. En Yngvi eða Ynguni var kallaðr hverr þeirra ættmanna alla ævi, en Ynglingar allir saman. Drótt dróttning var systir Dans konungs hins mikilláta, er Danmörk er við kend.

Dygve's mother was Drott, a daughter of King Danp, the son of Rig, who was first called "king" in the Danish tongue. His descendants always afterwards considered the title of king the title of highest dignity. Dygve was the first of his family to be called king, for his predecessors had been called "Drottnar", and their wives "Drottningar", and their court "Drott". Each of their race was called Yngve, or Yngune, and the whole race together Ynglinger. The Queen Drott was a sister of King Dan Mikillati, from whom Denmark took its name.

In his Ynglinga saga, Snorri Sturluson included a piece from Ynglingatal composed in the 9th century:

Kveðkat dul,
nema Dyggva hrör
Glitnis gná
at gamni hefr,
því at jódis
Ulfs ok Narfa
Konungmann
kjósa skyldi;
ok allvald
Yngva þjóðar
Loka mær
of leikinn hefr.
Dygve the Brave, the mighty king,
It is no hidden secret thing,
Has gone to meet a royal mate,
Riding upon the horse of Fate.
For Loke's daughter in her house
Of Yngve's race would have a spouse;
Therefore the fell-one snatched away
Brave Dygve from the light of day.
The Historia Norwegiæ presents a Latin summary of Ynglingatal, older than Snorri's quotation:

Hujus [Domar] filius Dyggui item in eadem regione vitæ metam invenit. Cui successit in regnum filius ejus Dagr [...]
Likewise Dyggve, his [Domar's] son, reached the limit of his life in that same region [Sweden]. His son Dag [...]

The even earlier source Íslendingabók also cites the line of descent in Ynglingatal and it also gives Dyggvi as the successor of Dómarr and the predecessor of Dagr: ix Dómarr. x Dyggvi. xi Dagr.

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Dag the Wise or Dagr Spaka was a Swedish king of the House of Ynglings (dated to the 4th century by 16th-century historiographer Johannes Magnus). He was the son of Dyggvi, the former king. According to legend, he could understand the speech of birds and had a sparrow that gathered news for him from many lands. When the bird was killed on one of these trips, Dag invaded Reidgotaland (considering the date and location, apparently Gothiscandza), in order to avenge it. There he was ambushed by a thrall and killed.

The earliest two versions based on Ynglingatal, i.e. Historia Norwegiæ and Íslendingabók (see below) say that Dag was succeeded by his sons Alrekr and Eírikr who in their turn were succeeded by Dag's grandson Agne (in Historia Norwegiæ incorrectly called Hogne):

Historia Norwegiæ:
Cui [Dyggui] successit in regnum filius ejus Dagr, quem Dani in quodam vado, quod Sciotanvath vel Wapnavath dicitur, dum passeris injurias vindicare conaretur, publico bello occiderunt. Qui genuit Alrik; hunc frater suus Erikr freno percussit ad mortem. Alricr autem genuit Hogna

His [Dyggve's] son Dag succeeded to his throne; he was killed by the Danes in a royal battle at a ford named Skjotansvad, while he was trying to avenge the violence done to a sparrow. This man engendered Alrek, who was beaten to death with a bridle by his brother, Eirik. Alrek was father to Agne, [...]

Íslendingabók only lists the line of succession: x Dyggvi. xi Dagr. xii Alrekr. xiii Agni. xiiii Yngvi''.

However, in the Ynglinga saga, Snorri Sturluson gives Agne as Dag's son and successor, and the two brothers Alrekr and Eiríkr as his grandsons.

This is what Snorri tells of Dag:

Dagr hét son Dyggva konungs, er konungdóm tók eptir hann; hann var maðr svá spakr, at hann skildi fugls rödd. Hann átti spörr einn, er honum sagði mörg tíðindi; flaug hann á ymsi lönd. Þat var eitt sinn, at spörrinn flaug á Reiðgotaland, á bœ þann, er á Vörva heitir; hann flaug í akr karls ok fékk þar matar. Karl kom þar ok tók upp stein ok laust spörrinn til bana. Dagr konungr varð illa við, er spörrinn kom eigi heim; gékk hann þá til sónarblóts til fréttar, ok fékk þau svör, at spörr hans var drepinn á Vörva. Síðan bauð hann út her miklum ok fór til Gotlands; en er hann kom á Vörva, gékk hann upp með her sinn ok herjaði: fólkit flýði víðs vegar undan. Dagr konungr sneri herinum til skipa, er kveldaði, ok hafði hann drepit mart fólk ok mart handtekit. En er þeir fóru yfir á nökkura, þar sem heitir Skjótansvað eða Vápnavað, þá rann fram ór skógi einn verkþræll á árbakkann ok skaut heytjúgu í lið þeirra, ok kom í höfuð konungi skotit; féll hann þegar af hestinum ok fékk bana. Í þann tíma var sá höfðingi gramr kallaðr er herjaði, en hermennirnir gramir.

King Dygve's son, called Dag, succeeded to him, and was so wise a man that he understood the language of birds. He had a sparrow which told him much news, and flew to different countries. Once the sparrow flew to Reidgotaland, to a farm called Varva, where he flew into the peasant's corn-field and took his grain. The peasant came up, took a stone, and killed the sparrow. King Dag was ill-pleased that the sparrow did not come home; and as he, in a sacrifice of expiation, inquired after the sparrow, he got the answer that it was killed at Varva. Thereupon he ordered a great army, and went to Gotland; and when he came to Varva he landed with his men and plundered, and the people fled away before him. King Dag returned in the evening to his ships, after having killed many people and taken many prisoners. As they were going across a river at a place called Skjotan's [the Weapon's] Ford, a labouring thrall came running to the river-side, and threw a hay- fork into their troop. It struck the king on the head, so that he fell instantly from his horse and died. In those times the chief who ravaged a country was called Gram, and the men-at-arms under him Gramer.

Then Snorri quoted Ynglingatal (9th century):

Frák at Dagr
dauða orði
frægðar fúss
of fara skyldi,
þá er valteins
til Vörva kom
spakfrömuðr
spörs at hefna.
Ok þat orð
á austrvega
vísa ferð
frá vígi bar,
at þann gram
af geta skyldi
slöngviþref
Sleipnis verðar.
What news is this that the king's men,
Flying eastward through the glen,
Report? That Dag the Brave, whose name
Is sounded far and wide by Fame --
That Dag, who knew so well to wield
The battle-axe in bloody field,
Where brave men meet, no more will head
The brave – that mighty Dag is dead!
Varva was wasted with the sword,
And vengeance taken for the bird --
The little bird that used to bring
News to the ear of the great king.
Varva was ravaged, and the strife
Was ended, when the monarch's life
Was ended too – the great Dag fell
By the hay-fork of a base thrall!
The fact that Skjótansvað/Vápnavað appear both in Ynglinga saga and in Historia Norwegiæ's earlier summary of Ynglingatal but not in Snorri's later quotation from it, suggests that all of Ynglingatal was not presented by him.

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Agne, (English: Agni), Hogne or Agni Skjálfarbondi was a mythological king of Sweden, of the House of Yngling.


Agne being hanged by his wife Skjalf. Artwork by Hugo Hamilton, 1830

King Agni's Barrow just southeast of Sollentuna Station in Sweden.
Snorri Sturluson relates that he was the son of Dag the Wise, and he was mighty and famous. He was also skilled in many ways.

One summer, he went to Finland with his army where he pillaged. The Finns gathered a vast host under a chief named Frosti.[1]

A great battle ensued which Agne won and many Finns were killed together with Frosti. Agne then subdued all of Finland with his army, and captured not only great booty but also Frosti's daughter Skjalf and her kinsman Logi.[2]

Agne returned to Sweden and they arrived at Stocksund (Stockholm) where they put up their tent on the side of the river where it is flat. Agne had a torc which had belonged to Agne's great-great-great-grandfather Visbur. Agne married Skjalf who became pregnant with two sons, Erik and Alrik.

Skjalf asked Agne to honour her dead father Frosti with a great feast, which he granted. He invited a great many guests, who gladly arrived to the now even more famous Swedish king. They had a drinking competition in which Agne became very drunk. Skjalf saw her opportunity and asked Agne to take care of Visbur's torc which was around his neck. Agne bound it fast around his neck before he went to sleep.

The king's tent was next to the woods and was under the branches of a tall tree for shade. When Agne was fast asleep, Skjalf took a rope which she attached to the torc. Then she had her men remove the tent, and she threw the rope over a bough. Then she told her men to pull the rope and they hanged Agne avenging Skjalf's father. Skjalf and her men ran to the ships and escaped to Finland, leaving her sons behind.

Agne was buried at the place, now called Agnafit, which is east of the Tauren (the Old Norse name for Södertörn) and west of Stocksund.

Þat tel ek undr,
ef Agna her
Skalfar ráð
at sköpum þóttu,
þar gœðing
með gullmeni
Loga dís
at lopti hóf
svalan hest
Signýjar vers.[3][4]
How do ye like the high-souled maid,
Who, with the grim Fate-goddess' aid,
Avenged her sire? – made Swithiod's king
Through air in golden halter swing?
How do ye like her, Agne's men?
Think ye that any chief again
Will court the fate your chief befell,
To ride on wooden horse to hell?.[5][6]
Ynglingatal then gives Alrekr and Eiríkr as Agne's successors.

The Historia Norwegiæ presents a Latin summary of Ynglingatal, older than Snorri's quotation:

Qui [Dagr] genuit Alrik; hunc frater suus Erikr freno percussit ad mortem. Alricr autem genuit Hogna; istum uxor sua juxta locum Agnafit, qui nunc Stokholmr dicitur, propriis manibus interfecit suspendendo ad arborem cum catena aurea. Cujus filius Ingialdr [...][7]

This man [Dag] engendered Alrek, who was beaten to death with a bridle by his brother, Eirik. Alrek was father to Agne, whose wife dispatched him with her own hands by hanging him on a tree with a golden chain near a place called Agnafit. His son, Ingjald, [...][8]

Agne is incorrectly called Hogne.[7] Unlike Ynglingatal, Historia Norwegiæ does not give Dagr as Agne's predecessor, but Alrekr. Instead Alrekr is Agne's predecessor and Agne is succeeded by Yngvi (incorrectly called Ingialdr[7]). The even earlier source Íslendingabók cites the line of descent in Ynglingatal and it gives the same line of succession as Historia Norwegiæ: xii Alrekr. xiii Agni. xiiii Yngvi.[9]

The location indicated by Snorri Sturluson as the place of Agne's death has a barrow called Agnehögen (Agne's barrow) in Lillhersby. The barrow was excavated by Oxenstierna and dated to c. 400.[10]

Family/Spouse: Skalf. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Alaric and Eric (Old Norse Alrekr and Eiríkr ), were two legendary kings of Sweden.

In the Ynglinga saga
According to the Ynglinga saga, Alaric and Eric were sons and heirs of the previous king Agni by his wife Skjálf. They shared the kingship. They were mighty both in war and sport, but were especially skillful horsemen and vied with one another about their horsemanship and their horses.

One day they rode off from their retinue and did not return. They were found dead with their heads battered but no weapons with them save the bridle bits of their horses. Accordingly it was believed that they had quarreled and come to blows and had slain each other with their bridle bits. They were succeeded by Alaric's sons Yngvi and Alf.

However, in other sources, only Alaric died, and in the piece of Ynglingatal quoted by Snorri Sturluson it is only Alaric who dies explicitly. Eric's death seems to be a misunderstanding on Snorri's part due to an influence from the succeeding kings (see also the other sources below):

Fell Alrekr,
þar er Eiríki
bróður vápn
at bana urðu,
ok hnakkmars
með höfuðfetlum
Dags fríendr
of drepask kváðu;
frá-at maðr áðr
eykja greiði
Freys afspring
í folk hafa.[1][2]
Alrek fell, by Eric slain,
Eric's life-blood dyed the plain,
Brother fell by brother's hand;
And they tell it in the land,
That they worked the wicked deed
With the sharp bits that guide the steed.
Shall it be said of Frey's brave sons,
The kingly race, the noble ones,
That they have fought in deadly battle
With the head-gear of their cattle?[3][4]
Ynglingatal then gives Yngvi and Alf as Alrek's and Eirík's successors.

The Historia Norwegiæ presents a Latin summary of Ynglingatal, older than Snorri's quotation:

Qui [Dagr] genuit Alrik; hunc frater suus Erikr freno percussit ad mortem. Alricr autem genuit Hogna [...][5]
This man [Dag] engendered Alrek, who was beaten to death with a bridle by his brother, Eirik. Alrek was father to Agne, [...][6]

Hogna is an error for Agne.[5] Unlike Ynglingatal, Historia Norwegiæ gives Dagr as Alrekr's predecessor. Instead Alrekr precedes Agne and Agne is succeeded by Yngvi (incorrectly called Ingialdr[5]). The even earlier source Íslendingabók cites the line of descent in Ynglingatal and it gives the same line of succession as Historia Norwegiæ: xi Dagr. xii Alrekr. xiii Agni. xiiii Yngvi.[7]

In Gautreks saga and Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar
Gautreks saga also makes Alrek and Eirík sons of Agni by Skjálf and co-kings and it was to them that the warrior Starkad fled after his slaying of King Vikar. Starkad served them first as a companions on their viking expeditions and then, after Alrek and Eirík had settled down, went on further Viking expeditions alone.

But King Alrek had a short life, for Eirík struck Alrek dead with a bridle when they were out to train their horses and then ruled as sole ruler over Sweden. This version says that Eirík reigned for a long time as told in Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar (Saga of Hrólf son of Gautrek).

This second saga introduces Thornbjörg, the daughter of King Eirík and Queen Ingigerd, who was a skillful shieldmaiden and ruled over part of the kingdom. Thornbjörg even called herself King Thorberg. But eventually she fell in love with Hrólf son of Gautrek and agreed to marry him, at which point she gave up her weapons to her father King Eirík and took up embroidery.

In Gesta Danorum
Saxo Grammaticus in Book 5 of his Gesta Danorum introduces Ericus Desertus, that is Erik the Eloquent, son of a champion named Regnerus (Ragnar), both Norwegians in the service of King Gøtarus (Götar) of Norway, a monarch otherwise unknown. This Erik is likely to be the Eirík the Eloquent or Eiríkr the Wise in Speech mentioned by Snorri Sturluson in the Skáldskaparmál as being of Ylfing lineage. But he otherwise has left no clear record in surviving Norse literature.

Saxo makes up for it by telling at greath length of Erik's amusing deeds. He relates how Erik outwitted all foes with clever tricks and became the counselor of Fróði son of Fridleif, king of Denmark. Erik's expeditions on Fróði's behalf always went well because of Erik's cunning and way with words. Erik finally married Fróði's sister Gunvara and Erik's elder half-brother Rollerus (Roller) was made king of Norway.

Saxo then brings in a king of the Swedes named Alricus (Alrik) who corresponds to Alrek of the Norse tradition. Alrik was at war with Gestiblindus king of the Gautar (Geats) and Gestiblindus now sought Fróði's aid. (In the Norse Hervarar saga Gestumblindi is the name assumed by the disguised Odin and it is possible that this Gestiblindus is also Odin in disguise.)

Erik and Skalk the Scanian pursued the war and slew Alrik's son Gunthiovus (Old Norse Gunnþjófr) leader of the men of Vermland and Solongs. Then occurred a parley and secret interview between Alrik and Erik in which Alrik attempted to win Erik over to his cause. When this failed, Alrik asked that the war be settled by a single combat between himself and Gestiblindus. Erik refused the offer because of Gestiblind's unfitness and advanced years but made a counter-offer to fight such a duel with Alrik himself if Alrik were willing. The fight occurred straightaway. Alrik was slain and Erik seemed to be fatally wounded so that a report actually came to King Fróði that Erik was dead. Indeed Erik was long in recovering. However Fróði was disabused when Erik himself returned announcing that Fróði was now also king of Sweden, Värmland, Helsingland, and Soleyar. Fróði then gave all those lands to Erik to rule directly and also gave Erik the two Laplands, Finland, and Estonia as dependencies paying annual tribute.

Saxo explains that this Erik was the first Swedish king to be called Erik but that after him it became a very common name among the Swedish kings. He also writes that Erik met and helped the champion Arngrim, an account that agrees with Hervarar saga, where Arngrim's sons meet Erik's successor Yngvi (see e.g. Angantyr and Hjalmar).

That the duel occurred at the end of a "secret interview" suggests that Alrik and Erik were alone when they fought just as were their counterparts in the Norse accounts. That Erik was believed to have died suggests knowledge of the Ynglinga saga version in which both fighters met their death. There is no mention of horse bridles. But Erik is not elsewhere a great duelist or champion but instead a trickster who wins through stratagems and deceiving words so that is it likely that Saxo or his source passed over a stratagem in which a horse bridle played a part.

Saxo also mentions Starkad's stay in Sweden in Book 6 in a summary of Starkad's life up to that point in his history. But Saxo does not indicate what king or kings then ruled Sweden, saying only:

... he went into the land of the Swedes, where he lived at leisure for seven years' space with the sons of Frø.

Frø is of course the god Frey, the ancestor of the Swedish dynasty.

At the beginning of Book 6, Saxo notes that Erik died of a disease and was succeeded by his son Haldanus (Halfdan). Halfdan was later slain by rivals for the throne but the warrior Starkad established Halfdans' heir Siward as the new king. Siward's daughter Signe was married to King Harald of Denmark who was co-king his brother Fróði. Later Harald's son Halfdan, now king of Denmark, slew Siward in war. But Siward's grandson Erik, the son of Halfdan's uncle Fróði by Signe, the direct heir to the throne, now rose up against Halfdan. After a long war this second Erik was captured by Haldfan and left in the woods in chains to be devoured by beasts. With him, it seems, the Swedish line of Erik the Eloquent, as set forth by Saxo, came to an end.

Commentary
It is not clear whether or not the accounts in the Gesta Danorum and the accounts in the Ynglinga saga' tales of a Danish king named Halfdan who became king of Sweden are at all related. See Halfdan.

Traditions of twin brothers connected with horses appear are a commonplace in Indo-European cultures as are foundation legends about two twin brothers, one of whom kills the other. It is possible that Alrek and Eirik are reflexes of such traditions.

Saxo's identification of the legendary Eirík the Eloquent with the legendary Swedish king Eirík probably originated as a flourish by a pro-Danish or pro-Norwegian story teller.

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Yngvi and Alf were two legendary Swedish kings of the House of Yngling. Some versions indicate they were brothers or other close relations. They killed each other.

According to Ynglingatal, Historia Norwegiae and Ynglinga saga, Yngvi and Alf were the sons of Alrik.

Snorri Sturluson relates that Yngvi was an accomplished king: a great warrior who always won his battles, the master of all exercises, generous, happy and sociable. He was both loved and famous.

Alf was unsociable and harsh and stayed at home instead of pillaging in other countries. His mother was Dageid, the daughter of king Dag the Great from whom is descended the Dagling family. Alf was married to Bera who was happy and alert and a very lovable woman.

One day in the autumn, Yngvi returned to Uppsala from a very successful Viking expedition which had rendered him famous. He used to spend time at the drinking table until late in the night, like Bera, and they found it pleasant to talk to each other. Alf, however, preferred to go to bed early and he started to tell her to go to bed early as well so that she did not wake him. Then Bera used to answer that Yngvi was much better for a woman than Alf, an answer that was getting on Alf's nerves.

One evening, the jealous Alf entered the hall and saw Yngvi and Bera converse on the high seat. Yngvi had a short sword in his lap and the other guests were too drunk to see that Alf had arrived. From under his cloak Alf drew a sword and pierced Yngvi. Yngvi, mortally wounded, got up, drew his own short sword and slew Alf. They were buried in two mounds on the Fyrisvellir (Fyris Wolds).

Alf was succeeded by his son Hugleik.

The poem in Ynglingatal:

Ok varð hinn,
er Alfr of vá
vörðr véstalls,
of veginn liggja,
er dölingr
dreyrgan mæki
öfundgjarn
á Yngva rauð.
Var-a þat bært
at Bera skyldi
valsœfendr
vígs of hvetja,
þá er brœðr tveir
at bönum urðusk,
óþurfendr,
of afbrýði.[1][2]
I tell you of a horrid thing,
A deed of dreadful note I sing --
How by false Bera, wicked queen,
The murderous brother-hands were seen
Each raised against a brother's life;
How wretched Alf with bloody knife
Gored Yngve's heart, and Yngve's blade
Alf on the bloody threshold laid.
Can men resist Fate's iron laws?
They slew each other without cause.[3][4]
The Historia Norwegiæ presents a Latin summary of Ynglingatal, older than Snorri's quotation:

Cujus [Hogne, i.e. Agne ] filius Ingialdr in Swethia a fratre suo ob infamiam uxoris ejus occisus est, quæ Bera dicta est (hoc nomen latine sonat ursa). Post hunc filius ejus Jorundr [...][5]

His [Agne's] son, Ingjald, was murdered in Sweden by his own brother because he had brought discredit on the latter's wife, whose name was Bera (Ursa in Latin). After him his son Jorund ruled, [...][6]

Ingjaldr is held to be an error for Yngvi.[7] Unlike Ynglingatal, Historia Norwegiæ gives Agne as Yngvi's predecessor. Instead Alrekr precedes Agne and Agne is succeeded by Yngvi. The even earlier source Íslendingabók cites the line of descent in Ynglingatal and it gives the same line of succession as Historia Norwegiæ: xi Dagr. xii Alrekr. xiii Agni. xiiii Yngvi. xv Jörundr.[8]

Ari Frodi's Younger Íslendingabók
According to Ari Frodi's line of Swedish kings Yngvi was the son of Agne, and not of Agne's son Alrik.

Gesta Danorum
In Gesta Danorum, Alf (Alverus) was the father of Yngve (Ing) and Ingjald (Ingild). Ingjald, in his turn was the father of Sigurd Hring and the grandfather of Ragnar Lodbrok.

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Jorund or Jörundr (5th century) was a Swedish king of the House of Yngling. He was the son of Yngvi, and he had reclaimed the throne of Sweden for his dynasty from Haki (the brother of Hagbard, the hero of the legend of Hagbard and Signy, and Snorri cites two kennings from this legend Sigar's steed and Hagard's fell noose, when telling of Jorund).

Snorri Sturluson relates that when Jorund was young he used to travel the seas and plunder with his brother Erik, and they were great warriors. One summer they plundered in Denmark where they met another pillager, King Gudlög of Hålogaland (a province in Norway) with whom they fought. They took him prisoner and carried him ashore at Stromones where they hanged him. Gudlaug's surviving companions raised a mound over him there.

Snorri then cites the poem Háleygjatal by a Norwegian skald named Eyvindr skáldaspillir:

En Guðlaugr
grimman tamdi
við ofrkapp
austrkonunga
Sigars jó,
er synir Yngva
menglötuð
við meið reiddu.
Og náreiðr
á nesi drúpir
vingameiðr,
þar er víkur deilir,
þar er fjölkunnt
um fylkis hreyr
steini merkt,
Straumeyjarnes.
By the fierce East-kings' cruel pride,
Gudlog must on the wild horse ride --
The wildest horse you e'er did see:
'Tis Sigur's steed – the gallows tree.
At Stromones the tree did grow,
Where Gudlog's corpse waves on the bough.
A high stone stands on Stromo's heath,
To tell the gallant hero's death.
This act rendered the Swedish princes, Eric and Jorund, even more famous and they were thought of as even greater men. When they learnt that King Haki no longer had his forces around him, they decided to take care of their enemy. They assembled a large force that was joined by Swedes as they approached. They entered Mälaren (a bay at the time) and steered towards Uppsala. They left their ships at the Fyris Wolds and were met by Haki who had fewer men. Haki was a brutal fighter and managed to turn the tide of the battle. He slew Erik who held the banner and Jorund retreated with his men. Haki had been seriously wounded and died.

Jorund then ruled Sweden at Uppsala, but he usually spent the summers pillaging. One summer, he plundered in Jutland and entered Limfjorden, where he continued the pillaging. They anchored in Oddesund (before a storm in 1825, it was near the innermost part of the fjord and almost 200 km from its mouth) but were discovered by the Norwegian pirate Gylaug of Hålogaland, the son of Gudlaug. Gylaug and his men attacked them and were joined by local forces who wanted revenge. As Jorund was vastly outnumbered (and had to run an almost 200 km long gauntlet to get out of the fjord), he lost the battle, and Gylaug had him hanged.

Snorri illustrates this event with the stanza from Ynglingatal:

Varð Jörundr
hinn er endr of dó,
lífs of lattr
í Limafirði,
þá er hábrjóstr
hörva Sleipnir
bana Goðlaugs
of bera skyldi;
ok Hagbarðs
hersa valdi
höðnu leif
at halsi gekk.
Jorund has travelled far and wide,
But the same horse he must bestride
On which he made brave Gudlog ride.
He too must for a necklace wear
Hagbert's fell noose in middle air.
The army leader thus must ride
On Horva's horse, at Lymfjord's side.
The Historia Norwegiæ presents a Latin summary of Ynglingatal, older than Snorri's quotation, continuing after Yngvi (called Ingialdr):

Post hunc filius ejus Jorundr, qui cum Danos debellasset, ab eisdem suspensus in loco Oddasund in sinu quodam Daciæ, quem Limafiorth indiginæ appellant, male vitam finivit. Iste genuit Auchun (i.e. Aun) [...]

After him his son Jorund ruled, who ended his days unhappily once he had fought a war against the Danes, who hanged him at Oddesund, on an arm of the sea in Denmark which the natives call Limfjorden. He became the father of Aukun, [...]

The even earlier source Íslendingabók also cites the line of descent in Ynglingatal and it gives the same line of succession: xiiii Yngvi. xv Jörundr. xvi Aun inn gamli.

The Skjöldunga saga and the Bjarkarímur tell that Jorund was defeated by the Danish king Fróði (corresponds to the Heaðobard Froda in Beowulf), who made him a tributary and took his daughter. The daughter gave birth to Halfdan, but another woman became Fróði's legitimate wife and gave him an heir named Ingjaldr (corresponds to the Heaðobard Ingeld in Beowulf). Together with one of his earls, Swerting, Jorund conspired against Fróði and killed him during the blót.

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Aun the Old (Aun inn gamli, Latinized Auchun, English: "Edwin the Old"[citation needed]) is a mythical Swedish king of the House of Yngling in the Heimskringla. Aun was the son of Jorund, and had ten sons, nine of which he was said to have sacrificed in order to prolong his own life. Based on the internal chronology of the House of Yngling, Aun would have died late in the 5th century. He was succeeded by his son Egil Vendelcrow (Íslendingabók: Egill Vendilkráka) identified with Ongentheow of the Beowulf narrative and placed in the early 6th century.

Ynglingatal
Ruling from his seat in Uppsala, Aun was reputedly a wise king who made sacrifices to the gods. However, he was not of a warlike disposition and preferred to live in peace. He was attacked and defeated by the Danish prince Halfdan. Aun fled to the Geats in Västergötland, where he stayed for 25 years until Halfdan died in his bed in Uppsala.

Upon Halfdan's death Aun returned to Uppsala. Aun was now 60 years old, and in an attempt to live longer he sacrificed his son to Odin, who had promised that this would mean he would live for another 60 years. After 25 years, Aun was attacked by Halfdan's cousin Ale the Strong. Aun lost several battles and had to flee a second time to Västergötland. Ale the Strong ruled in Uppsala for 25 years until he was killed by Starkad the old.

After Ale the Strong's death, Aun once again returned to Uppsala and once again sacrificed a son to Odin; this time Odin told the king that he would remain living as long as he sacrificed a son every ten years and that he had to name one of the Swedish provinces after the number of sons he sacrificed.

When Aun had sacrificed a son for the seventh time, he was so old that he could not walk but had to be carried on a chair. When he had sacrificed a son for the eighth time, he could no longer get out of his bed. When he had sacrificed his ninth son, he was so old that he had to feed, like a little child, by suckling on a horn.

After ten years he wanted to sacrifice his tenth and last son and name the province of Uppsala The Ten Lands. However, the Swedes refused to allow him to make this sacrifice and so he died. He was buried in a mound at Uppsala and succeeded by his last son Egil. From that day, dying in bed of old age was called Aun's sickness.

Knátti endr
at Upsölum
ána-sótt
Aun of standa,
ok þrálífr
þiggja skyldi
jóðs alað
öðru sinni.
Ok sveiðurs
at sér hverfði
mækis hlut
enn mjávara,
es okhreins
óttunga hrjóðr
lögðis odd
liggjandi drakk;
máttit hárr
hjarðar mæki
austrkonungr
upp of halda.
In Upsal's town the cruel king
Slaughtered his sons at Odin's shrine --
Slaughtered his sons with cruel knife,
To get from Odin length of life.
He lived until he had to turn
His toothless mouth to the deer's horn;
And he who shed his children's blood
Sucked through the ox's horn his food.
At length fell Death has tracked him down,
Slowly, but sure, in Upsal's town.

Historia Norwegiæ
The Historia Norwegiæ presents a Latin summary of Ynglingatal, older than Snorri's quotation (continuing after Jorund):

Iste genuit Auchun, qui longo vetustatis senio IX annis ante obitum suum densæ usum alimoniæ postponens lac tantum de cornu ut infans suxisse fertur. Auchun vero genuit Eigil cognomento Vendilcraco [...]

He became the father of Aukun, who, in the feebleness of a protracted old age, during the nine years before his death is said to have abandoned the consumption of solid food and only sucked milk from a horn, like a babe-in-arms. Aukun's son was Egil Vendelkråke, [...]

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Ongentheow (Old English: Ongenþeow, Ongenþio, Ongendþeow; Swedish: Angantyr) (died ca. 515) was the name of a semi-legendary Swedish king of the house of Scylfings, who appears in Old English sources.

He is generally identified with the Swedish king Egil Vendelcrow mentioned in Ynglingatal, Historia Norwegiae and in Ynglinga saga. The reason why they are thought to have been the same is that each has the same position in the line of Swedish kings and is described as the father of Ohthere and grandfather of Eadgils.

The name Ongentheow contains as its second element þeōw "servant, slave". The first appears to be ongēan "against, opposite".

Old English sources
In the Old English epic Beowulf Ongentheow is described as a fearsome warrior and it took two warriors Eofor and Wulf Wonreding to take him down.

The epic tells that the Geats under their new king Hæþcyn captured the Swedish queen, but old king Ongenþeow saved her, at a hill fort called Hrefnesholt, although they lost her gold. Ongentheow killed Hæþcyn, and besieged the Geats at Hrefnesholt. The Geats were, however, rescued by Hygelac, Hæþcyn's brother, who arrived the next day with reinforcements. Having lost the battle, but rescued his queen, Ongenþeow and his warriors returned home.

However, the war was not over. Hygelac, the new king of the Geats, attacked the Swedes. The Geatish warriors Eofor and Wulf fought together against the hoary king Ongenþeow. Wulf hit Ongentheow's head with his sword so that the old king bled over his hair, but the king hit back and wounded Wulf. Then, Eofor retaliated by cutting through the Swedish king's shield and through his helmet, giving Ongentheow a death-blow. Eofor took the Swedish king's helmet, sword and breastplate and carried them to Hygelac. When they came home, Eofor and Wulf were richly awarded, and Eofor was given Hygelac's daughter. Because of this battle, Hygelac is referred to as Ongentheow's slayer.

Ongentheow is also mentioned in passing by the earlier poem Widsith as the king of Sweden:

lines 30–33:
Wald Woingum, Wod þyringum, Wald [ruled] the Woings, Wod the Thuringians,
Sæferð Sycgum, Sweom Ongendþeow, Saeferth the Sycgs, the Swedes Ongendtheow,
Sceafthere Ymbrum, Sceafa Longbeardum Sceafthere the Ymbers, Sceafa the Lombards,
Egil

Middle royal tumulus at Old Upsala, suggested grave of King Ongentheow/Egil
In Ari Þorgilsson's Íslendingabók and in Historia Norwegiae, he was called Egil Vendelcrow (Vendilcraca/Vendilkráka, a name traditionally given to those living at the royal estate of Vendel in Sweden).[22] Snorri Sturluson, however, gave the name Vendelcrow to Egil's son Ottar (Ohthere). In these sources, Egil was the son of Aun the Old, and like him, not very warlike. After he had made the thrall Tunni (or Tonne) responsible for the treasury, Tunni rebelled against Egil. They fought eight battles after which Egil fled to Denmark, according to the Ynglinga saga (Ynglingatal does not mention where he fled and Historia Norwegiae does not mention any escape at all). Snorri wrote that Fróði, the Danish king, aided Egil in defeating Tunni, and made Egil a tributary to the Danish king.

Egil was killed by a bull during the sacrifices at Gamla Uppsala.

Ok lofsæll
ór landi fló
Týs óttungr
Tunna ríki,
en flæming
farra trjónu
jötuns eykr
á Agli rauð.
Sás of austr
áðan hafði
brúna hörg
of borinn lengi,
en skíðlauss
Skilfinga nið
hœfis hjörr
til hjarta stóð.
The fair-haired son of Odin's race,
Who fled before fierce Tunne's face,
Has perished by the demon-beast
Who roams the forests of the East.
The hero's breast met the full brunt
Of the wild bull's shaggy front;
The hero's heart's asunder torn
By the fell Jotun's spear-like horn.
The Historia Norwegiæ presents a Latin summary of Ynglingatal, older than Snorri's quotation:

Auchun vero genuit Eigil cognomento Vendilcraco, quem proprius servus nomine Tonne regno privavit, et cum domino pedisseqvus VIII civilia bella commisit, in omnibus victoria potitus, in nono tandem devictus occubuit; sed paulo post ipsum regem truculentus taurus confodiens trucidavit. Cui successit in regnum filius suus Ottarus [...]

Aukun's son was Egil Vendelkråke, whose own bondman, Tunne, drove him from his kingdom; and though a mere servant he joined in eight civil combats with his master and won supremacy in all of them, but in a ninth he was finally defeated and killed. Shortly afterwards however the monarch was gored and slaughtered by a ferocious bull. The successor to the throne was his son Ottar, [...]

The even earlier source Íslendingabók also cites the line of descent in Ynglingatal and it also gives Egil as the successor of Aunn and the predecessor of Óttarr: xvi Aun inn gamli. xvii Egill Vendilkráka. xviii Óttarr.

Interpretation
The argument for connection between Ongenþeow and Egil being the same figure are as follows. It is important, though, to note that this is an interpretation of the facts and not definite proof of a connection.

The two versions seem contradictory, but it has been shown that the two stories may very well describe the same event (Schück H. 1907, Nerman B. 1925), and that Ynglingatal was probably misinterpreted by Snorri due to a different dialectal meaning of the word farra. In Ynglingatal, it says

en flæming
farra trjónu
jötuns eykr
á Agli rauð.
If there is any authenticity behind the traditions, the origin of Ynglingatal was most probably a Swedish poem which has not survived (see also Sundquist 2004). In Old Swedish, farra did not mean "bull" but it meant "boar" (cf. English farrow meaning "young pig"). Moreover, in Old Norse Trjóna normally meant a pig's snout (modern Scandinavian tryne). Flæmingr meant "sword" (originally a Flemish sword imported by Vikings).

Moreover, the sword of the snout can hardly refer to the horns of a bull, but it is more natural to interpret it as the tusks of a boar. In English, the lines can be translated as but the giant beast coloured its tusk red on Egil.

In Old English, the name eofor meant "boar" and consequently Ynglingatal could very well relate of Eofor (the boar) killing Egil with kennings for boars. These kennings, sung originally by Swedes, were later misinterpreted by Norwegians and Icelanders as literal expressions due to the different dialectal meanings of farra.

Moreover, according to Schück, the name Tunni which has no meaning in Old Norse should in Proto-Norse have been *Tunþa and derived from *Tunþuz. Consequently, it would have been the same word as the Gothic Tunþus which meant "tooth". This would mean that the name of Egil's enemy, actually meant "tooth" and Tunni and the bull/boar would consequently have been the same enemy, i.e. Eofor.

Some scholars have suggested that the name Ongentheow is connected to the Danish king Ongendus, (fl. c. 700) who appears in one sentence of Alcuin's life of Willibrord.

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Ohthere (also Ohtere), Old Norse Óttarr vendilkráka (Vendelcrow; in Modern Swedish Ottar Vendelkråka) is a semi-legendary king of Sweden of the house of Scylfings, who would have lived during the 6th century (fl. c. 515 – c. 530).

His name can be reconstructed as Proto-Norse *Ōhta-harjaz or *Ōhtu-harjaz. The harjaz element is common in Germanic names and has a meaning of "warrior, army" (whence English harry); by contrast, the oht element is less frequent, and has been tentatively interpreted as "fearsome, feared".

A prince of the Swedes, Ohthere and his brother Onela conducted successful raids against the Geats after King Hrethel had died. In 515, their father Ongentheow was killed in battle by the Geats, and Ohthere succeeded his father as the king of Sweden. Ohthere led an army against the Geats, and besieged one of their armies. He nearly killed the Geatish king Hygelac but lost many of his forces in the conflict. Ohthere managed to get back to Sweden. In the 520s, Ohthere led a large raid to Denmark and plundered the Danish coast. A Danish army led by two Jarls, however, was waiting for him. Battle broke out. The Danish were reinforced, and Ohthere was killed in the battle. His corpse was taken back to Sweden and buried in an earthwork mound.

Beowulf
In the Old English poem Beowulf, the name of Ohthere appears only in constructions referring to his father Ongenþeow (fæder Ohtheres), mother (Onelan modor and Ohtheres), and his sons Eadgils (suna Ohteres, sunu Ohteres) and Eanmund (suna Ohteres).

When Ohthere and his actions are concerned, he is referred to as Ongenþeow's offspring, together with his brother Onela. The following section deals with Ohthere and Onela pillaging the Geats at the death of their king Hreðel, restarting the Swedish-Geatish wars:

Þa wæs synn and sacu Sweona and Geata,
ofer wid wæter wroht gemæne,
here-nið hearda, syððan Hreðel swealt,
oððe him Ongenþeowes eaferan wæran
frome fyrd-hwate, freode ne woldon
ofer heafo healdan, ac ymb Hreosna-beorh
eatolne inwit-scear oft gefremedon.[8]
There was strife and struggle 'twixt Swede and Geat
o'er the width of waters; war arose,
hard battle-horror, when Hrethel died,
and Ongentheow's offspring grew
strife-keen, bold, nor brooked o'er the seas
pact of peace, but pushed their hosts
to harass in hatred by Hreosnabeorh.
Later, it is implied in the poem that Ohthere has died, because his brother Onela is king. Ohthere's sons Eadgils and Eanmund fled to the Geats and the wars began anew.

Scandinavian sources
Ynglingatal, Ynglinga saga, Íslendingabók, and Historia Norvegiae all present Óttarr as the son of Egill (called Ongenþeow in Beowulf) and as the father of Aðísl/Aðils/athils/Adils (Eadgils).

According to the latest source, Ynglinga saga, Óttarr refused to pay tribute to the Danish king Fróði for the help that his father had received. When Fróði sent two men to collect the tribute, but Óttarr answered that the Swedes had never paid tribute to the Danes and would not begin with him. Fróði gathered a vast host and looted in Sweden, but the next summer he pillaged in the east. When Óttarr learnt that Fróði was gone, he sailed to Denmark to plunder in return and went into the Limfjord where he pillaged in Vendsyssel. Fróði's jarls Vott and Faste attacked Óttarr in the fjord. The battle was even and many men fell, but the Danes were reinforced by the people in the neighbourhood and so the Swedes lost (a version apparently borrowed from the death of Óttarr's predecessor Jorund). The Danes put Óttarr's corpse on a mound to be devoured by wild beasts, and made a wooden crow that they sent to Sweden, with the message that the wooden crow was all that Óttarr was worth. After this, Óttarr was called Vendelcrow.

It is only Snorri who uses the epithet Vendelcrow, whereas the older sources Historia Norvegiae and Íslendingabók use it for his father Egill. Moreover, only Snorri's work tells the story of Óttarr's death in Vendsyssel, and it is probably his own invention. Ynglingatal mentions only that Óttarr was killed by the Danish jarls Vott and Faste in a place named Vendel (Laing has been influenced by Snorri's version in his translation):

Féll Óttarr
und ara greipar
dugandligr
fyrir Dana vápnum,
þann hergammr
hrægum fœti
viti borinn
á Vendli sparn.
Þau frá ek verk
Vötts ok Fasta
sœnskri þjóð
at sögum verða;
at eylands
jarlar Fróða
vígframað
um veginn höfðu.
By Danish arms the hero bold,
Ottar the Brave, lies stiff and cold.
To Vendel's plain the corpse was borne;
By eagles' claws the corpse is torn,
Spattered by ravens' bloody feet,
The wild bird's prey, the wild wolf's meat.
The Swedes have vowed revenge to take
On Frode's earls, for Ottar's sake;
Like dogs to kill them in their land,
In their own homes, by Swedish hand.
The Historia Norwegiæ presents a Latin summary of Ynglingatal, older than Snorri's quotation (continuing after Egil):

Cui successit in regnum filius suus Ottarus, qui a suo æquivoco Ottaro Danorum comite et fratre ejus Fasta in una provinciarum Daniæ, scilicet Wendli, interemptus est. Cujus filius Adils [...]

The successor to the throne was his son Ottar, who was assassinated in Vendel, a law province of Denmark, by his namesake, a Danish jarl, and this man's brother, Fasta. His son Adils [...]

Historia Norvegiæ informs only that Ohthere was killed by the Danish brothers Ottar [sic.] and Faste in a Danish province called Vendel.

Ohthere's Barrow
Ohthere's barrow (Swedish: Ottarshögen) (60°08′N 17°34′E) is located in Vendel parish, Uppland, Sweden. The barrow is 5 metres high and 40 metres wide. In the 17th century, the barrow was known locally as Ottarshögen. The term Hög is derived from the Old Norse word haugr, meaning mound or barrow.

The barrow was excavated in the period 1914–16. It showed the remains of both a man and a woman, and the finds were worthy of a king. The Swedish archaeologist Sune Lindqvist reported that in its centre, there was a wooden vessel with ashes. There were few finds but they were well-preserved. There were some decorative panels similar to those found in the other Vendel era graves nearby. A comb with a case was found, as well as a golden Roman coin, a solidus, dated to be no later than 477. It had been perforated and was probably used as decoration, but it showed signs of wear and tear and had probably been worn for a longer time. Lindquist stated that the identification of the barrow as that of Ohthere could not receive more archaeological confirmation than those provided by the excavation.

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

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.

Beowulf and Old Norse sources present him as the son of Ohthere and as belonging to the ruling Yngling (Scylfing) dynasty. These sources also deal with his war against Onela, which he won with foreign assistance: in Beowulf he gained the throne of Sweden by defeating his uncle Onela with Geatish help, and in two Scandinavian sources (Skáldskaparmál and Skjöldunga saga), he is also helped to defeat Onela in the Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern, but with Danish help. However, Scandinavian sources mostly deal with his interaction with the legendary Danish king Hrólfr Kraki (Hroðulf), and Eadgils is mostly presented in a negative light as a rich and greedy king. Snorri Sturluson, who documented many of the Scandinavian traditions, reported that the Swedes called him a "great king".

Name
The Norse forms are based an older (Proto-Norse) *Aþagīslaz (where *aþa is short for *aþala meaning "noble, foremost" (German 'adel') and *gīslaz means "arrow shaft"[2]). However, the Anglo-Saxon form is not etymologically identical. The A-S form would have been *Ædgils, but Eadgils (Proto-Norse *Auða-gīslaz, *auða- meaning "wealth") was the only corresponding name used by the Anglo-Saxons. The name Aðils was so exceedingly rare even in Scandinavia that among almost 6000 Scandinavian runic inscriptions, it is only attested in three runestones (U 35, DR 221 and Br Olsen;215).

Beowulf
The Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf, composed sometime between the 8th century and the 11th century, is (beside the Norwegian skaldic poem Ynglingatal from the 9th century) the oldest source that mentions Eadgils.

The text of Beowulf implies that the Swedish king Ohthere died and that his younger brother Onela succeeded him, because Ohthere's two sons, Eadgils and Eanmund had to seek refuge with Heardred, Hygelac's son and successor as king of the Geats. This caused Onela to attack the Geats, and Heardred was killed. Onela returned home and Beowulf succeeded Heardred as the king of Geatland. In the following lines, Onela is referred to as the Scylfings' helmet and the son of Ongenþeow, whereas Eadgils and Eanmund are referred to as the sons of Ohtere:

...Hyne wræc-mæcgas
ofer sæ sohtan, suna Ohteres:
hæfdon hy forhealden helm Scylfinga,
þone selestan sæ-cyninga,
þara þe in Swio-rice sinc brytnade,
mærne þeoden. Him þæt to mearce wearð;
he þær orfeorme feorh-wunde hleat
sweordes swengum, sunu Hygelaces;
and him eft gewat Ongenþiowes bearn
hames niosan, syððan Heardred læg;
let þone brego-stol Biowulf healdan,
Geatum wealdan: þæt wæs god cyning.
...Wandering exiles
sought him o'er seas, the sons of Ohtere,
who had spurned the sway of the Scylfings'-helmet,
the bravest and best that broke the rings,
in Swedish land, of the sea-kings' line,
haughty hero. Hence Heardred's end.
For shelter he gave them, sword-death came,
the blade's fell blow, to bairn of Hygelac;
but the son of Ongentheow sought again
house and home when Heardred fell,
leaving Beowulf lord of Geats
and gift-seat's master. – A good king he!
Later in the poem, it tells that during the battle, Eadgils' brother Eanmund was killed by Onela's champion Weohstan, Wiglaf's father. In the following lines, Eanmund also appears as the son of Ohtere and as a brother's child:

...hond rond gefeng,
geolwe linde, gomel swyrd geteah,
þæt wæs mid eldum Eanmundes laf,
suna Ohteres, þam æt sæcce wearð
wracu wine-leasum Weohstanes bana
meces ecgum, and his magum ætbær
brun-fagne helm, hringde byrnan,
eald sweord eotonisc, þæt him Onela forgeaf,
his gædelinges guð-gewædu,
fyrd-searo fuslic: no ymbe þa fæhðe spræc,
þeah þe he his broðor bearn abredwade.
...The linden yellow,
his shield, he seized; the old sword he drew: --
as heirloom of Eanmund earth-dwellers knew it,
who was slain by the sword-edge, son of Ohtere,
friendless exile, erst in fray
killed by Weohstan, who won for his kin
brown-bright helmet, breastplate ringed,
old sword of Eotens, Onela's gift,
weeds of war of the warrior-thane,
battle-gear brave: though a brother's child
had been felled, the feud was unfelt by Onela.
Eadgils, however, survived and later, Beowulf helped Eadgils with weapons and warriors. Eadgils won the war and killed his uncle Onela. In the following lines, Eadgils is mentioned by name and as the son of Ohtere, whereas Onela is referred to as the king:

Se þæs leod-hryres lean gemunde
uferan dogrum, Eadgilse wearð
fea-sceaftum feond. Folce gestepte
ofer sæ side sunu Ohteres
wigum and wæpnum: he gewræc syððan
cealdum cear-siðum, cyning ealdre bineat.[9]
The fall of his lord he was fain to requite
in after days; and to Eadgils he proved
friend to the friendless, and forces sent
over the sea to the son of Ohtere,
weapons and warriors: well repaid he
those care-paths cold[10] when the king he slew.
This event also appears in the Scandinavian sources Skáldskaparmál and Skjöldunga saga – see below.

Norwegian and Icelandic sources
The allusive manner in which Eadgils and his relatives are referred to in Beowulf suggests that the scop expected his audience to have sufficient background knowledge about Eadgils, Ohthere and Eanmund to understand the references. Likewise, in the roughly contemporary Norwegian Ynglingatal, Eadgils (Aðils) is called Onela's enemy (Ála[11] dólgr), which likewise suggests that the conflict was familiar to the skald and his audience.

The tradition of Eadgils and Onela resurfaces in several Old Norse works in prose and poetry, and another matter also appears: the animosity between Eadgils and Hrólfr Kraki, who corresponds to Hroðulf in Beowulf.

Ynglingatal
The skaldic poem Ynglingatal is a poetic recital of the line of the Yngling clan. They are also called Skilfingar in the poem (in stanza 19), a name that appears in its Anglo-Saxon form Scylfingas in Beowulf when referring to Eadgils' clan. It is presented as composed by Þjóðólfr of Hvinir by Snorri Sturluson in the Ynglinga saga.

Although its age has been debated, most scholars hold to date from the 9th century. It survives in two versions: one is found in the Norwegian historical work Historia Norvegiæ in Latin, and the other one in Snorri Sturluson's Ynglinga saga, a part of his Heimskringla. It presents Aðils (Eadgils) as the successor of Óttarr (Ohthere) and the predecessor of Eysteinn. The stanza on Aðils refers to his accidental death when he fell from his horse:

Þat frá ek enn,
at Aðils fjörvi
vitta vettr
um viða skyldi,
ok dáðgjarn
af drasils bógum
Freys áttungr
falla skyldi.
Ok við aur
œgir hjarna
bragnings burs
um blandinn varð;
ok dáðsæll
deyja skyldi
Ála dólgr
at Uppsölum.
Witch-demons, I have heard men say,
Have taken Adils' life away.
The son of kings of Frey's great race,
First in the fray, the fight, the chase,
Fell from his steed – his clotted brains
Lie mixed with mire on Upsal's plains.
Such death (grim Fate has willed it so)
Has struck down Ole's [Onela's] deadly foe.
Note that Eadgils' animosity with Onela also appears in Ynglingatal as Aðils is referred to as Ole's deadly foe (Ála dólgr). This animosity is treated in more detail in the Skjöldunga saga and Skáldskaparmál, which follow.

The Historia Norwegiæ, which is a terse summary in Latin of Ynglingatal, only states that Eadgils fell from his horse and died during the sacrifices. In this Latin translation, the Dísir are rendered as the Roman goddess Diana:

Cujus filius Adils vel Athisl ante ædem Dianæ, dum idolorum, sacrificia fugeret, equo lapsus exspiravit. Hic genuit Eustein, [ ... ]

His son Adils gave up the ghost after falling from his horse before the temple of Diana, while he was performing the sacrifices made to idols. He became sire to Øystein, [ ... ]

The same information is found the Swedish Chronicle from the mid-15th century, which calls him Adhel. It is probably based on the Ynglingatal tradition and says that he fell from his horse and died while he worshipped his god.

Íslendingabók
In Íslendingabók from the early 12th century, Eadgils only appears as a name in the listing of the kings of the Yngling dynasty as Aðísl at Uppsala. The reason what that the author, Ari Þorgilsson, traced his ancestry from Eadgils, and its line of succession is the same as that of Ynglingatal.

i Yngvi Tyrkjakonungr. ii Njörðr Svíakonungr. iii Freyr. iiii Fjölnir. sá er dó at Friðfróða. v Svegðir. vi Vanlandi. vii Visburr. viii Dómaldr. ix Dómarr. x Dyggvi. xi Dagr. xii Alrekr. xiii Agni. xiiii Yngvi. xv Jörundr. xvi Aun inn gamli. xvii Egill Vendilkráka. xviii Óttarr. xix Aðísl at Uppsölum. xx Eysteinn. xxi Yngvarr. xxii Braut-Önundr. xxiii Ingjaldr inn illráði. xxiiii Óláfr trételgja...
As can be seen it agrees with the earlier Ynglingatal and Beowulf in presenting Eadgils as the successor of Óttarr (Ohthere).

Skjöldunga saga
The Skjöldunga saga was a Norse saga which is believed to have been written in the period 1180–1200. The original version is lost, but it survives in a Latin summary by Arngrímur Jónsson. Arngrímur's summary relates that Eadgils, called Adillus, married Yrsa with whom he had the daughter Scullda. Some years later, the Danish king Helgo (Halga) attacked Sweden and captured Yrsa, not knowing that she was his own daughter, the result of Helgo raping Olava, the queen of the Saxons. Helgo raped Yrsa as well and took her back to Denmark, where she bore 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. In horror, Yrsa returned to Adillus, leaving her son behind. Helgo died when Rolfo was eight years old, and Rolfo succeeded him, and ruled together with his uncle Roas (Hroðgar). Not much later, Roas was killed by his half-brothers Rærecus and Frodo, whereupon Rolfo became the sole king of Denmark.

In Sweden, Yrsa and Adillus married Scullda to the king of Öland, Hiørvardus/Hiorvardus/Hevardus (Heoroweard). As her half-brother Rolfo was not consulted about this marriage, he was infuriated and he attacked Öland and made Hiørvardus and his kingdom tributary to Denmark.

After some time, there was animosity between king Adillus of Sweden and the Norwegian king Ale of Oppland. They decided to fight on the ice of Lake Vänern. Adillus won and took his helmet, chainmail and horse. Adillus won because he had requested Rolfo's aid against king Ale and Rolfo had sent him his berserkers. However, Adillus refused to pay the expected tribute for the help and so Rolfo came to Uppsala to claim his recompense. After surviving some traps, Rolfo fled with Adillus' gold, helped by his mother Yrsa. Seeing that the Swedish king and his men pursued him, Rolfo "sowed" the gold on the Fyrisvellir, so that the king's men would pick up the gold, instead of continuing the pursuit.

As can be seen, the Skjöldunga saga retells the story of Eadgils fighting his uncle Onela, but in this version Onela is no longer Eadgils' uncle, but a Norwegian king of Oppland. This change is generally considered to be a late confusion between the core province of the Swedes, Uppland, and its Norwegian namesake Oppland. Whereas, Beowulf leaves the Danish court with the suspicion that Hroðulf (Rolfo Krage, Hrólfr Kraki) might claim the Danish throne for himself at the death of Hroðgar (Roas, Hróarr), it is exactly what he does in Scandinavian tradition. A notable difference is that, in Beowulf, Eadgils receives the help of the Geatish king Beowulf against Onela, whereas it is the Danish king Hroðulf who provides help in Scandinavian tradition.

Skáldskaparmál
Skáldskaparmál was written by Snorri Sturluson, c. 1220, in order to teach the ancient art of kennings to aspiring skalds. It presents Eadgils, called Aðils, in two sections.

The first section is the Kálfsvísa of which Snorri quotes small parts:

Ali Hrafni,
es til íss riðu,
en annarr austr
und Aðilsi
grár hvarfaði,
geiri undaðr.[20]
Áli rode Hrafn,
They who rode onto the ice:
But another, southward,
Under Adils,
A gray one, wandered,
Wounded with the spear.
This is a reference to the Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern, during which Eadgils slew Onela and which also appears in the Skjöldunga saga. There is also second stanza, where Eadgils is riding his horse Slöngvir, apparently a combination famous enough to be mentioned.

Björn reið Blakki,
en Bíarr Kerti,
Atli Glaumi,
en Aðils Sløngvi,
Högni Hölkvi,
en Haraldr Fölkvi,
Gunnarr Gota,
en Grana Sigurðr.[20]
Björn rode Blakkr,
And Bjárr rode Kertr;
Atli rode Glaumr,
And Adils on Slöngvir;
Högni on Hölvir,
And Haraldr on Fölkvir;
Gunnarr rode Goti,
And Sigurdr, Grani.
Eadgils' horse Slöngvir also appears in Snorri's later work, the Ynglinga saga.

Snorri also presents the story of Aðils and Hrólfr Kraki (Hroðulf) in order to explain why gold was known by the kenning Kraki's seed. Snorri relates that Aðils was in war with a Norwegian king named Áli (Onela), and they fought in the Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern. Aðils was married to Yrsa, the mother of Hrólfr 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 Böðvarr 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.

When Hrólfr heard that Aðils refused to pay, he set off to Uppsala. They brought the ships to the river Fyris and rode directly to the Swedish king's hall at Uppsala with his twelve berserkers. Yrsa welcomed them and led them to their lodgings. Fires were prepared for them and they were given drinks. However, so much wood was heaped on the fires that the clothes started to burn away from their clothes. Hrólfr and his men had enough and threw the courtiers on the fire. Yrsa arrived and gave them a horn full of gold, the ring Svíagris and asked them to flee. As they rode over the Fyrisvellir, they saw Aðils and his men pursuing them. The fleeing men threw the gold on the plain so that the pursuers would stop to collect it. Aðils, however, continued the chase on his horse Slöngvir. Hrólfr then threw Svíagris and saw how Aðils stooped down to pick up the ring with his spear. Hrólfr exclaimed that he had seen the mightiest man in Sweden bend his back.

Ynglinga saga
The Ynglinga saga was written c. 1225 by Snorri Sturluson and he used Skjöldunga saga as a source when he told the story of Aðils. Snorri relates that Aðils succeeded his father Óttar (Ohthere) and betook himself to pillage the Saxons, whose king was Geirþjófr and queen Alof the Great. The king and consort were not at home, and so Aðils and his men plundered their residence at ease driving cattle and captives down to the ships. One of the captives was a remarkably beautiful girl named Yrsa, and Snorri writes that everyone was soon impressed with the well-mannered, pretty and intelligent girl. Most impressed was Aðils who made her his queen.

Some years later, Helgi (Halga), who ruled in Lejre, attacked Sweden and captured Yrsa. As he did not know that Yrsa was his own daughter, he raped her, and took her back to Lejre, where she bore him the son Hrólfr kraki. 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. Horrified, Yrsa returned to Aðils, leaving her son behind, and stayed in Sweden for the rest of her life. When Hrólfr was eight years old, Helgi died during a war expedition and Hrólfr was proclaimed king.

Aðils waged a war against king Áli (Onela of Oppland), and they fought in the Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern. Áli died in this battle. Snorri writes that there was a long account of this battle in the Skjöldunga Saga, which also contained an account of how Hrólf came to Uppsala and sowed gold on the Fyrisvellir.

Snorri also relates that Aðils loved good horses and had the best horses in his days (the contemporary Gothic scholar Jordanes noted that the Swedes were famed for their good horses). One horse was named Slöngvi and another one Raven, which he had taken from Áli. From this horse he had bred a horse also named Raven which he sent to king Godgest of Hålogaland, but Godgest could not manage it and fell from it and died, in Omd on the island of Andøya. Aðils himself died in a similar way at the Dísablót. Aðils was riding around the Disa shrine when Raven stumbled and fell, and the king was thrown forward and hit his skull on a stone. The Swedes called him a great king and buried him at Uppsala. He was succeeded by Eysteinn.

Hrólfr Kraki's saga
Hrólfr Kraki's saga is believed to have been written in the period c. 1230 – c. 1450.[23] Helgi and Yrsa lived happily together as husband and wife, not knowing that Yrsa was Helgi's daughter. Yrsa's mother 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 to live alone. She was later taken by the Swedish king Aðils as his queen, which made Helgi even more unhappy. Helgi went to Uppsala to fetch her, but was killed by Aðils in battle. In Lejre, he was succeeded by his son Hrólfr Kraki.

After some time, Böðvarr Bjarki encouraged Hrólfr to go Uppsala to claim the gold that Aðils had taken from Helgi after the battle. Hrólfr departed with 120 men and his twelve berserkers and during a rest they were tested by a farmer called Hrani (Odin in disguise) who advised Hrólfr to send back all his troops but his twelve berserkers, as numbers would not help him against Aðils.

They were at first well received, but in his hall, Aðils did his best to stop Hrólfr with pit traps and hidden warriors who attacked the Danes. Finally Aðils entertained them but put them to a test where they had to endure immense heat by a fire. Hrólfr and his berserkers finally had enough and threw the courtiers, who were feeding the fire, into the fire and leapt at Aðils. The Swedish king disappeared through a hollow tree trunk that stood in his hall.

Yrsa admonished Aðils for wanting to kill her son, and went to meet the Danes. She gave them a man named Vöggr to entertain them. This Vöggr remarked that Hrólfr had the thin face of a pole ladder, a Kraki. Happy with his new cognomen Hrólfr gave Vöggr a golden ring, and Vöggr swore to avenge Hrólfr if anyone should kill him. Hrólfr and his company were then attacked by a troll in the shape of a boar in the service of Aðils, but Hrólfr's dog Gram killed it.

They then found out that Aðils had set the hall on fire, and so they broke out of the hall, only to find themselves surrounded by heavily armed warriors in the street. After a fight, king Aðils retreated to summon reinforcements.

Yrsa then provided her son with a silver drinking horn filled with gold and jewels and a famous ring, Svíagris. Then she gave Hrólf and his men twelve of the Swedish king's best horses, and all the armour and provisions they needed.

Hrólfr took a fond farewell of his mother and departed over the Fyrisvellir. When they saw Aðils and his warriors in pursuit, they spread the gold behind themselves. Aðils saw his precious Svíagris on the ground and stooped to pick it up with his spear, whereupon Hrólf cut his back with his sword and screamed in triumph that he had bent the back of the most powerful man in Sweden.

Danish sources
Chronicon Lethrense and Annales Lundenses
The Chronicon Lethrense (and the included Annales Lundenses) tell that when the Danish kings Helghe (Halga) and Ro (Hroðgar) were dead, the Swedish king Hakon/Athisl[24] forced the Daner to accept a dog as king. The dog king was succeeded by Rolf Krage (Hrólfr Kraki).

Gesta Danorum
The Gesta Danorum (book 2), by Saxo Grammaticus, tells that Helgo (Halga) repelled a Swedish invasion, killed the Swedish king Hothbrodd, and made the Swedes pay tribute. However, he committed suicide due to shame for his incestuous relationship with Urse (Yrsa), and his son Roluo (Hrólfr Kraki) succeeded him.

The new king of Sweden, Athislus, thought that the tribute to the Daner might be smaller if he married the Danish king's mother and so took Urse for a queen. However, after some time, Urse was so upset with the Swedish king's greediness that she thought out a ruse to run away from the king and at the same time liberate him of his wealth. She incited Athislus to rebel against Roluo, and arranged so that Roluo would be invited and promised a wealth in gifts.

At the banquet Roluo was at first not recognised by his mother, but when their fondness was commented on by Athisl, the Swedish king and Roluo made a wager where Roluo would prove his endurance. Roluo was placed in front of a fire that exposed him to such heat that finally a maiden could suffer the sight no more and extinguished the fire. Roluo was greatly recompensed by Athisl for his endurance.

When the banquet had lasted for three days, Urse and Roluo escaped from Uppsala, early in the morning in carriages where they had put all the Swedish king's treasure. In order to lessen their burden, and to occupy any pursuing warriors they spread gold in their path (later in the work, this is referred to as "sowing the Fyrisvellir"), although there was a rumour that she only spread gilded copper. When Athislus, who was pursuing the escapers saw that a precious ring was lying on the ground, he bent down to pick it up. Roluo was pleased to see the king of Sweden bent down, and escaped in the ships with his mother.

Roluo later defeated Athislus and gave Sweden to young man named Hiartuar (Heoroweard), who also married Roluo's sister Skulde. When Athislus learnt that Hiartuar and Skulde had killed Roluo, he celebrated the occasion, but he drank so much that he killed himself.

Archaeology
According to Snorri Sturluson, Eadgils was buried in one of the royal mounds of Gamla Uppsala. Birger Nerman suggested that he was buried in the Western mound (also known as Thor's mound) at Gamla Uppsala. An excavation in this mound showed that a man was buried there c. 575 on a bear skin with two dogs and rich grave offerings. There were luxurious weapons and other objects, both domestic and imported, show that the buried man was very powerful. These remains include a Frankish sword adorned with gold and garnets and a board game with Roman pawns of ivory. He was dressed in a costly suit made of Frankish cloth with golden threads, and he wore a belt with a costly buckle. There were four cameos from the Middle East which were probably part of a casket. The finds show the distant contacts of the House of Yngling in the 6th century.

Snorri's account that Adils had the best horses of his days, and Jordanes' account that the Swedes of the 6th century were famed for their horses find support in archaeology. This time was the beginning of the Vendel Age, a time characterised by the appearance of stirrups and a powerful mounted warrior elite in Sweden, which rich graves in for instance Valsgärde and Vendel.

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Eysteinn (Swedish: Östen; died ca 600) was the son of Eadgils and Yrsa of Saxony. 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. The term Hög is derived from the Old Norse word haugr meaning mound or barrow.

Eysteinn ruled Sweden at the time when Hrólf Kraki died in Lejre. It was a troubled time when many sea kings ravaged Swedish shores. One of those kings was named Sölve and he was from Jutland (but according to Historia Norwegiae he was Geatish, see below). At this time Sölve was pillaging in the Baltic Sea. He arrived in Lofond (probably the island of Lovön or the Lagunda Hundred), where Eysteinn was at a feast. Sölve and his men surrounded the house and set it on fire burning everyone inside to death. Then Sölve arrived at Sigtuna (Old Sigtuna) and ordered the Swedes to accept him as king. The Swedes refused and gathered an army that fought against Sölve and his men, but they lost after eleven days. The Swedes had to accept him as king until they rebelled and killed him.

Ynglingatal
Stanza from Þjóðólfr of Hvinir's Ynglingatal:

Veit ek Eysteins
enda fólginn
lokins lífs
á Lofundi;
ok sikling
með Svíum kváðu
Jótska menn
inni brenna.
Ok bitsótt
í brandnói
hlíðar þangs
á hilmi rann,
þá er timbrfastr
toptar nökkvi,
flotna fullr
um fylki brann.[1]
For a long time none could tell
How Eystein died – but now I know
That at Lofond the hero fell;
The branch of Odin was laid low,
Was burnt by Solve's Jutland men.
The raging tree-devourer fire
Rushed on the monarch in its ire;
First fell the castle timbers, then
The roof-beams – Eystein's funeral pyre.
The Historia Norwegiæ presents a Latin summary of Ynglingatal, older than Snorri's quotation (continuing after Eadgils, called Adils or Athisl):

Hic [Adils vel Athisl] genuit Eustein, quem Gautones in domo quadam obtrusum cum suis vivum incenderunt. Hujus filius Ynguar [...].

He [Adils] became sire to Øystein, whom the Götar thrust into a house and incinerated alive there with his men. His son Yngvar, [...].

Thorsteins saga Víkingssonar makes Eysteinn the father of Anund and grandfather of Ingjald and consequently skips Ingvar's generation. It adds a second son to Eysteinn named Olaf, who was the king of Fjordane in Norway.

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]