The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki (Penguin Classics) Page 13

  17. Translated here as ‘lands’, the word ríki has the connotation of independent state or kingdom.

  18. Old Norse Ólöf is the feminine form of the common (masculine) personal name Olaf. Although not otherworldly, this warrior queen has some of the characteristics of the legendary shield-maidens or Valkyries, supernatural female warriors mentioned in other Scandinavian sagas and poems.

  19. Kurteisi (courtesy) was a thirteenth-century borrowing from Old French. The concept was originally foreign to Scandinavia.

  20. The name Yrsa, unusual in medieval Norse narrative, may derive from Latin ursa (she-bear). Saxo gives her name as ‘Vrsa’. In the Lejre Chronicle (c. 1170) she has the Latin name ‘Ursula’. Although the name does not appear in Anglo-Saxon sources, many scholars change the text of Beowulf, line 62a, where the manuscript is defective, to read, ‘I heard Yrse was Onela’s queen.’ The addition is based largely on Hrolf’s Saga.

  21. In The Saga of the Skjoldungs, Agnar’s story is somewhat different. He is the son of Ingjald, hence a cousin (rather than son) to Hroar and half-brother (rather than cousin) to Hrok. He is later killed by Bjarki, a retainer of Hrolf, and the ring returns to Yrsa.

  22. Concerning Hrolf, see the Introduction. Hrolf appears in Beowulf as Hrothulf who shares the Danish kingdom with Hrothgar.

  23. In Beowulf Adils appears as Eadgils and is identified as the nephew of Onela (Ali), the husband of Healfdene’s unnamed daughter. According to Snorri Sturluson’s Saga of the Ynglings (Ynglinga Saga), Adils carried off Yrsa, the daughter of Olof. Helgi subsequently recaptured her from Adils, but she returned to Adils when the incest was revealed.

  24. Yule, the pre-Christian winter feast later assimilated to Christmas, was an occasion for drinking bouts, swearing of oaths and general merrymaking. In Scandinavia the event is frequently associated with supernatural encounters.

  25. Elves (álfar) were supernatural beings associated with the fertility gods. In Scandinavia they were often portrayed as human-sized, attractive beings with sometimes vindictive natures. The story here is reminiscent of late Icelandic folk traditions.

  26. Berserkers (berserkir) are frequently mentioned in the sagas. Scholars disagree as to whether berserkers existed or were primarily a literary creation, and no consensus exists regarding the word’s etymology. Berserkers are discussed in the Introduction.

  27. The word fiölkyngi, here translated as ‘sorcery’, literally means ‘very cunning’ and also refers to ‘the black arts’ and ‘witchcraft’. The word often had negative connotations, especially when contrasted with the more neutral galdr, even though the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably. The author of Hrolf’s Saga, a Christian writing for a Christian audience, tends to use such terms pejoratively.

  28. Svipdag is elsewhere given as a name for Odin. In Hrolf’s Saga many traits commonly associated with Odin are attributed to Svipdag, although it is not clear that the author intended Svipdag to be positively identified with the god. It is possible that the underlying connection reflects an older form of the story.

  29. One of the sons of the legendary warrior Ragnar Hairy-Breeches was also called Hvitserk, meaning ‘White-shirt’.

  30. This statement resembles advice given in the Eddic poem Hávamál, ‘The Sayings of the High One’.

  31. These games were usually tests of strength, such as lifting competitions, single combat or tug-of-war.

  32. The saga employs the word hólmganga, one of several forms of single combat with strict rules. The term means ‘island going’ because a small delineated space, often an island, was chosen as the site for such combats.

  33. Old Norse herspori (war-spur) seems to be a kind of caltrop, a ball with four spikes protruding from it in such a way that no matter how it is dropped three spikes form a base while the fourth points upward.

  34. Svipdag thus resembles Odin, who had only one eye, having sacrificed the other for wisdom and power. The attribute also connects Svipdag with the legendary Swedish king Svipdag the Blind from The Saga of the Ynglings.

  35. Modern Lejre. See Introduction.

  36. Hjorvard corresponds to Beowulf’s Heoroweard, the son of Heorogar and Hrothulf’s cousin. In Beowulf, Heoroweard had a strong claim to the throne, one cause for the enmity between him and Hrothulf. This element is lacking in the saga.

  37. Uppdalir means inland, often highland, valleys. There are several places in Norway that this might refer to, among them a region near Trondheim and a region north of Oslo Fjord.

  38. Bjorn (Bear) was, and still is, a common personal name.

  39. Finnmark, ‘the Borderland of the Finns’, is modern Lapland. The people known as Finns to the Old Norse speakers were the ancestors of the modern Saami, and they had a reputation for magic and witchcraft. The name ‘Finn’ is often used synonymously with ‘sorcerer’.

  40. Bera means ‘She-bear’.

  41. Skin gloves were often part of the paraphernalia of a sorceress. The sibyl in The Saga of Eirik the Red is said to have had gloves made of white catskin.

  42. Humanlike eyes were a sign that animals either were enchanted humans or were possessed by the spirits of the dead.

  43. Tröll had a broader meaning in Old Norse than it does in Modern English usage. It designated a variety of harmful supernatural creatures, including fiends, ghosts, witches and giants.

  44. Runes were the alphabet used by the Germanic peoples for writing on bone, wood, metal and stone. In addition to practical uses, runes had magical properties.

  45. Elk-Frodi (Elgfróði) means ‘Elk-wise’.

  46. Bodvar means ‘warlike’, and Bjarki means ‘little bear’. See the Introduction. According to Saxo’s version of the Lay of Bjarki, Bjarki won the epithet ‘warlike’ as a result of killing Agnar.

  47. In the Icelandic rhymed poem Bjarkarímur, Bodvar is said to have been born with a bear’s claw on his toe.

  48. The Old Norse word is hildr, a poetic term for battle and also a Valkyrie’s name. The poet is playing on this double meaning, drawing attention to the Valkyrie’s work, that is warfare. Hild is a common element in Germanic women’s names.

  49. The Gauts correspond to the Geats of Beowulf. Beowulf himself was a Geat and later became their king.

  50. Stories featuring less than affectionate stepmothers were well known to medieval Icelanders, who referred to them as ‘stepmother tales’.

  51. Though sounding modern, street (strœti) was an Old Norse word, referring to a road within a town. Probably of Latin origin, the word was in current usage by the twelfth century and perhaps earlier. It may have been a borrowing from Old English.

  52. This sword, if difficult to control (see chap. 23, where Bodvar has difficulty drawing his weapon), has many otherwise typical attributes of magic swords in Old Norse legend. In The Saga of King Heidrek the Wise, for example, the blows of the sword Tyrfing would never go astray and the sword could never be drawn without bringing about the death of a man; it was cursed to cause three hateful acts. In the Prose Edda, Snorri mentions a sword with similar properties, called Dainsleif, ‘Dain’s heirloom’.

  53. The proper term for the now functionless digit on the foot of some animals is ‘dewclaw’.

  54. Throwing bones was apparently one of the rowdier games played at feasts, and killing by bone-throwing is specifically listed as an offence in a number of medieval Scandinavian law codes. Sven Aggesen, who wrote in the twelfth century, reports that, according to the law of the Danish King Knut, any bodyguard who broke the law was required to sit lower than the other bodyguards, thus allowing the others to pelt him with bones.

  55. According to Saxo’s History, this episode took place at the wedding of Hrolf’s sister to Agnar Ingjaldsson.

  56. Much as no weapon can injure the dragon which ravages Hleidargard each Yule, Grendel, in Beowulf, cannot be killed with a sword.

  57. This episode shows close parallels with both Beowulf and the fight between Grettir and Glam in Grettir’s Saga. The motif of the monster w
ho is impervious to human weapons is common in legends and folktales, as well as in the sagas, and its presence in both Beowulf and Hrolf’s Saga does not necessarily imply a direct connection between the texts.

  58. The same phrase, mesta tröll (greatest troll), was earlier applied to Bodvar’s treacherous stepmother, Hvit. Elsewhere in this current episode, the monster is referred to simply as a dýr (animal or beast). The wings of the monster may represent an innovation on the part of the saga’s Icelandic author.

  59. Eating a part of an animal or drinking its blood in order to acquire its nature, whether good or bad, is a common motif. The same belief lies at the root of two earlier episodes in the saga: Bodvar’s acquisition of strength and prowess through drinking the blood of his brother Elk-Frodi (chap. 23) and the animal-like attributes of Bera’s children as a result of her eating bearmeat while pregnant (chap. 20). The present episode is thematically similar to one in The Saga of the Volsungs, in which Sigurd gains wisdom by drinking the blood and eating the heart of the dragon Fafnir. There are also Irish parallels, among them the many stories of Fionn mac Cumhail.

  60. The Old Norse name for the sword is Gullinn-hjalti (Golden Hilt). The sword that Beowulf finds in the underwater lair of Grendel’s mother is referred to as gylden-hilt, although it is unclear whether this is meant as a proper name. The word ‘hilt’ refers in Old English and Old Norse to different parts of the sword. In English it is the part which one grasps, whereas in Old Norse it refers either to the guard piece between the hilt and the blade or to the boss or knob at the end of the sword’s hilt. Hrolf usually carried a different sword, named Skofnung.

  61. In Saxo’s account, no similar name-change occurs. Hjalti remains Hjalti throughout the text.

  62. Earlier in the saga (chap. 15), Hrolf is said to have two daughters, Skur and Drifa.

  63. Adils is Hrolf’s brother-in-law as well as his father-in-law.

  64. The Saga of the Skjoldungs, Snorri in his Prose Edda and Saxo all give somewhat different reasons for Hrolf’s expedition to Sweden. In Saxo’s account, for example, Yrsa pretends to conspire with her husband, luring Hrolf to Sweden with gifts while desiring that Hrolf help her flee.

  65. Hrani is an alias of Odin. In chapter 3 Helgi assumes the name Hrani to conceal his true identity, although he has no apparent connection with Odin.

  66. Terms of courtesy such as ‘chivalrous knights’ are of foreign origin, reflecting the literary influence of courtly romances from the Continent.

  67. Kraki means ‘pole ladder’ or ‘stake’. Saxo Grammaticus explains that the word refers to a tree trunk trimmed so that it can be used as a ladder. Both The Saga of the Skjoldungs and Snorri’s Prose Edda report the name-giving incident and Hrolf’s expedition to Sweden as two unrelated events. In The Saga of the Skjoldungs, the name kraki is explained as derived from the Danish krag, ‘sea-crow’.

  68. Gram (wrathful) is also the name of the sword reforged for Sigurd in The Saga of the Volsungs.

  69. In Scandinavian mythology, the boar was sacred to the fertility god Freyr, who was considered the ancestor of the Swedish royal house, and the boar was used iconographically to represent both Freyr and Sweden. The boar was also a symbol of ferocity and virility, appearing as decoration on numerous artifacts, for example the boar helmets found at Sutton Hoo and Vendel.

  70. Svíagrís means ‘Pig of the Swedes’. According to The Saga of the Skjoldungs, this ring had been taken from the Swedes as booty by one of King Hrolf’s Danish forebears.

  71. Snorri Sturluson relates this episode in the Prose Edda to explain why the phrases ‘Kraki’s seed’ and ‘the seed of the Fyris Plains’ are used as metaphors or kennings for gold.

  72. Although Odin is here treated as malevolent by the Christian scribe or author, his traditional pre-Christian function as the stranger who grants victory has not changed.

  73. This again appears to be a Christian rationalization of the evil nature of pagan creatures.

  74. The Christian writer may be building up Hrolf’s pride as sinful conduct, blinding him from attending to matters at hand. Some of these Christian interjections may come from a later scribe.

  75. Several saga characters, both historical and legendary, are said to have ignored pagan worship and relied on their own ‘might and main’.

  76. This episode makes more sense in Saxo’s version. There Hjalti does not see Skuld’s army until after he has been with his mistress. He does not question her; rather, she asks him whether she should marry a young or an old man, if he is killed in the battle. The motivation for cutting off the nose is unclear. Probably he is punishing her for holding his attention while he should be alerting Hrolf, but it may also reflect some sort of punishment for an adultery occurring in an earlier version of the story.

  77. The long, stylized speeches in this chapter and the following one are apparently paraphrases of stanzas from the mostly lost poem Bjarkamál, ‘The Lay of Bjarki’.

  78. Bodvar is almost certainly in a shaman-like trance, carrying out the acts of the bear fighting beside King Hrolf.

  79. Ghosts (draugar) in Icelandic tradition are not ethereal spirits, but rather corporeal creatures returned from the dead (see, for example, Grettir’s Saga).

  80. Valhöll is mentioned in both The Prose Edda and The Poetic Edda. Warriors who die bravely in battle, whether on the winning or on the losing side, are taken by valkyries to Odin’s hall, Valhalla. There they train for the final battle at Ragnarok, while enjoying perpetual feasting and celebration.

  81. The term used is ‘the Son of Herjan’ (sonrinn Herjans). In the Poetic Edda, Herjan is a name for Odin meaning ‘Lord of Hosts’. In later Icelandic usage Herjan came to mean ‘the Evil One’, a term of abuse, and Herjan’s son meant a ‘Devil’s limb’.

  82. Galterus is Walter of Chatillon (c. 1135-1203/04). He wrote a Latin epic on the life of Alexander the Great that was translated into Icelandic prose as Alexander’s Saga. The author’s or the scribe’s reason for introducing this reference at this point in the story is unclear.

  Genealogical Tables

  The Family of King Hrolf Kraki

  The numbers in parentheses in the above chart represent the chronological order of marriages and liaisons. According to the saga, Helgi had offspring first with Queen Olof, next with Queen Yrsa and then with the Elfin Woman

  The Family of Bodvar Bjarki

  The Family of Svipdag

  Equivalent Characters in Old Norse, Old English and Latin Accounts of King Hrolf Kraki

  This table is designed to assist the reader in comparing different versions of the story of King Hrolf Kraki by providing a quick means of identifying equivalent characters in the Old Norse Hrólfs Saga, the Old English Bēowulf, Saxo Grammaticus’s Latin Gesta Danorum (History of the Danes) and the Latin paraphrase of the Old Norse Skjöldunga Saga.

  Hrólfs Saga

  Skjöldunga Saga

  Gesta Danorum

  Bēowulf

  Aðils

  Adillus

  Athislus

  Ēadgils

  Böðvarr Bjarki

  Bodvarus

  Biarco

  Bēowulf*

  Fróði

  Frodo

  Frotho

  Frōda

  Hálfdan

  Halfdanus

  Haldanus

  Healfdene

  Helgi

  Helgo

  Helgo

  Hālga

  Hróarr

  Roas

  Roe

  Hrōðgār

  Hrólfr Kraki

  Rolfo Krake

  Roluo Krake

  Hrōðulf

  Skjöldr

  Skioldus

  Skioldus

  Scyld Scēfing

  Yrsa

  Yrsa

  Vrsa

  Yrse*

  Glossary of Proper Names

  This glossary has been compiled to provide the reader with a tool for locating the people (both human and supernatural)
, groups, places, animals and objects that appear in The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki. Entries are alphabetized. Numbers refer to the chapters in the saga. When entries appear in brackets it signifies that the character plays an important part in the chapter without being explicitly named there.

  ADILS: King of Sweden, marries Yrsa, 11; treacherously ambushes and kills Helgi, 12; gloats over Helgi’s death, 13; takes champion Svipdag into his retinue, but abandons Svipdag in battle against berserkers, 14; Hrolf wants treasure of Helgi which Adils has, 15; mentioned 16, 33; Bodvar incites Hrolf to get treasure from him, 25; Hrolf’s champions tested by Hrani to prepare them to meet Adils, 26; when Hrolf and his champions come to his hall, he uses magic against them and has armed men treacherously attack them, 27; has fires built up to try to scorch Hrolf and his men, 28; sends a boar against them, 28; attempts to burn them in the house, 28; has Hrolf and his men attacked, but hides himself, 29; pursues Hrolf, 29; stoops to pick up the ring Sviagris which Hrolf has thrown down, and Hrolf cuts off his buttocks, 30.

  AGNAR: son of Hroar and Ogn, 9; becomes a famous warrior, 9; retrieves ring that was thrown into the sea, 9.

  AGNAR: a berserker killed by Bodvar, 33.

  BERA: a farmer’s daughter, loved by Bjorn, 18; meets Bjorn, now a were-bear, 20; receives the ring that is under Bjorn’s shoulder when he is killed in bear form, 20; forced by Hvit to eat some of the bear’s flesh, 20; gives birth to Bjorn’s sons Elk-Frodi, Thorir and Bodvar, 20; gives sons their father’s legacy, 20; reveals to Bodvar and to King Hring the story of Bjorn’s death, shows ring as proof, 22; marries Valsleyt, 22.

  BEYGAD: son of Svip, who sends him to help his brother Svipdag, in dire straits in battle with berserkers, 14; [goes with Svipdag to join King Hrolf, 15]; in Hrolf’s retinue, 24; accompanies Hrolf to Adils’ hall, 27; holds the horn, 30; called by Hjalti to Hrolf’s final battle, 32.