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Hreðric And Hroðmund
Hreðric and Hroðmund were the sons of the Danish king Hroðgar and his queen, Wealhþeow, in the Old English epic ''Beowulf''. They are only mentioned in passing, and there seems to be some foreshadowing in ''Beowulf'' that their cousin, Halga's son Hroðulf, i.e. Hrólfr Kraki, would usurp the throne from them. Scandinavian tradition It has been suggested that Hreðric corresponds to Hrörekr/Rørik in Scandinavian tradition. However, the traditions vary and so Hrörekr is either killed by Hrólfr Kraki or his successor as the ruler of Zealand (the Danish heartland). In Saxo Grammaticus's '' Gesta Danorum'' (Book 2), Hrólfr Kraki kills a Rørik: "... our king, who laid low Rorik (i.e. Rørik), the son of Bok the covetous, and wrapped the coward in death." ''Rørik'' is the expected Old East Norse form of ''Hreðric'', and personages named ''Rørik'', ''Hrok'' or similar such names can be found in most versions of the Hrólf Kraki tradition. In the '' Skjöldunga saga'', V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rurik
Rurik (also Ryurik; orv, Рюрикъ, Rjurikŭ, from Old Norse ''Hrøríkʀ''; russian: Рюрик; died 879); be, Рурык, Ruryk was a semi-legendary Varangian chieftain of the Rus' who in the year 862 was invited to reign in Novgorod. According to the ''Primary Chronicle'', Rurik was succeeded by his kinsman Oleg who was regent for his infant son Igor. He is considered to be the founder of the Rurik dynasty, which went on to rule Kievan Rus' and its principalities, and then the Tsardom of Russia, until the death of Feodor I in 1598. Vasili IV, who reigned until 1610, was the last Rurikid monarch of Russia. Life The only surviving information about Rurik is contained in the 12th-century ''Primary Chronicle'' written by one Nestor, which states that Chuds, Eastern Slavs, Merias, Veses, and Krivichs "drove the Varangians back beyond the sea, refused to pay them tribute, and set out to govern themselves". Afterwards the tribes started fighting each other and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saxo Grammaticus
Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150 – c. 1220), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. He is the author of the '' Gesta Danorum'', the first full history of Denmark, from which the legend of Amleth would come to inspire the story of ''Hamlet'' by Shakespeare. Life The '' Jutland Chronicle'' gives evidence that Saxo was born in Zealand. It is unlikely he was born before 1150 and it is supposed that his death could have occurred around 1220. His name Saxo was a common name in medieval Denmark. The name ''Grammaticus'' ("the learned") was first given to him in the ''Jutland Chronicle'' and the ''Sjælland Chronicle'' makes reference to Saxo ''cognomine Longus'' ("with the byname 'the tall'"). He lived in a period of warfare and Danish expansion, led by Archbishop Absalon and the Valdemars. The Danes were also being thr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skåne
Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne County, created in 1997. Like the other former provinces of Sweden, Scania still features in colloquial speech and in cultural references, and can therefore not be regarded as an archaic concept. Within Scania there are 33 municipalities that are autonomous within the Skåne Regional Council. Scania's largest city, Malmö, is the third-largest city in Sweden, as well as the fifth-largest in Scandinavia. To the north, Scania borders the former provinces of Halland and Småland, to the northeast Blekinge, to the east and south the Baltic Sea, and to the west Öresund. Since 2000, a road and railway bridge, the Öresund Bridge, bridges the Sound and connects Scania with Denmark. Scania forms part of the transnational Øresund Region. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daner
The Danes were a North Germanic tribe inhabiting southern Scandinavia, including the area now comprising Denmark proper, and the Scanian provinces of modern-day southern Sweden, during the Nordic Iron Age and the Viking Age. They founded what became the Kingdom of Denmark. The name of their realm is believed to mean "Danish March", viz. "the march of the Danes", in Old Norse, referring to their southern border zone between the Eider and Schlei rivers, known as the Danevirke. Origins The origin of the Danes remains undetermined, but several ancient historical documents and texts refer to them and archaeology has revealed and continues to reveal insights into their culture, beliefs, organization and way of life. The Danes first appear in written history in the 6th century with references in Jordanes' ''Getica'' (551 AD), by Procopius, and by Gregory of Tours. They spoke Old Norse (''dǫnsk tunga''), which the Danes shared with the people in Norway and Sweden and later in Iceland an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valdar
Valdar was the name of several legendary Danish kings. The '' Hervarar saga'' tells the tale of a Valdar who was viceroy of Denmark under Ivar Vidfamne and he was the father of Randver and of Harald Wartooth (half siblings and fathers found were Hrörek av Lejre and Radbart - mother being Aud Djupaudga) who was a legendary king of Denmark and Sweden. The '' Skjöldunga saga'' and '' Hversu Noregr byggdist'' tell the tale of a Valdar who succeeded Hrólfr Kraki as King of Scania. This Valdar was the father of Harald the Old. ''Hervarar saga'' The '' Hervarar saga'' tells that Ivar Vidfamne made Valdar the viceroy of Denmark and gave him his daughter Alfhild. When Valdar died, his son Randver became the king of Denmark, while his son Harald Wartooth became the king of Götaland or Gotland. In the ''Hervarar saga'', the name Valdar also appears in a poem together with other kings and nations: ''Guðrúnarkviða II'' Valdar is named as a king of the Danes in Guðrú ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skjöldunga Saga
The ''Skjöldunga saga'' (or, in another standardised Old Norse spelling, ''Skjǫldunga saga'') was an Old Norse legendary saga. Dating from c. 1180 – 1200, the saga was lost in its original form. The saga focused on the Danish dynasty of Scylding (Old Norse ''Skjöldung'', plural ''Skjöldungar''), the same semi-legendary dynasty featured in the Old English poem ''Beowulf''. The fragmentary Icelandic text known as '' Sögubrot af nokkrum fornkonungum'' is believed to be based on the ''Skjöldunga saga'', perhaps deriving from a late version of that work. Another surviving source that contains material from the saga (and continues where ''Sögubrot'' ends) is Arngrimur's ''Ad catalogum regum Sveciæ annotanda''. Arngrímur Jónsson paraphrased parts of it into Latin, and parts of it are thought to be preserved in other sagas, including ''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta'' and '' Ragnarssona þáttr''. It may relate to Saxo Grammaticus and contain a version of the story th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old East Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlements and chronologically coincides with the Viking Age, the Christianization of Scandinavia and the consolidation of Scandinavian kingdoms from about the 7th to the 15th centuries. The Proto-Norse language developed into Old Norse by the 8th century, and Old Norse began to develop into the modern North Germanic languages in the mid-to-late 14th century, ending the language phase known as Old Norse. These dates, however, are not absolute, since written Old Norse is found well into the 15th century. Old Norse was divided into three dialects: ''Old West Norse'' or ''Old West Nordic'' (often referred to as ''Old Norse''), ''Old East Norse'' or ''Old East Nordic'', and ''Old Gutnish''. Old West Norse and Old East Norse formed a dialect contin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gesta Danorum
''Gesta Danorum'' ("Deeds of the Danes") is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark and is an essential source for the nation's early history. It is also one of the oldest known written documents about the history of Estonia and Latvia. Consisting of sixteen books written in Latin on the invitation of Archbishop Absalon, ''Gesta Danorum'' describes Danish history and to some degree Scandinavian history in general, from prehistory to the late 12th century. In addition, ''Gesta Danorum'' offers singular reflections on European affairs in the High Middle Ages from a unique Scandinavian perspective, supplementing what has been handed down by historians from Western and Southern Europe. Books The sixteen books, in prose with an occasional excursion into poetry, can be categorized into two parts: Books 1–9, which deal with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zealand (Denmark)
Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 13th-largest island in Europe by area and the 4th most populous. It is connected to Sprogø and Funen by the Great Belt Fixed Link and to Amager by several bridges in Copenhagen. Indirectly, through the island of Amager and the Øresund Bridge, it is also linked to Scania in Sweden. In the south, the Storstrøm Bridge and the Farø Bridges connect it to Falster, and beyond that island to Lolland, from where the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel to Germany is planned. Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, with a population between 1.3 and 1.4 million people in 2020, is located mostly on the eastern shore of Zealand and partly on the island of Amager. Other cities on Zealand include Roskilde, Hillerød, Næstved, Helsingør, Slagelse, Køge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hroðgar
Hrothgar ( ang, Hrōðgār ; on, Hróarr) was a semi-legendary Danish king living around the early sixth century AD. Hrothgar appears in the Anglo-Saxon epics ''Beowulf'' and '' Widsith'', in Norse sagas and poems, and in medieval Danish chronicles. In both Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian tradition, Hrothgar is a Scylding, the son of Halfdan, the brother of Halga, and the uncle of Hrólfr Kraki. Moreover, in both traditions, the mentioned characters were the contemporaries of the Swedish king Eadgils; and both traditions also mention a feud with men named Fróði and Ingeld. The consensus view is that Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian traditions describe the same person. Names Hrothgar, also rendered ''Hrōðgār'', is an Old English form attested in ''Beowulf'' and ''Widsith'', the earliest sources to mention the character. In non-English sources, the name appears in more or less corresponding Old Icelandic, Old Danish, and Latinized versions. He appears as ''Hróarr'', ''Hroa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hrólfr Kraki
Hrólfr Kraki (Old Norse: ), ''Hroðulf'', ''Rolfo'', ''Roluo'', ''Rolf Krage'' (early 6th century) was a semi-legendary Danish king who appears in both Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian tradition. Both traditions describe him as a Danish Scylding, the nephew of Hroðgar and the grandson of Healfdene. The consensus view is that Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian traditions describe the same people. Whereas the Anglo-Saxon ''Beowulf'' and '' Widsith'' do not go further than treating his relationship with Hroðgar and their animosity with Froda and Ingeld, the Scandinavian sources expand on his life as the king at Lejre and on his relationship with Halga, Hroðgar's brother. In ''Beowulf'' and ''Widsith'', it is never explained how Hroðgar and Hroðulf are uncle and nephew. ''Beowulf'' The poem ''Beowulf'' introduces Hroðulf as kinsman. Later, the text explains that Hroðulf is Hroðgar's nephew and that "each was true to the other". Hroðgar is given three siblings, brothers Heoro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halga
Halga, '' Helgi'', ''Helghe'' or ''Helgo'' was a legendary Danish king living in the early 6th century. His name would in his own language (Proto-Norse) have been *''Hailaga'' (dedicated to the gods). Scholars generally agree that he appears in both Anglo-Saxon (''Beowulf'') and Scandinavian tradition ( Norse sagas and Danish chronicles). In both traditions, he was a Scylding, the son of Healfdene and the brother of Hroðgar. In ''Beowulf'', his relationship to Hroðulf is not explained, but if he was not his father, as in the Scandinavian tradition, he was at least his uncle. Both traditions also mention his family's feud with Froda and Ingeld. Whereas, not much is said about Halga in Anglo-Saxon sources, much more is said in Scandinavian ones. It is also noticed a curb in Halga storyline's direction, all of them containing a version of the story of his incestuous relationship with his own daughter Yrsa. This liaison resulted in Halga's son Hroðulf. ''Beowulf'' In t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
