Aki was a legendary 10th-century Dane from

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

. He played a small but important role in ''

Egil's Saga ''Egill's Saga'' or ''Egil's saga'' ( non, Egils saga ; ) is an Icelandic saga (family saga) on the lives of the clan of Egill Skallagrímsson (Anglicised as Egill Skallagrimsson), an Icelandic farmer, viking and skald. The saga spans the yea ...

''. While raiding with his band of vikings in

Courland Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. ...

, Icelandic chieftain

Egil Skallagrímsson Egil or Egill is a masculine given name derived from Old Norse. It may refer to: Characters *Egil (Hymiskvida), farmer in the poem ''Hymiskvida'' *Egil, brother of Volund, hero of Völundarkviða and the Thidreks saga *Egil One-Hand, hero from the ...

and his 12 of his men are captured in a clever ambush by a farmer's son and kept in a wooden stronghold overnight to be tortured and interrogated the following day. Egil frees himself and his crew and then while searching for an escape they come across a trap door to a pit from which they hear voices coming. Three Danish captives are released from the pit who happen to be Aki and his two sons. Aki informs Egil of an escape route and tells him of booty to be plundered from the farmer's land. Egil and his men help Aki and his sons escape, whereupon they return to their farms and wealth in

. The following spring Egil and his men go raiding in Denmark, around the same time that Eyvind Braggart has been banished from Norway and hired by King

Harald Bluetooth Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson ( non, Haraldr Blátǫnn Gormsson; da, Harald Blåtand Gormsen, died c. 985/86) was a king of Denmark and Norway. He was the son of King Gorm the Old and of Thyra Dannebod. Harald ruled as king of Denmark from c. 95 ...

to defend the shores of Denmark. Aki knew Denmark well both by land and sea. One night, Aki sends messengers to Egil to warn him that Eyvind has an ambush prepared for them on their return route. Thanks to Aki's warning, Egil and his men are able to sneak up on Eyvind's ships. Egil then gains both of Eyvind's ships as his prize.

References

{{Reflist 10th-century Danish people Viking warriors