Anulo or Ale was a pretender-king who vied for the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

throne in 812. He represents the appearance of the House of Harald which competed with the House of Gudfred for power in Denmark until c. 857 and possibly longer.

The lineage of Harald

An early Danish kingdom of some consequence existed in the 8th century, culminating with the warlike exploits of King

Gudfred Gudfred was a ninth century Danish king who reigned from at least 804 to 810. Alternate spellings include ''Godfred'' (Danish), ''Göttrick'' (German), ''Gøtrik'' (Danish), ''Gudrød'' (Danish), and ''Godofredus'' (Latin). He stands at the thres ...

against the

Carolingian Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lom ...

. As an early dynastic state it was nevertheless fragile and subjected to competition between different royal lineages or branches. Rules of hereditary succession did not exist in this era. Frankish annals document the reigns of

Sigfred Sigfred was an eighth century Danish king who is known to have reigned from before 777 to after 798. Fragments of his reign can be traced via Frankish sources. Assistance to Widukind King Sigfred is first mentioned in 777 when the Saxon chie ...

(c. 770-c. 804) and

(c. 804-810) who might have been his son. The throne subsequently went to Gudfred's nephew Hemming (810-812). However, there was also another lineage, the earliest known representative of which was King Harald. This Harald may have reigned before Sigfred, although it has also been suggested that he had a brief reign in c. 800. Since some names recur in the two lineages, they were probably related to each other. One of Harald's grandsons or nephews, Hemming (mentioned in 812-813), has been plausibly identified with a Viking king in

Frisia Frisia is a cross-border cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. The region is traditionally inhabited by the Frisians, a West Ger ...

Hemming Halfdansson Hemming Halfdansson (died 837) was "of the Danish race, a most Christian leader". He was probably a son of Halfdan, a leading Dane who became a vassal of Charlemagne in 807. He was probably related to the Danish royal family, as "Hemming" was one of ...

(d. 837). Thus Harald may have been father or brother of another member of this dynasty called

Halfdan Halfdan (, ang, Healfdene, Medieval : "half Dane") was a late 5th and early 6th century legendary Danish king of the Scylding (Skjöldung) lineage, the son of king named Fróði in many accounts, noted mainly as the father to the two kings who ...

who is thought to have been the father of a number of later kings and pretenders: Anulo,

Harald Klak Harald 'Klak' Halfdansson (c. 785 – c. 852) was a king in Jutland (and possibly other parts of Denmark) around 812–814 and again from 819–827."Carolingian Chronicles: Royal Frankish Annals and Nithard's Histories" (1970), translation by Bernh ...

, Ragnfred and Hemming. This Halfdan, it has been suggested, could have been the Halfdan who was King Sigfred's envoy to the Franks in 782, and a chief of the same name who submitted to

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

in 807.

The 812 battle

King Hemming, nephew of Gudfred, died in 812 after a short reign. Another nephew of Gudfred,

, wished to succeed him but was immediately opposed by a prince called Anulo. His unusual name may be compared with the Swedish royal name

Onela Onela was according to ''Beowulf'' a Swedish king, the son of Ongentheow and the brother of Ohthere. He usurped the Swedish throne, but was killed by his nephew Eadgils, who won by hiring foreign assistance. In Scandinavian sagas a Norwegian ki ...

of the

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The ...

epic, and corresponds to Norse Áli (Ale). Anulo was the nephew or grandson (''nepos'') of King Harald. According to another interpretation of the Latin annal entry (Anulo nepos Herioldi, et ipsius regis), he was the nephew of Harald ''and'' the former king, i.e. Hemming. His younger brothers were

, Ragnfred and Hemming, which probably makes him the son of Halfdan of 807. In fact, the brothers represented a pro-Carolingian fraction against the House of Gudfred. As they could not agree on a solution, Anulo and Sigfred boded up followers and met in a cataclysmic battle in 812. According to the

Frankish annals The ''Royal Frankish Annals'' (Latin: ''Annales regni Francorum''), also called the ''Annales Laurissenses maiores'' ('Greater Lorsch Annals'), are a series of annals composed in Latin in the Carolingian Francia, recording year-by-year the stat ...

the struggle cost no less than 10,940 men, making it exceptionally bloody for its time. Anulo as well as Sigfred found their death in the bloodbath, which nevertheless ended with a victory for Anulo's party. His adherents enthroned his brothers Harald Klak and Ragnfred as co-rulers, and the defeated party found it necessary to accept this. The two kings immediately sent envoys to

in order to make peace and ask that the fourth brother Hemming should be released. Apparently, Hemming had been left with the emperor as hostage, suggesting some kind of understanding with the Carolingian court. However, the five sons of Gudfred and their followers had sought refuge among the Swedes. In the next year 813 they returned and expelled Harald and Ragnfred. This was the beginning of a long period of rivalry between the Houses of Gudfred and Harald, a rivalry that often entailed Carolingian intervention.

Anulo becomes Hring

The battle between Sigfred and Anulo was briefly and somewhat incorrectly treated in the ecclesiastic chronicle of

Adam of Bremen Adam of Bremen ( la, Adamus Bremensis; german: Adam von Bremen) (before 1050 – 12 October 1081/1085) was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. Adam is most famous for his chronicle ''Gesta ...

, ''

Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum ''Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum'' (Medieval Latin for ''"Deeds of the Bishops of Hamburg"'') is a historical treatise written between 1073 and 1076 by Adam of Bremen, who made additions (''scholia'') to the text until his death (poss ...

'' (c. 1075). The work was widespread in the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...

and influenced Nordic historiography, directly or indirectly. The unusual name Anulo was misinterpreted as Hring (Latin ''annulus'' meaning "ring") while Sigfred was equated with the common medieval name Sigurd. Danish king lists and chronicles such as the ''

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 an ...

'' of

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. ...

(c. 1200) created the double name

Sigurd Hring Sigurd Ring (Old Norse: ''Sigurðr Hringr'', in some sources merely called ''Hringr'') according to legend was a king of the Swedes, being mentioned in many old Scandinavian sagas. According to these sources he was granted rulership over Sweden a ...

, a king who sired the renowned Viking ruler

Ragnar Lodbrok according to legends, was a Viking hero and a Danish and Swedish king.Gutenberg Projec ...

, who in turn was conflated with Anulo's brother and successor Ragnfred.C.A.E. Jessen (1862), ''Undersøgelser til nordisk oldhistorie''. Copenhagen: Schwartz's, p. 15-7.

References

{{authority control Danish monarchs