Anund Uppsale or Anoundus, 'Anund of Uppsala', (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

: ''Önundr Uppsali''), a son of

Erik Björnsson Erik Björnsson was supposedly one of the sons of Björn Ironside and a legendary king of Sweden of the House of Munsö, who would have lived in the late 9th century. One of the few surviving Scandinavian sources that deal with Swedish kings from t ...

of the

House of Munsö The House of Munsö (), also called the House of Björn Ironside (Swedish: ), the House of Uppsala (Swedish: ) or simply the Old dynasty (Swedish: ), is the earliest reliably attested royal dynasty of Sweden, ruling during the Viking Age. None of ...

, ruled

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

together with his brother

Björn at Haugi Björn at Haugi ("Björn at the Barrow" from the Old Norse word ''haugr'' meaning mound), Björn på Håga, Björn II or Bern was, according to '' Hervarar saga'', a Swedish king and the son of Erik Björnsson, and Björn ruled together in diarch ...

, according to Hervarar saga. He is called ''Uppsale'' because he stayed at Old Upsala, the era's religious centre. He and Björn are sometimes identified with similarly-named kings mentioned in

Rimbert Saint Rimbert (or Rembert) (''c.'' 830 - 11 June 888 in Bremen) was archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen, in the northern part of the Kingdom of East Frankia from 865 until his death in 888. He most famously wrote the hagiography about the life Ansgar, th ...

Vita Ansgari The ''Vita Ansgarii'', also known as the ''Vita Anskarii'', is the hagiography of saint Ansgar, written by Rimbert, his successor as archbishop in the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen. The ''Vita'' is an important source not only in detailing Ansgar ...

and by

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 ...

Norse tradition

The Hervarar saga recounts that Anund and his brother Björn succeeded king Erik Refilsson, their cousin. This happened about two generations before the reign of

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair no, Harald hårfagre Modern Icelandic: ( – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from 872 to 930 and was the first King of Nor ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

(c. 872-930). The two brothers shared the realm, so that Anund resided in Uppsala while Björn made his residence at Haugi ("the Barrow"). His son Erik succeeded him on the Swedish throne. A Norwegian document from the early 14th century provides a few additional details. A certain Herjulf Horn-breaker was the standard-bearer of King

Halfdan the Black Halfdan the Black (Old Norse: ''Halfdanr Svarti''; fl. c. 9th century) was a king of Vestfold. He belonged to the House of Yngling and was the father of Harald Fairhair, the first king of a unified Norway. In sagas According to ''Heimskringla'' ...

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered th ...

in Norway, the father of Harald Fairhair. However, Herjulf fell out with his lord and escaped to Sweden where he was well received by King Anund. After a while he evoked the wrath of his new master as well, since he slept with Anund's kinswoman Helga. Once again, he was forced to flee, bringing Helga with him. The couple eventually settled in the then uninhabited

Härjedalen Härjedalen (; no, Herjådalen or ) is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province (''landskap'') in the centre of Sweden. It borders the Norway, Norwegian county of Trøndelag as well as the provinces of Dalarna, Hälsingland, Medelpad, and Jä ...

. The document enumerates their descendants for 15 generations. This account is at least partly a construction, since Herjulf Horn-breaker is otherwise known as a pioneer settler in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

The ''Vita Ansgari''

The ''Vita Ansgari'' from c. 870 relates that a Swedish king called Anund was driven away from his country. The reason is unknown, but might have to do with rivalry between royal kinsmen. However, the ''Vita'' does not say how Anund was related to the other kings mentioned in the text ( Erik,

Björn Bjorn (English, Dutch), Björn (Swedish, Icelandic, Dutch, and German), Bjørn (Danish, Faroese and Norwegian), Beorn (Old English) or, rarely, Bjôrn, Biorn, or Latinized Biornus, Brum (Portuguese), is a Scandinavian male given name, or less oft ...

, Olof). Anund stayed in exile in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

but was keen to regain his kingdom. He therefore approached the

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

and promised them the spoils of plunder from the important commercial center

Birka Birka (''Birca'' in medieval sources), on the island of Björkö (lit. "Birch Island") in present-day Sweden, was an important Viking Age trading center which handled goods from Scandinavia as well as many parts of the European continent and ...

. The Danish king at the time was

Horik I Horik I or Hårik (died 854) was a king of the Danes. He was co-ruler from 813, and sole king from c. 828 until his violent death in 854. His long and eventful reign was marked by Danish raids on the Carolingian Empire of Louis the Pious, son an ...

who had spent time in exile in Sweden in c. 812-813 and therefore might have had a special relationship with members of the Swedish royal clan. Sometime in the 840s, Anund thus invaded Sweden with a large Danish host of 21

longship Longships were a type of specialised Scandinavian warships that have a long history in Scandinavia, with their existence being archaeologically proven and documented from at least the fourth century BC. Originally invented and used by the Nors ...

s and 11 of his own, unexpectedly approaching Birka. At the time, the Swedish king (Björn at Haugi?) was far away, and the chiefs and popular levies had no time to gather. Only the Christian chief of the port, Hergeir, was there together with the merchants and townsmen. They sought refuge in the nearby fortification. Being too few to defend themselves successfully, the inhabitants sent envoys to Anund and offered their friendship and alliance. Anund demanded one hundred marks of silver, which was granted. The Danes felt tricked, since "every merchant owned more than they had been offered" and wanted to make a surprise attack on

in order to burn and plunder it. According to the ''Vita'', Hergeir made the townsfolk turn away from the pagan gods and make promises to Christ the Lord in order to be saved. In the meanwhile Anund tried to avert the self-willed plans of his Viking allies. He asked them to draw lots about whether it was the will of the Aesir that Birka should be destroyed, meaning that they were probably casting runes. The outcome was that there was no possibility to carry out the plan with any success, so that an attempt on Birka would bring bad luck to the Danes. They then asked where to go for plunder and the answer was to go to a certain Slavic town. The Danes accordingly left Birka, sailed over to the other town and seized it in a surprise attack. They then returned to Denmark with rich booty. As for Anund, he made peace with the Swedes and returned the ransom money to the townspeople. He then stayed in Sweden for some time since he sought reconciliation with his people.

References

{{authority control Semi-legendary kings of Sweden 9th-century rulers in Europe House of Munsö 9th-century Swedish people

Norse tradition

The ''Vita Ansgari''

See also

References