pirate
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
. The story of Awilda is doubted by some historical scholars and considered to be a legend.
Legend
Awilda was the daughter of a 5th-century
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
n king;Samuel Astley Durham, ''History of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, Volume 3, The cabinet cyclopaedia,'' p. 317 (Longman, Orme, Brown, Green & Longmans and John Taylor, 1840). Found a Google books Retrieved September 16, 2010. Found a Google books Retrieved September 16, 2010. referred to in one source as Synardus and a "
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
king". It is said that the King, her father, had arranged a marriage for her to Alf, the
crown prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...
of
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
...
, whose father was King Sygarus of Denmark. However, Awilda refused her father's choice. She and some of her female friends dressed like sailors and commandeered a ship. While sailing, they came across a pirate ship that had recently lost its captain, and the pirates elected Awilda as their captain. The King of Denmark sent his son and a navy ship to battle with the "irksome" pirates. Prince Alf and his men were able to board their ship and gain the upper hand in the battle. Apparently, Awilda was so impressed with the prince's courage that she revealed her true identity, and agreed to marry Alf. They married on board, and lived happily ever after as King and Queen of Denmark.
Modern versions
Italian poet
Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso ( , also , ; 11 March 154425 April 1595) was an Italian poet of the 16th century, known for his 1591 poem ''Gerusalemme liberata'' (Jerusalem Delivered), in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between ...
writes his most famous tragedy on her story, called
Re Torrismondo
Re or RE may refer to:
Geography
* Re, Norway, a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway
* Re, Vestland, a village in Gloppen municipality, Vestland county, Norway
* Re, Piedmont, an Italian municipality
* Île de Ré, an island off the w ...
, where Alwida is promised in marriage to the king of Sweden, Germondo, but falls in love with Torrismondo, so she decides to commit suicide in order not to choose between love and honor.
See also
*
Alf and Alfhild
According to the ''Gesta Danorum'', Alfhild, daughter of the Geatish king Siward, was a shieldmaiden who had her own fleet of longships with crews of young female pirates and raided along the coasts of the Baltic Sea.
As a young princess, Alfhi ...