![KingCanute and EarlUlf](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/KingCanute_and_EarlUlf.jpg)
Ulf Thorgilsson, commonly known as Ulf Jarl, was a
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 ...
jarl
Jarl is a rank of the nobility in Scandinavia. In Old Norse, it meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. ''Jarl'' could also mean a sovereign prince. For example, the rulers of several of the petty k ...
of
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 C ...
and regent 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
...
. Ulf was the son of
Thorgil Sprakling Thorgils Sprakalegg (also called Thorgil, Torkel, Torgils, Thrugils or Sprakalägg) was a Danish nobleman whose children were active in the politics of Denmark and England in the early 11th century and who was grandfather of kings of both nations. L ...
and the father of King
Sweyn II of Denmark
Sweyn Estridsson Ulfsson ( on, Sveinn Ástríðarson, da, Svend Estridsen; – 28 April 1076) was King of Denmark (being Sweyn II) from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, and the grandson ...
and thus the progenitor of the
House of Estridsen
The House of Estridsen was a dynasty that provided the kings of Denmark from 1047 to 1412. The dynasty is named after its ancestor Estrid Svendsdatter. The dynasty is sometimes called the ''Ulfinger'', after Estrid's husband, Ulf Jarl. The dyna ...
, which would rule Denmark from 1047 to 1375, which was also sometimes, specially in Swedish sources, referred to as the Ulfinger dynasty to honor him.
Biography
Ulf Jarl was the son of Danish chieftain
Thorgils Sprakalägg. In the 18th century, Danish historian Jacob Langebek proposed that
Styrbjörn Starke and
Tyra Haraldsdotter
Tyra of Denmark (''Tyri Haraldsdatter'', ''Thyri'' and ''Thyra'') was a 10th-century Danish princess. She was the spouse of both King Olav I of Norway and of Styrbjörn Starke, prince of Sweden.
Tyra was daughter of the Danish king Harald Bl ...
were the parents of
Thorkel Sprakalegg.
[Searle, W. G. (1899]
Anglo-Saxon Bishops, Kings, and Nobles: The Succession of the Bishops and the Pedigrees of the Kings and Nobles
(London: Cambridge University Press. p. 355). Therefore, this would make Ulf Jarl a descendant of
Olof (II) Björnsson
Olov (or Olof) is a Swedish form of Olav/Olaf, meaning "ancestor's descendant". A common short form of the name is ''Olle''. The name may refer to:
*Per-Olov Ahrén (1926–2004), Swedish clergyman, bishop of Lund from 1980 to 1992
*Per-Olov Bra ...
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 ...
and through Tyra a descendant of
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 ...
of the
House of Knýtlinga
The Danish House of Knýtlinga (English: "House of Cnut's Descendants") was a ruling royal house in Middle Age Scandinavia and England. Its most famous king was Cnut the Great, who gave his name to this dynasty. Other notable members were Cnut's ...
. His brother Eilaf was an earl of King
Cnut the Great
Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norwa ...
and his sister
Gytha Thorkelsdóttir
Gytha Thorkelsdóttir ( ang, Gȳða Þorkelsdōttir, 997 – c. 1069), also called Githa, was a Danish noblewoman. She was the wife of Godwin, Earl of Wessex and the mother of King Harold Godwinson and of Edith of Wessex, who was the queen con ...
married
Godwin, Earl of Wessex
Godwin of Wessex ( ang, Godwine; – 15 April 1053) was an English nobleman who became one of the most powerful earls in Kingdom of England, England under the Denmark, Danish king Cnut the Great (King of England from 1016 to 1035) and his succ ...
. In 1016, he participated in
Cnut the Great's invasion of England. He participated in the conquest of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
as one of Cnut's most trusted men. From c. 1024 he was appointed the Jarl of Denmark and King Cnut's appointee as regent of Denmark. In the absence of King Cnut, he ruled as the foster-father and guardian of Cnut's son
Harthacnut
Harthacnut ( da, Hardeknud; "Tough-knot"; – 8 June 1042), traditionally Hardicanute, sometimes referred to as Canute III, was King of Denmark from 1035 to 1042 and King of the English from 1040 to 1042.
Harthacnut was the son of King ...
.
In 1015–16, he married Cnut's sister,
Estrid Svendsdatter Estrid Svendsdatter of Denmark (''Estrith'', ''Astrith'': 990/997 – 1057/1073), was a Danish princess and titular queen, a Russian princess and, possibly, duchess of Normandy by marriage. She was the daughter of Sweyn Forkbeard and perhaps Gunhil ...
of Denmark, by whom he had sons,
Svein Svein is a Norwegian masculine given name which may refer to:
Rulers
* Sweyn Haakonsson (died c. 1016), in Norwegian Svein Håkonsson, an earl and co-ruler of Norway from 1000 to c. 1015
* Svein Knutsson
Svein Knutsson (Old Norse: ''Sveinn Knút ...
, who later became the king of Denmark, and
Beorn
Beorn is a fictional character created by J. R. R. Tolkien, and part of his Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in ''The Hobbit'' as a " skin-changer", a man who could assume the form of a great black bear. His descendants or kinsmen, a group o ...
(Bjørn), who would become an Earl in England. Chronicler
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 ...
also gives Ulf a son, Åsbjørn, but does not explicitly name him as son of Estrith, as he does with Svein and Beorn. There may have also been a daughter - ''Harald Hardrådes saga'', part of ''
Heimskringla
''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derived ...
'' by
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...
gives an account of Åsmund, son of Svein's sister, yet he is likely the same Åsmund named as son of Beorn in ''
Morkinskinna
''Morkinskinna'' is an Old Norse kings' saga, relating the history of Norwegian kings from approximately 1025 to 1157. The saga was written in Iceland around 1220, and has been preserved in a manuscript from around 1275.
The name ''Morkinskinna' ...
''.
[P. A. Munch (1855), ''Det Norske Folks Historie'', vol. 5, no. 5, p. 287]
In 1026, Swedish King
Anund Jakob
Anund Jacob or James, Swedish: ''Anund Jakob'' was King of Sweden from 1022 until around 1050. He is believed to have been born on July 25, in either 1008 or 1010 as ''Jakob'', the son of King Olof Skötkonung and Queen Estrid. Being the second Ch ...
and Norwegian King
Olaf II took advantage of King Cnut's absence and launched an attack on the Danish in the Baltic Sea. Ulf convinced the freemen to elect
Harthacnut
Harthacnut ( da, Hardeknud; "Tough-knot"; – 8 June 1042), traditionally Hardicanute, sometimes referred to as Canute III, was King of Denmark from 1035 to 1042 and King of the English from 1040 to 1042.
Harthacnut was the son of King ...
king, since they were discontented at Cnut's absenteeism. This was a ruse on Ulf's part since his role as Harthacnut's guardian would make him the ruler of Denmark. When Cnut learnt what had happened, he returned to Denmark and fought naval engagement against the Swedish and Norwegian forces at the
Battle of the Helgeå
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
. The victory left Cnut as the dominant leader in Scandinavia.
The ''
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alf ...
'', which instead places the battle a year earlier in 1025, names the leaders of the Swedes as Ulf and Eglaf, usually identified with Ulf Jarl and his brother Eilaf. Saxo likewise would have Ulf fighting Cnut at Helgeå. However ''
Saga of Olaf the Holy'' in the ''
Heimskringla
''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derived ...
'' gives an account in which while Cnut lost the land battle, he was the overall victor when Ulf helped him win the accompanying sea battle. One possible explanation for this conflict of sources is that Ulf fought with the Swedes against Cnut in a 1025 battle not recounted by the saga because Olaf did not take part, but Ulf switched sides before the battle at Helgeå.
If Eilaf fought against Cnut, he was forgiven as he was retained as Earl in England until Cnut's death, and then fled, suggesting he was closely linked to the king. Any rapprochement with Ulf was short-lived. At a banquet in
Roskilde
Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...
, the two brothers-in-law were playing
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
and started arguing with each other. The next day, the
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
of 1026, Cnut had one of his
housecarl
A housecarl ( on, húskarl; oe, huscarl) was a non-servile manservant or household bodyguard in medieval Northern Europe.
The institution originated amongst the Norsemen of Scandinavia, and was brought to Anglo-Saxon England by the Danish conq ...
s kill Earl Ulf in , the predecessor of
Roskilde Cathedral
Roskilde Cathedral ( da, Roskilde Domkirke), in the city of Roskilde on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark, is a cathedral of the Lutheranism, Lutheran Church of Denmark.
The cathedral is the most importan ...
.
Havhingsten fra Glendalough: The battle of the throne of England
/ref>
References
Other sources
*Lawson, M. K. (1995) ''Cnut: The Danes in England in the Early Eleventh Century'' (Addison-Wesley Longman Ltd)
Related reading
*Lawson, M. K. (2004) ''Cnut – England's Viking King'' (Tempus)
*Hollander, Lee M., translator (1991) ''Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway'' (University of Texas Press)
*Trow, M. J. (2005) ''Cnut – Emperor of the North'' (Sutton Publishing Ltd)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulf the Earl
House of Estridsen
1026 deaths
Year of birth missing
11th-century Danish people
10th-century Danish people
Medieval Danish nobility
Swedish jarls