Halfdan the Valiant (''Hálfdan snjalli'') (7th century?) was a

legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

ary

Scanian The term Scanian (, or ) can refer to: * A person born or living in the province of Scania proper (Skåne) * The people and language of the historical provinces of Scania (Terrae Scaniae, Skånelandene (Danish), Skåneland (Swedish) * Scanian dia ...

prince, who was the father of

Ivar Vidfamne Ivar Vidfamne (or ''Ívarr inn víðfaðmi''; English exonym ''Ivar Widefathom''; Danish ''Ivar Vidfadme'' – in Norwegian and Danish the form ''Ivar Vidfavne'' is sometimes used as an alternative form) was a semi-legendary king of Sweden, who or ...

according to '' Hervarar saga'', the ''

Ynglinga saga ''Ynglinga saga'' ( ) is a Kings' saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It is the first section of his ''Heimskringla''. It was first translated into English and published in 1844 ...

'', '' Njal's Saga'' and '' Hversu Noregr byggdist''. The genealogical work ''Hversu Noregr byggdist'' gives his father as

Harald the Old Harald Valdarsson, also known as Harald the Old ( on, Harald hinn Gamli, born circa 568) appears only by name in ''Hversu Noregr byggðist'', but his father, sons and descendants played a central role in the politics of Scandinavian legends. ''Hve ...

, his grandfather as

Valdar Valdar was the name of several legendary Danish kings. The '' Hervarar saga'' tells the tale of a Valdar who was viceroy of Denmark under Ivar Vidfamne and he was the father of Randver and of Harald Wartooth (half siblings and fathers found were ...

and his great-grandfather as Hróarr (i.e. the

Hroðgar Hrothgar ( ang, Hrōðgār ; on, Hróarr) was a semi-legendary Danish king living around the early sixth century AD. Hrothgar appears in the Anglo-Saxon epics ''Beowulf'' and ''Widsith'', in Norse sagas and poems, and in medieval Danish chroni ...

of ''

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 ...

'').

''Ynglinga saga''

''Ynglingasaga'', authored 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 ...

in c. 1230, relates that the Swedish king

Ingjald Ingjald illråde or Ingjaldr hinn illráði (''Ingold Illruler'' or ''Illready'') was a semi-legendary Swedish king of the House of Ynglings, son and successor of King Anund, and the father and predecessor of King Olof Trätälja. As with many ...

Ill-ruler married his daughter Åsa to king Guðröðr of Scania. Åsa was her father's daughter and made Guðröðr murder his own brother Halfdan, the father of

. As it seems, Ivar had to flee Scania after his father's death. Later, she was the cause behind Guðröðr's death as well, and was forced to escape back to her father. People afterwards called her Åsa Ill-ruler similar to her father Ingjald. Now Ivar Vidfamne hastily returned to Scania. He mustered a large army and approached Ingjald and his daughter at a place in Svithiod called Ræning. Seeing themselves unable to fight the Scanians, the two committed suicide by burning themselves to death inside the hall. Ivar then subjugated large parts of the Baltic region.

''Hervarar saga''

Whereas ''Ynglinga saga'' does not inform about Halfdan's mother, ''Hervarar saga'' provides the information that she was called Hild, the daughter of the

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 Heiðrekr Ulfhamr, the son of

Angantyr Angantyr was the name of three male characters from the same line in Norse mythology, and who appear in '' Hervarar saga'', ''Gesta Danorum'', and Faroese ballads. The last generation named Angantyr also appears to be mentioned as ''Incgentheo ...

who defeated the Huns. However, another source, ''Hversu Noregr byggdist'', gives the name of Halfdan's mother, spouse of Harald the Old, as Hervor, daughter of Heiðrekr. ''Hervarar saga'' then tells that Halfdan had the son Ivar Vidfamne, who attacked Ingjald Ill-ruler, which led to Ingjald's suicide by burning down his own hall at Ræning together with all his retinue. After this, Ivar Vidfamne conquered Sweden.

Other sources

Two other Icelandic 13th-century sources give Halfdan the Valiant an

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

connection. One of the sagas of

Olaf Tryggvason Olaf Tryggvason (960s – 9 September 1000) was King of Norway from 995 to 1000. He was the son of Tryggvi Olafsson, king of Viken (Vingulmark, and Rånrike), and, according to later sagas, the great-grandson of Harald Fairhair, first King of N ...

says that he was married to Moald Digra, the aunt of a certain Kinrik (Cynric) whose son Olaf became tributary ruler in

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

under Halfdan's great-great-grandson

Sigurd Ring 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 ...

. ''Sögubrot'', a fragmentary saga of some legendary Swedish and Danish kings, mentions that Halfdan was the overlord of

, as were his descendants Ivar Vidfamne and

Harald Wartooth Harald Wartooth or ''Harold Hiltertooth'' (Old Norse: Haraldr hilditǫnn; Modern Swedish and Danish: Harald Hildetand; Modern Norwegian: ''Harald Hildetann''; flourished 8th century) was a legendary king of Denmark who is mentioned in several trad ...

after him. In ''Sögubrot'' Halfdan is compared to "

Balder Baldr (also Balder, Baldur) is a god in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, Baldr (Old Norse: ) is a son of the god Odin and the goddess Frigg, and has numerous brothers, such as Thor and Váli. In wider Germanic mythology, the god was kno ...

among the Aesir, and all the gods wept hen he perished. This is juxtaposed with his warlike and scheming son Ivar who is likened to the

Midgard Serpent In Germanic cosmology, Midgard (an anglicised form of Old Norse ; Old English , Old Saxon , Old High German , and Gothic ''Midjun-gards''; "middle yard", "middle enclosure") is the name for Earth (equivalent in meaning to the Greek term , "inhab ...

.''Sögubrot'', Chapter

/ref>

References

Literature

* Ellehøj, Svend (1965) ''Studier over de ældste norrøne historieskrivning''. Hafniæ: Munksgaard. * Nerman, Birger (1925) ''Det svenska rikets uppkomst''. Stockholm: Generalstabens litografiska anstalt. * ''Saga Ólafs Konúngs Tryggvasonar'', Vol. 1 (1825). Copenhagen: Popp. * Tolkien, Christopher (ed.) (1960) ''The Saga of King Heidrik the Wise''. London: Nelson & Sons. {{DEFAULTSORT:Halfdan The Valiant Legendary Norsemen Scyldings