The Wulfings, Wylfings or YlfingsWord initial ''w'' was lost before rounded vowels in

Proto-Norse Proto-Norse (also called Ancient Nordic, Ancient Scandinavian, Ancient Norse, Primitive Norse, Proto-Nordic, Proto-Scandinavian and Proto-North Germanic) was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved as a ...

, e.g. ''wulf'' corresponds to ''ulf'', and ''Wulfing''/''Wylfing'' corresponds to ''Ylfing'', because the ''i'' in the second syllable causes an umlaut in the first syllable ''u''->''y''. (the name means the "wolf clan") was a powerful

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

in ''

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 ...

'', ''

Widsith "Widsith" ( ang, Wīdsīþ, "far-traveller", lit. "wide-journey"), also known as "The Traveller's Song", is an Old English poem of 143 lines. It survives only in the ''Exeter Book'', a manuscript of Old English poetry compiled in the late-10th c ...

'' and in the Norse

saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...

s. While the poet of ''Beowulf'' does not locate the Wulfings geographically, Scandinavian sources define the Ylfings (the

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 ...

form of the name) as the ruling clan of the Eastern Geats. The Wulfings play an important role in ''

'' as

's father

Ecgþeow Ecgþēow (pronounced ), Edgetho (Proto-Norse *''Agiþewaz''), or Ecgtheow is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic ''Beowulf''. He is not mentioned outside the ''Bēowulf'' manuscript, and it is not known whether he was based on a real person. He ...

of the

Wægmunding The Wægmundings were a prominent probably Swedish clan (an ''ätt'', see Norse clans) in ''Beowulf''. A name such as ''Wægmunding'' meant "belongs to Wægmund", i.e. they were the descendants of a man named Wægmund. This was the normal way of n ...

clan had slain one of its members, and was banished for not paying the weregild. The Danish king Hroðgar, who was married to

Wealhþeow Wealhtheow (also rendered Wealhþēow or Wealthow; ang, Ƿealhþēoƿ ) is a queen of the Danes in the Old English poem, ''Beowulf'', first introduced in line 612. Character overview Wealhtheow is of the Wulfing clan, Queen of the Danes. She is m ...

, a Wulfing woman, graciously paid the weregild, and when Beowulf arrived at 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 ance ...

court in order to slay

Grendel Grendel is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem '' Beowulf'' (700–1000). He is one of the poem's three antagonists (along with his mother and the dragon), all aligned in opposition against the protagonist Beowulf. Grendel is feared by a ...

, Hroðgar interpreted this as a son's gratitude. In

sources, the clan figure prominently in the '' Heimskringla'' and in '' Sögubrot'', where Hjörvard and his son Hjörmund belong to it. It is also mentioned in the '' Lay of Hyndla'' and in '' Skáldskaparmál'' where Eiríkr the Wise was one of its members. However, its most famous member was Helgi Hundingsbane who had two poems of his own (''Helgakviða Hundingsbana I'' and ''Helgakviða Hundingsbana II''), in the '' Poetic Edda'', and whose story is also retold in the ''

Völsunga saga The ''Völsunga saga'' (often referred to in English as the ''Volsunga Saga'' or ''Saga of the Völsungs'') is a legendary saga, a late 13th-century poetic rendition in Old Norse of the origin and decline of the Völsung clan (including the stor ...

''.

Sam Newton Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

and others (including Rupert Bruce-Mitford), have proposed that the

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

Wuffing The Wuffingas, Uffingas or Wiffings were the ruling dynasty of East Anglia, the long-lived Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. The Wuffingas took their name from Wuffa, an early East Anglian k ...

dynasty was derived from the Wulfings, and it was at their court that ''

'' was first composed.

Location

According to the Norse sagas, the Wulfings ruled the

Geat The Geats ( ; ang, gēatas ; non, gautar ; sv, götar ), sometimes called ''Goths'', were a large North Germanic tribe who inhabited ("land of the Geats") in modern southern Sweden from antiquity until the late Middle Ages. They are one of th ...

ish

petty kingdom A petty kingdom is a monarchy, kingdom described as minor or "petty" (from the French 'petit' meaning small) by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it (e.g. the Heptarchy#List of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, numerou ...

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

. In the first poem (''Helgakviða Hundingsbana I''), Sinfjötli has his residence on the

Brávellir Brávellir (Old Norse) or Bråvalla (modern Swedish) () was the name of the central plain of Östergötland (East Götaland), in Norse mythology. It appears in several traditions, such as those of the Battle of Bråvalla (Battle of the Bravellir) ...

(see Battle of the Brávellir). Stanza 42: Helgi Hundingsbane resides at Hringstaðir (probably modern Ringstad, an old royal estate on the same plain). In the Heimskringla, Högni was the ruler of Östergötland. The legends of Helge Hundingsbane relate that Högni lost his throne to Helgi Hundingsbane. On the other hand, '' Sögubrot'' relates that Ivar Vidfamne gave the East Geatish throne to Hjörmund, the son of Hjörvard, after Ingjald's death since it had been the kingdom of Hjörmund's father Hjörvard. :''Hann setti konunga ok jarla ok lét ser skatta gjalda; han setti Hjörmund konung, on Hervardar Ylfings, yfir Eystra-Gautland, er átt hafði faðir hans ok Granmarr konungr''. However, this contradicts both the legend of Helge Hundingsbane and the ''Heimskringla'' in which the dynasty never lost Östergötland, unless Ivar killed either Högne or Helgi Hundingsbane before giving the throne to their relative Hjörmund.

Known Wulfings

* Ylfur or Úlfur (''Possible ancestor of the clan''), based on clans being named after an ancestor. *Helm Wulfingum ("Helm of the Wulfings"), mentioned in ''

''. * Heaðolaf (''Beowulf'') * Helgi Hundingsbane (''

Edda "Edda" (; Old Norse ''Edda'', plural ''Eddur'') is an Old Norse term that has been attributed by modern scholars to the collective of two Medieval Icelandic literary works: what is now known as the ''Prose Edda'' and an older collection of poem ...

'', ''

'' and '' Norna-Gests þáttr'') *

Hjörvard Ylfing Granmar was a king of Södermanland, in Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla. The same king also appears in the Volsunga saga. Granmar was married to Hilda, the daughter of the Geatish king Högne of East Götaland, and his son-in-law was the seakin ...

(e.g. '' Heimskringla'' and '' Sögubrot'') * Hjörmund (e.g. ''Heimskringla'' and ''Sögubrot'') *

Högne ''For other people named Högne, see Haguna.'' Högne was a king of Östergötland who appears in sources of Norse mythology. ''Heimskringla'' Snorri Sturluson wrote that he was the king of Östergötland and that he had a son named Hildur and ...

(e.g. ''Heimskringla'') *Hildur, the son of Högne (e.g. ''Heimskringla'') *

Eric the Wise The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse languag ...

('' Skáldskaparmál'' and the '' Lay of Hyndla'') *

Rikiwulf Rikiwulf ("The rich and powerful wolf" or "The Ruler of the wolves") was probably a member of the legendary Scandinavian Wulfing dynasty. In the ninth century, he sailed with his Viking warriors down the river Lys in Flanders, and settled inter ali ...

("The rich and powerful wolf"), settled in Flanders in 876 near present

Tielt Tielt (; french: Thielt) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Tielt proper and the villages of Aarsele, Kanegem, and Schuiferskapelle. History Some traces of Gallo-Roman occu ...

, where he built Rikiwulfinga-haim. *

, the queen of the Danish king Hroðgar, in ''Beowulf''.

In popular culture

* Wulfing raiders appear as antagonists in '' Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands''.

Footnotes

References

{{Authority control Characters in Beowulf Characters in Norse mythology English heroic legends Geatish clans Norse clans Völsung cycle

Location

Known Wulfings

In popular culture

See also

Footnotes

References