Hreðric and Hroðmund were the sons of the Danish king

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 ...

and his queen,

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 i ...

, in the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

epic '' Beowulf''. They are only mentioned in passing, and there seems to be some foreshadowing in ''Beowulf'' that their cousin,

Halga Halga, '' Helgi'', ''Helghe'' or ''Helgo'' was a legendary Danish king living in the early 6th century. His name would in his own language (Proto-Norse) have been *''Hailaga'' (dedicated to the gods). Scholars generally agree that he appears in b ...

's son Hroðulf, i.e.

Hrólfr Kraki Hrólfr Kraki (Old Norse: ), ''Hroðulf'', ''Rolfo'', ''Roluo'', ''Rolf Krage'' (early 6th century) was a semi-legendary Danish king who appears in both Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian tradition. Both traditions describe him as a Danish Scylding, ...

, would usurp the throne from them.

Scandinavian tradition

It has been suggested that Hreðric corresponds to Hrörekr/Rørik in Scandinavian tradition.The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes (1907–21). Volume I. From the Beginnings to the Cycles of Romance.
/ref> However, the traditions vary and so Hrörekr is either killed by Hrólfr Kraki or his successor as the ruler of

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

(the Danish heartland). In

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150 – c. 1220), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark ...

's ''

Gesta Danorum ''Gesta Danorum'' ("Deeds of the Danes") is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark an ...

'' (Book 2), Hrólfr Kraki kills a Rørik: "... our king, who laid low Rorik (i.e. Rørik), the son of Bok the covetous, and wrapped the coward in death." ''Rørik'' is the expected

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

form of ''Hreðric'', and personages named ''Rørik'', ''Hrok'' or similar such names can be found in most versions of the Hrólf Kraki tradition. In the ''

Skjöldunga saga The ''Skjöldunga saga'' (or, in another standardised Old Norse spelling, ''Skjǫldunga saga'') was an Old Norse legendary saga. Dating from c. 1180 – 1200, the saga was lost in its original form. The saga focused on the Danish dynasty of Scyl ...

'',

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 ...

disputes Hrörekr's succession of

as the king of the

Daner The Danes were a North Germanic tribe inhabiting southern Scandinavia, including the area now comprising Denmark proper, and the Scanian provinces of modern-day southern Sweden, during the Nordic Iron Age and the Viking Age. They founded what b ...

. After the war, Hrörekr took

, while Valdar took Skåne. If based on the same tradition as ''Hversu Noregr byggdist'', Valdar had the right to claim the throne being the son of the former king Hróarr (

). Even though Hrólfr Kraki was made their guardian, their mother could have easily fled back to her Wuffing kin, as the male line of Hroðgar seemed to live on through Valdar. Valdar also took power in Scane, which makes sense as it is near Östergötland. After Ingjald's death, Sögubrot relates, Ivar Vidfamne gave the East Geatish throne to Hjörmund, the son of Hjörvard, since it had been the kingdom of Hjörmund's father Hjörvard. As Ivar Vidfamne was a great grandson of Hroðgar and his Wuffing wife Wealhþēow, this could be seen as a reward for loyalty as well as kinship with the Wuffings.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hredric and Hrodmund English heroic legends Characters in Beowulf