Ongentheow (Old English: ''Ongenþeow'', ''Ongenþio'', ''Ongendþeow''; Old Norse: ''Angantýr'') (died ca. 515) was the name of a semi-legendary

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

king of the house of Scylfings, who appears in Old English sources. He is generally identified with the Swedish king Egil Vendelcrow mentioned in ''

Ynglingatal ''Ynglingatal'' or ''Ynglinga tal'' (Old Norse: 'Enumeration of the Ynglingar') is a Skaldic poem cited by Snorri Sturluson in the ''Ynglinga saga'', the first saga of Snorri's ''Heimskringla''. Þjóðólfr of Hvinir (Thjodolf), who was a poe ...

'', ''

Historia Norwegiae Historia may refer to: * Historia, the local version of the History channel in Spain and Portugal * Historia (TV channel), a Canadian French language specialty channel * Historia (newspaper), a French monthly newspaper devoted to History topics * ...

'' and in ''

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 ...

''. The reason why they are thought to have been the same is that each has the same position in the line of Swedish kings and is described as the father of

Ohthere Ohthere (also ''Ohtere''), Old Norse ''Óttarr vendilkráka'' (''Vendelcrow''; in Modern Swedish ''Ottar Vendelkråka'') was a semi-legendary king of Sweden of the house of Scylfings, who is said to have lived during the Germanic Heroic Age, pos ...

and grandfather of

Eadgils Eadgils, ''Adils'', ''Aðils'', ''Adillus'', ''Aðísl at Uppsölum'', ''Athisl'', ''Athislus'' or ''Adhel'' was a semi-legendary king of Sweden, who is estimated to have lived during the 6th century. ''Beowulf'' and Old Norse sources present h ...

. The name Ongentheow contains as its second element '' þeōw'' "servant, slave". The first appears to be ''ongēan'' "against, opposite".

Old English sources

''Beowulf''

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 settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

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 ...

'', Ongentheow is described as a fearsome warrior, and it took two Geatish warriors

Eofor Eofor (Proto-Norse *''Eburaz''), son of Wonred, was a Geatish warrior in ''Beowulf''. When the Swedes invaded Geatland (Götaland), the Geatish king Hæþcyn was killed by the Swedish king Ongenþeow. Hygelac, who became the new king, sent Eofo ...

and

Wulf Wonreding ''Wulf'' (Common Germanic "wolf") was one of the most prolific elements in early Germanic names. It could figure as the first element in dithematic names, as in ''Wulfstan (disambiguation), Wulfstan'', but especially as second element, in the fo ...

to take him down. The epic tells that 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 ...

s under their new king

Hæþcyn Hæthcyn ( ang, Hæþcyn) is the son of the Geatish king Hreðel in the Old English poem ''Beowulf''. The hero Beowulf is Hæþcyn's nephew. Hæþcyn kills his elder brother Herebeald with an arrow in a hunting accident, which causes their father ...

captured the Swedish queen, but old king Ongenþeow saved her, at a

hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

called

Hrefnesholt {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 Hrefnesholt is a location in ''Beowulf'' where the Geatish king Hæþcyn had taken the Swedish queen. The Swedish king Ongenþeow arrived to save her and killed Hæþcyn. The Geatish force was, however, reinforced ...

, although they lost her gold. Ongenþeow killed Hæþcyn, and besieged the

Geats 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 ...

at Hrefnesholt. The Geats were, however, rescued by

Hygelac Hygelac ( ang, Hygelāc; non, Hugleikr; gem-x-proto, Hugilaikaz; la, Ch(l)ochilaicus or ''Hugilaicus''; died 521) was a king of the Geats according to the poem ''Beowulf''. It is Hygelac's presence in the poem which has allowed scholars to ...

, Hæþcyn's brother, who arrived the next day with reinforcements. Having lost the battle, but rescued his queen, Ongenþeow and his warriors returned home. However, the war was not over. Hygelac, the new king of the Geats, attacked the Swedes. The Geatish warriors Eofor and Wulf fought together against the hoary king Ongenþeow. Wulf hit Ongentheow's head with his sword so that the old king bled over his hair, but the king hit back and wounded Wulf. Then, Eofor retaliated by cutting through the Swedish king's shield and through his helmet, giving Ongentheow a death-blow. Eofor took the Swedish king's helmet, sword and mail and carried them to Hygelac. When they came home, Eofor and Wulf were richly rewarded, and Eofor was given Hygelac's daughter. Because of this battle, Hygelac is referred to as Ongentheow's slayer.

''Widsith''

Ongentheow is also mentioned in passing by the earlier poem ''

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 ...

'' as the king of Sweden:

Egil

Ongentheow's alleged tumulus 2009 Old Upsala

Ari Þorgilsson Ari Þorgilsson (1067–1148 AD; Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; also anglicized Ari Thorgilsson) was Iceland's most prominent medieval chronicler. He was the author of ''Íslendingabók'', which details the histories of the various familie ...

's ''

Íslendingabók ''Íslendingabók'' (, Old Norse pronunciation: , ''Book of Icelanders''; ) is a historical work dealing with early Icelandic history. The author was an Icelandic priest, Ari Þorgilsson, working in the early 12th century. The work originally ex ...

'' and in ''

'', he was called Egil Vendelcrow (''Vendilcraca''/''Vendilkráka'', a name traditionally given to those living at the royal estate of

Vendel Vendel is a village at Tierp Municipality in Uppland, Sweden. The village overlooks Vendelsjön, a long inland stretch of water near the Vendel river which has its confluence with the river Fyris. Vendel was the site of an ancient royal estate, ...

in Sweden).

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 ...

, however, gave the name Vendelcrow to Egil's son Ottar (

). In these sources, Egil was the son of

Aun Aun the Old (Old Norse ''Aunn inn gamli'', Latinized ''Auchun'', Proto-Norse ''*Audawiniʀ'': English: "Edwin the Old") is a mythical Swedish king of the House of Yngling in the ''Heimskringla''. Aun was the son of Jorund, and had ten sons, nin ...

the Old, and like him, not very warlike. After he had made the

thrall A thrall ( non, þræll, is, þræll, fo, trælur, no, trell, træl, da, træl, sv, träl) was a slave or serf in Scandinavian lands during the Viking Age. The corresponding term in Old English was . The status of slave (, ) contrasts with ...

Tunni (or ''Tonne'') responsible for the

treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or in p ...

, Tunni rebelled against Egil. They fought eight battles after which Egil fled to Denmark, according to the ''Ynglinga saga'' (''Ynglingatal'' does not mention where he fled and ''Historia Norwegiae'' does not mention any escape at all). Snorri wrote that

Fróði Fróði ( non, Frōði; ang, Frōda; Middle High German: ''Vruote'') is the name of a number of legendary Danish kings in various texts including ''Beowulf'', Snorri Sturluson's ''Prose Edda'' and his ''Ynglinga saga'', Saxo Grammaticus' ''Gesta ...

, 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 a ...

king, aided Egil in defeating Tunni, and made Egil a tributary to the Danish king. Egil was killed by a bull during the sacrifices at

Gamla Uppsala Gamla, alt. sp. Gamala ( he, גַּמְלָא, The Camel) was an ancient Jewish city on the Golan Heights. It is believed to have been founded as a Seleucid fort during the Syrian Wars which was turned into a city under Hasmonean rule in 81 ...

. :Translation: ‘And the famous descendant of Týr

Swedish king This is a list of Swedish kings, queens, regents and viceroys of the Kalmar Union. History The earliest record of what is generally considered to be a Swedish king appears in Tacitus' work ''Germania'', c. 100 AD (the king of the Suiones). Howe ...

fled the country before the power of Tunni. And the roamer, the draught-animal of the giant ULL which before had long borne the cairn of the brows EADabout the eastern forest, reddened its weapon of the bull

ORN Orn or ORN may refer to: *Orn (name), a given name and surname * ''Orn'', the second book in Piers Anthony's trilogy Of Man and Manta * Offshoring Research Network, an international network researching the offshoring of business processes and ser ...

upon Egill. And the sheathless sword of the bull

stuck in the heart of the descendant of the Skilfingar

’ The ''

Historia Norwegiæ ''Historia Norwegiæ'' is a short history of Norway written in Latin by an anonymous monk. The only extant manuscript is in the private possession of the Earl of Dalhousie, and is now kept in the National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh. The manu ...

'' presents a Latin summary of ''Ynglingatal'', older than Snorri's quotation: The even earlier source ''

'' also cites the line of descent in ''Ynglingatal'' and it also gives Egil as the successor of Aunn and the predecessor of Óttarr: ''xvi Aun inn gamli. xvii Egill Vendilkráka. xviii Óttarr''.

Interpretation

The argument for connection between Ongenþeow and Egil being the same figure are as follows. It is important, though, to note that this is an interpretation of the facts and not definite proof of a connection. The two versions seem contradictory, but it has been shown that the two stories may very well describe the same event (Schück H. 1907, Nerman B. 1925), and that ''Ynglingatal'' was probably misinterpreted by Snorri due to a different dialectal meaning of the word ''farra''. In Ynglingatal, it says If there is any authenticity behind the traditions, the origin of Ynglingatal was most probably a Swedish poem which has not survived (see also Sundquist 2004). In Old Swedish, ''farra'' did not mean "bull" but it meant "

boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is no ...

" (cf. English ''farrow'' meaning "young pig"). Moreover, in

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 ...

''Trjóna'' normally meant a pig's snout (modern Scandinavian ''tryne''). ''Flæmingr'' meant "sword" (originally a Flemish sword imported by Vikings). Moreover, the ''sword of the snout'' can hardly refer to the horns of a bull, but it is more natural to interpret it as the tusks of a boar. In English, the lines can be translated as ''but the giant beast coloured its tusk red on Egil''. In

, the name ''eofor'' meant "boar" and consequently Ynglingatal could very well relate of Eofor (the boar) killing Egil with kennings for boars. These kennings, sung originally by Swedes, were later misinterpreted by Norwegians and Icelanders as literal expressions due to the different dialectal meanings of ''farra''. Moreover, according to Schück, the name ''Tunni'' which has no meaning in Old Norse should 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 ...

have been *''Tunþa'' and derived from *''Tunþuz''. Consequently, it would have been the same word as 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 ...

''Tunþus'' which meant "tooth". This would mean that the name of Egil's enemy, actually meant "tooth" and Tunni and the bull/boar would consequently have been the same enemy, i.e. Eofor. Some scholars have suggested that the name Ongentheow is connected to the Danish king

Ongendus Ongendus (perhaps Angantyr in Danish) was a king of the Danes, reigning c. 710, the first Danish king known from contemporary literature. Historical background He was presumably king of a stronger and more unified Denmark that rose at the en ...

, (''fl.'' ''c.'' 700) who appears in one sentence of

Alcuin Alcuin of York (; la, Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus; 735 – 19 May 804) – also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin – was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student o ...

's life of

Willibrord Willibrord (; 658 – 7 November AD 739) was an Anglo-Saxon missionary and saint, known as the "Apostle to the Frisians" in the modern Netherlands. He became the first bishop of Utrecht and died at Echternach, Luxembourg. Early life His fathe ...

.C.H. Talbot (1954)
Translation of Alcuin's ''Life of Willibrord''
/ref>

Notes

Primary sources

(part of 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 ...

) *

Secondary sources

* Nerman, B. ''Det svenska rikets uppkomst''. Stockholm, 1925. * Sundquist, O. "Freyr"s offspring. Rulers and religion in ancient Svea society". (2004) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ongeneow 6th-century monarchs in Europe 515 deaths Characters in Beowulf English heroic legends People whose existence is disputed Semi-legendary kings of Sweden Year of birth unknown