Rikiwulf ("The rich and powerful wolf" or "The Ruler of the wolves") was probably a member of the legendary Scandinavian
Wulfing
The Wulfings, Wylfings or YlfingsWord initial ''w'' was lost before rounded vowels in Proto-Norse, e.g. ''wulf'' corresponds to ''ulf'', and ''Wulfing''/''Wylfing'' corresponds to ''Ylfing'', because the ''i'' in the second syllable causes an umla ...
dynasty. In the ninth century, he sailed with his Viking warriors down the river
Lys in
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
, and settled inter alia Rikiwulfinga-haim near
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 occ ...
,
Rekkem
Rekkem is a section of the Belgian city of Menen, in the province of West Flanders. Until 1977, it was an independent municipality. It was called ''Retchème'' in Picard. In 1173, the village was still called Rekkem, similar to Reclinghem in Art ...
near Menin, and
Richebourg,
Reclinghem,
Racquinghem and
Erquinghem-Lys in present
Artois
Artois ( ; ; nl, Artesië; English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras (Dutch: ''Atrecht'') ...
, France.
He was possibly related to the Norwegian Viking Hrolf of Heidmark, who was also a
wulfing
The Wulfings, Wylfings or YlfingsWord initial ''w'' was lost before rounded vowels in Proto-Norse, e.g. ''wulf'' corresponds to ''ulf'', and ''Wulfing''/''Wylfing'' corresponds to ''Ylfing'', because the ''i'' in the second syllable causes an umla ...
who had settled in Normandy.
The wulfings were the ruling clan of the ancient Scandinavian Östergötland area.
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 184 ...
traces their origin back to
Odin.
The epithet Rikiwulf was also used for
Sigurd Eysteinsson
Sigurd Eysteinsson, or Sigurd the Mighty (reigned 875–892Ashley, pp. 440–441), was the second Earl of Orkney—a title bequeathed to Sigurd by his brother Rognvald Eysteinsson. A son of Eystein Glumra, Sigurd was a leader in the Viking co ...
of
Orkney (846-92), who was nicknamed Riki
Ylfing
The Wulfings, Wylfings or YlfingsWord initial ''w'' was lost before rounded vowels in Proto-Norse, e.g. ''wulf'' corresponds to ''ulf'', and ''Wulfing''/''Wylfing'' corresponds to ''Ylfing'', because the ''i'' in the second syllable causes an umla ...
.
It is said that the famous Viking warrior
Beowulf may likely have been from what was the Östergötland region (Sweden).
Dr. Sam Newton, and Historians Boydell & Brewer proposed that the “Beowulf Saga” itself was composed in ancient Scandinavian Ostergland, inside the Wulfing Court.
References
External links
*{{cite web, url=http://www.heorot.dk/beo-intro-rede.html, title=Beowulf on Steorarume
eowulf in Cyberspace Bilingual Edition (OE text & translation), website=heorot.dk, author=Benjamin Slade, accessdate=2017-12-10
9th-century Norwegian people