Skoglar Toste or Skoglar Tosti (there are several variations) is a legendary 10th century chieftain from the Swedish province of
West Gothland
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
.
Snorri Sturlusson recounts in ''
Heimskringla'' that he was a great Viking who often waged war and that is why he was called "
Skagul's Tosti". Skagul was a
Valkyrie.
[Davidson, Hilda Roderick Ellis (1988). Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions. Manchester University Press. . p. 96]
Toste is mentioned in several sagas, most notable in ''
Heimskringla''. According to
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 ...
, he was the father of
Sigrid the Haughty. For some time he gave refuge to
Harald Grenske, who later came back to woo Sigrid, only to be killed by her for his persistence. According to the sagas, Skoglar Toste was also the father of
Ulf Tostesson, father of
Ragnvald Ulfsson and grandfather of
Stenkil
Stenkil (Old Norse: ''Steinkell'') was a King of Sweden who ruled c. 1060 until 1066. He succeeded Emund the Old and became the first king from the House of Stenkil. He is praised as a devout Christian, but with an accommodating stance towards th ...
who became the
King of Sweden in 1060.
Toste has been connected to the
U 344 runestone in
Orkesta
Orkesta was a parish with 1103 inhabitants (2003), located in Vallentuna Municipality, Stockholm County in Sweden. The parish is since 2006 a part of Vallentuna parish.
See also
*Orkesta Runestones
The Orkesta Runestones are a set of 11th-centu ...
in
Vallentuna, near
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, which tells of how
Ulf of Borresta three times took
danegeld:
: in ulfr hafiʀ o, , onklati ' þru kialt, , takat þit uas fursta þis tusti ka-t ' þ(a) ---- (þ)urktil ' þa kalt knutr
Translation:
: "And
Ulf of Borresta (''ulfr'') has taken three payments in England. That was the first that Toste (''tusti'') paid. Then
Thorkell the Tall (''Þurktil '') paid. Then
Canute the Great
Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway ...
(''knutr'') paid''.
References
Other sources
*''Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700'' by Frederick Lewis Weis, Lines: 241–5, 243A-20
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skoglar Toste
Viking warriors
Geats
10th-century Swedish people
10th-century Vikings