''Styrbjarnar þáttr Svíakappa'' (''The Tale of Styrbjörn the Swedish Champion'') is a short story, a ''

þáttr The ''þættir'' (Old Norse singular ''þáttr'', literally meaning a "strand" of rope or yarn)O'Donoghue (2004:226). are short stories written mostly in Iceland during the 13th and 14th centuries. The majority of ''þættir'' occur in two compend ...

'' on the Swedish claimant and

Jomsviking The Jomsvikings were purportedly a legendary order of Viking mercenaries or conquerors of the 10th and 11th centuries. Though reputed to be staunchly dedicated to the worship of the Old Norse gods, they would allegedly fight for any lord who ...

Styrbjörn the Strong preserved in the ''

Flatey Book ''Flatey'' may refer to either of two islands in Iceland: *Flatey, Breiðafjörður * Flatey, Skjálfandi See also * ''Flateyjarbók ''Flateyjarbók'' (; "Book of Flatey") is an important medieval Icelandic manuscript. It is also known as GkS ...

'' (GKS 1005 fol 342-344, ca 1387-1395). It is inserted together with '' Hróa þáttr heimska'' in the description of Olaf Haraldsson's wooing of the Swedish princess Ingegerd Olofsdotter. Their purpose appears to be to present the Swedish court, its traditions and

Þorgnýr the Lawspeaker Torgny the Lawspeaker ( Old Icelandic: ''Þorgnýr lögmaðr'' , Swedish: ''Torgny Lagman'') is the name of one of at least three generations of lawspeakers by the name ''Þorgnýr'', who appear in the ''Heimskringla'' by the Icelandic scholar and ...

. In the story, Styrbjörn becomes the leader of the

Jomsvikings The Jomsvikings were purportedly a legendary order of Viking mercenaries or conquerors of the 10th and 11th centuries. Though reputed to be staunchly dedicated to the worship of the Old Norse gods, they would allegedly fight for any lord who ...

and makes war against the Danes, until he makes peace with the Danish king Haraldr Gormsson who in return gave Styrbjörn his daughter and 100 ships. However, Styrbjörn is not happy with the agreement and attacks Denmark with an even larger fleet and forces king Harald to give him 200 ships and the king himself as a hostage. Styrbjörn goes back to Sweden to take the Swedish throne. Styrbjörn has sacrificed to

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...

, but

Eric the Victorious Eric the Victorious (Old Norse: ''Eiríkr inn sigrsæli'', Modern Swedish: ''Erik Segersäll''; c. 945 – c. 995) was a Swedish monarch as of around 970. Although there were earlier Swedish kings, he is the first Swedish king in a consecutive reg ...

has sacrificed to Odin and has promised to belong to Odin within ten years if he wins. When the forces meet,

has created an ingenious war machine by tying horses and cows together with spears and spikes. This war machine wreaks havoc among the Jomsvikings. After three days of battle, Eric throws his spear over the Danes and cries "I give you all to Odin", and a landslide and a rain of ''Odin's arrows'' kill Styrbjörn and his men.

External links

A chapter in Swedish from Verner von Heidenstam's "Svenskarna och deras hövdingar" where he recounts the tale of Styrbjörn''Philology and Fantasy before Tolkien''
by Andrew Wawn (this scholar only knows of two sources for Styrbjörn)
''Cultural Paternity in the Flateyjarbók Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar''
by Elizabeth Ashman Rowe (this scholar has got Eric's agreement with Odin slightly wrong. Eric did not promise 10 years to Odin, he promised to belong to Odin after 10 years) * Carl L. Thunbergbr>(2012): ''Slaget på Fyrisvallarna i ny tolkning (The Battle of Fýrisvellir in a New Interpretation)''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Styrbjarnar thattr Sviakappa Medieval literature Jomsvikings Þættir Sources of Norse mythology