Sölve Strand
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Sölve () was a
sea-king A sea-king (''sækonungr'') in the Norse sagas is generally a title given to a powerful Viking chieftain, even though the term sea-king may sometimes predate the Viking age. The Orkneyinga saga contains the earliest reference to sea-kings. There t ...
who conquered Vendel-period Sweden by burning the Swedish king
Eysteinn Eysteinn (Swedish: Östen; died ca 600) was a semi-legendary king of Sweden, the son of Eadgils. He was the father of Ingvar. The Eysteinn tumulus ''(Östens hög)'' in Västerås near Östanbro has been linked to King Eysteinn by some popular ...
to death inside his
hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and the Early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gre ...
. The ''
Heimskringla () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland. While authorship of ''Heimskringla'' is nowhere attributed, some scholars assume it is written by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (117 ...
'' relates that he was the son of
Högne of Njardö Gard Agdi (''Old Norse'' Garðr agði) appears in the legendary genealogies of '' Hversu Noregr byggdist'' as one of the three sons of Nór, the legendary first king of Norway, and as ruler and ancestor of rulers over southwestern Norway. The nickn ...
, and that he had his home in
Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...
, although according to the older source ''
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 ...
'', he was a Geat. He pillaged in the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
and at night they made shore in the
hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...
of Lofond/Lovund (perhaps
Lovön Lovön is an island in the Swedish Lake Mälaren in Ekerö Municipality of Stockholm County. It was a municipality of its own until 1952, when it was joined with Ekerö Municipality. Lovön's greatest attraction is Drottningholm Palace and it ...
or the Lagunda Hundred) where they surrounded a house and set it on fire, killing everybody inside. In the house there was a feast where the Swedish king
Eysteinn Eysteinn (Swedish: Östen; died ca 600) was a semi-legendary king of Sweden, the son of Eadgils. He was the father of Ingvar. The Eysteinn tumulus ''(Östens hög)'' in Västerås near Östanbro has been linked to King Eysteinn by some popular ...
was invited. Then Sölve and his men arrived in Sigtuna (now
Signhildsberg Signhildsberg (historically Fornsigtuna, where ''forn'' means ''ancient'', Old Sigtuna, ''Sithun'', ''Signesberg'') is a manor that formerly was a royal estate (Uppsala öd), located in the parish of Håtuna approximately west of the modern tow ...
) and declared that the Swedes had to accept him as king. The Swedes refused and fought Sölve for eleven days until they lost. Sölve then ruled Sweden until the Swedes rebelled and killed him. ''Historia Norwegiae'' only relates that the Geats burnt Östen and his people to death inside his house. Sölvi also appears in ''
Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka ''Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka'' (''The Saga of Half & His Heroes'') or ''Hálfssaga'' is a legendary saga composed in the early 14th century, based on a legend that has also been preserved in the Scandinavian medieval ballad '' Stolt Herr Alf''.Mit ...
'', of which there is a version from the year 1300. This saga relates that Sölvi was the son of Högne the Rich of Nærøya ''fyrir Naumundalsminni'' in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
and that he was the brother of Hild the Slender. Sölvi's brother-in-law, Hjorleiv, was the king of
Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Munici ...
and
Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...
and Hjorleiv killed Hreidar, the king of
Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...
. Then Hjorleiv put Sölvi as the
jarl Jarl was a rank of the nobility in Scandinavia during the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages. The institution evolved over time and varied by region. In Old Norse, it meant "chieftain", specifically one appointed to rule a territory in a king's stea ...
of Zealand. Later in the saga, Sölvi is no longer the jarl of Zealand, but the king of Sweden. Hjorleiv had a son named Half (after whom the saga is named), and after the Norwegian king Asmund had killed Half, a couple of his champions go to Sweden and king Sölvi (''til svíþjóðar ; fóru þeir ... á fund Sölva konungs'') (see also
Gard Agdi Gard Agdi (''Old Norse'' Garðr agði) appears in the legendary genealogies of '' Hversu Noregr byggdist'' as one of the three sons of Nór, the legendary first king of Norway, and as ruler and ancestor of rulers over southwestern Norway. The nickn ...
). Sölvi is also mentioned in a few other sources, but none of them relate of his Danish and Swedish dominions. He was succeeded by
Ingvar Harra Ingvar or Yngvar ( , d. early 7th century) was the son of Östen and reclaimed the Swedish throne for the House of Yngling after the Swedes had rebelled against Sölve. He is reported to have fallen in battle in Ancient Estonia, Estonia and bee ...
son of Eysteinn of the
Yngling The Ynglings were a dynasty of kings, first in Sweden and later in Norway, primarily attested through the poem ''Ynglingatal''. The dynasty also appears as Scylfings (, ) in ''Beowulf''. When ''Beowulf'' and ''Ynglingatal'' were composed sometime ...
, the Swedish royal dynasty.


References


Primary sources

* ''
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 poet ...
'' * ''
Ynglinga saga ''Ynglinga saga'' ( ) is a Kings' sagas, Kings' saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelanders, Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It is the first section of his ''Heimskringla''. It was first translated into Engl ...
'' (part of the ''
Heimskringla () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland. While authorship of ''Heimskringla'' is nowhere attributed, some scholars assume it is written by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (117 ...
'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Solve Viking warriors Semi-legendary kings of Sweden 7th-century monarchs in Europe