Vöggr, ''Vogg'', ''Wigg'' or ''Wigge'' was a young 6th century man in Scandinavian legend notable for giving
Hrólfr Kraki
Hrólfr Kraki (Old Norse: ), ''Hroðulf'', ''Rolfo'', ''Roluo'', ''Rolf Krage'' (early 6th century) was a semi-legendary Danish king who appears in both Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian tradition.
Both traditions describe him as a Danish Scylding, ...
( Hroðulf in '' Beowulf'') his cognomen ''kraki'', and for avenging his death.
''Skáldskaparmál''
In the ''
Skáldskaparmál
''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'The Language of Poetry'; c. 50,000 words; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda''.
The section consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bragi, the god of poetry, ...
'' by Snorri Sturluson, Snorri relates that Hrólfr was the most renowned king in Denmark for valour, generosity and graciousness. One day a poor boy called Vöggr arrived at the king's court at
Lejre
Lejre is a railway town, with a population of 3,127 (1 January 2022),Hrólfr Kraki's saga Rolf is a male given name and a surname. It originates in the Germanic languages, Germanic name ''Hrolf'', itself a contraction of ''Hrodwulf'' (Rudolph (name), Rudolf), a conjunction of the stem words ''hrod'' ("renown") + ''wulf'' ("wolf"). The O ...
'' tells that when Hrólfr Kraki went to the Swedish king Aðils ( Eadgils), queen
Yrsa
Yrsa, Yrse, Yrs or Urse (fl. 6th century)The dating has never been a matter of controversy. It is inferred from the internal chronology of the sources themselves and the dating of Hygelac's raid on Frisia to c. 516. It is also supported by arch ...
(Hrólfr's mother) presented them a man named Vöggr to entertain them. This Vöggr remarked that Hrólfr had the thin face of a pole ladder, a ''Kraki''. Happy with his new cognomen Hrólfr gave Vöggr a golden ring, and Vöggr swore to avenge Hrólfr if anyone should kill him.
Hrólfr fled from
Uppsala
Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019.
Located north of the c ...
and lived in peace for some time. However, his half-elven half-sister
Skuld
Skuld (the name possibly means "debt" and is related to the English word "should") is a Norn in Norse mythology. Along with Urðr (Old Norse "fate"Orchard (1997:169).) and Verðandi (possibly "happening" or "present"Orchard (1997:174).), Skuld mak ...
was married to Hjörvarðr ( Heoroweard) one of Hrólfr's subkings, and she began to turn her husband against Hrólfr. Under the pretext that they would wait three years before paying the accumulated tribute at one time, Skuld assembled a large army which included strong warriors, criminals,
elves
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes " ...
and norns. She used seiðr (witchcraft) to hide the great muster from Hrólfr and his champions.
They then arrived at
Lejre
Lejre is a railway town, with a population of 3,127 (1 January 2022),Yule
Yule, actually Yuletide ("Yule time") is a festival observed by the historical Germanic peoples, later undergoing Christianised reformulation resulting in the now better-known Christmastide. The earliest references to Yule are by way of indi ...
for the midwinter
blót
( Old Norse) and or ( Old English) are terms for "blood sacrifice" in Norse paganism and Anglo-Saxon paganism respectively. A comparanda can also be reconstructed for wider Germanic paganism.
A ' could be dedicated to any of the Germanic ...
s, with all the weapons hidden in wagons. A fight started and like in the account found in ''Gesta Danorum'', Bödvar Bjarki fought in the shape of a spirit bear until he was awakened by Hjalti. Skuld used her witchcraft to resuscitate her fallen warriors and after a long fight Hrólfr and all his berserkers fell.
Skuld became the ruler of Denmark but did not rule well. Bödvar Bjarki's brothers Elk-Froði and Þorir Houndsfoot went to Denmark to avenge their brother. The Swedish queen Yrsa gave them a large Swedish army headed by Vöggr. They captured Skuld before she could use her magic and tortured her to death. Then they raised a mound for Hrólfr Kraki where he was buried together with his sword Skofnung.
''Chronicon Lethrense'' and ''Annales Lundenses''
The ''
Chronicon Lethrense
''Chronicon Lethrense'' ( Danish: ''Lejrekrøniken'' English: ''Chronicle of Lejre/Leire'') is a small Danish medieval work from the 12th century, written in Latin.
Themes
Unlike ''Chronicon Roskildense'', which deals primarily with informatio ...
'' (and the included ''Annales Lundenses'') tell that Rolf Krage was a big man in body and soul and was so generous that no one asked him for anything twice. His sister Skulda was married against Rolf's will to Hartwar/Hiarwarth''Hartwar'' according to the ''Chronicon Lethrense'', but ''Hiarwarth'' according to the ''Annales Lundenses''. ( Heoroweard), a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
earl of Skåne, but reputedly Rolf had given Skulda to him together with Sweden.
This Hartwar arrived in
Zealand
Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020.
It is the 1 ...
with a large army and said that he wanted to give his tribute to Rolf, but killed Rolf together with all his men. Only one survived, Wigge, who played along until he was to do homage to Hartwar. Then, he pierced Hartwar with a sword, and so Hartwar was only king one morning. However, according to a reputation, it was instead an Ake who killed Hartwar and so became king.
''Gesta Danorum''
The ''
Gesta Danorum
''Gesta Danorum'' ("Deeds of the Danes") is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark an ...
'' (book 2), by
Saxo Grammaticus
Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150 – c. 1220), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark ...
, tells that a young man named Wigg was impressed with Roluo's (Hrólfr's) bodily size and gave him the cognomen ''Krage'', which meant a tall tree trunk used as a ladder. Roluo liked this name and rewarded Wigg with a heavy bracelet. Wigg, then, swore to Roluo to avenge him, if he was killed.
Roluo later defeated the king of Sweden, Athislus ( Eadgils), and gave Sweden to young man named Hiartuar ( Heoroweard), who also married Roluo's sister Skulde. Skulde, however, did not like the fact that her husband had to pay taxes to Roluo and so incited Hiartuar to rebel against him. They so went to
Lejre
Lejre is a railway town, with a population of 3,127 (1 January 2022),Geats) proceeded to kill everyone at Roluo's residence. After a long battle, involving Roluo's champion Bjarki, who fought in the shape of a spirit bear until he was awakened by his comrade Hjalti, the Geats won and Roluo was killed.
Hiartuar asked Wigg if he wanted to fight for him, and Wigg said yes. Hiartuar wanted to give Wigg a sword, but he insisted on receiving it by taking the hilt. Having the hilt in his hand, Wigg pierced Hiartuar with the sword and so avenged Roluo. Swedes and Geats then rushed forward and killed Wigg. The Swedish king Høtherus (based on the god
Höðr
Höðr ( non, Hǫðr ; often anglicized as Hod, Hoder, or Hodur) is a god in Norse mythology. The blind son of Odin and Frigg, he is tricked and guided by Loki into shooting a mistletoe arrow which was to slay the otherwise invulnerable Baldr.
...
), the brother of Athislus, succeeded Roluo and became the king of a combined Sweden and
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
.
Other personages by the same name
Another character by the same name appears in ''
Ásmundar saga kappabana ''Ásmundar saga kappabana'' is the saga of Asmund the Champion-Killer, a legendary saga from Iceland, first attested in the manuscript Stockholm, Royal Library, Holm. 7, 4to, from the first half of the fourteenth century.Ciklamini, M., ‘The Comb ...
Birger Nerman
Birger Nerman (6 October 188822 August 1971) was a Swedish archaeologist, historian and philologist who specialized in the history and culture of Iron Age Sweden.
Nerman was educated at Uppsala University, where he began his career as a lectur ...