Weohstan, Wēohstān or Wīhstān (

Proto-Norse Proto-Norse (also called Ancient Nordic, Ancient Scandinavian, Ancient Norse, Primitive Norse, Proto-Nordic, Proto-Scandinavian and Proto-North Germanic) was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved as a ...

*'' Wīha stainaz'', meaning "sacred stone", non, Vésteinn and ''Wǣstēn'') is a legendary character who appears in the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The ...

'' and scholars have pointed out that he also appears to be present in the Norse ''

Kálfsvísa The ''Kálfsvísa'' ("Kálfr's '' vísa''", Kálfr being maybe the name of its author) is a poem partially preserved in Snorri Sturluson’s ''Skáldskaparmál''. Its three stanzas in ''fornyrðislag'' mostly consist of a þula of horses and thei ...

''. In both ''Beowulf'' and ''Kálfsvísa'', Weohstan (''Vésteinn'') fought for his king Onela (''Áli'') against Eadgils (''Aðils'').

''Beowulf''

According to ''Beowulf'', Weohstan is the father of

Wiglaf Wiglaf (Proto-Norse: *'' Wīga laibaz'', meaning "battle remainder"; ang, Wīġlāf ) is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem ''Beowulf''. He is the son of Weohstan, a Swede of the Wægmunding clan who had entered the service of Beowulf, ki ...

, and he belongs to a

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

called the '' Wægmundings''.

Ecgþeow Ecgþēow (pronounced ), Edgetho (Proto-Norse *''Agiþewaz''), or Ecgtheow is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic '' Beowulf''. He is not mentioned outside the ''Bēowulf'' manuscript, and it is not known whether he was based on a real person. H ...

, the father of Beowulf, also belonged to this clan, so Weohstan is in some degree related to Beowulf. Thus he counts Weohstan's son Wiglaf as his kinsman. Weohstan is said to have died of old age before the action of the later part of the poem. Weohstan is first mentioned at line 2602. We learn that he had held a Geatland estate and rights in

common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect Wood fuel, wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

which Beowulf gave to him. When the

Scylfing 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 (Old Norse ''Skilfingar'') in '' Beowulf''. When ''Beowulf'' and ''Ynglingatal'' ...

prince

Eanmund Eanmund was a Swedish prince of the Scylfing dynasty, whose existence is alleged in ''Beowulf''.''Beowulf'', lines 2612-2615. Life according to ''Beowulf'' Unlike his relatives, Eanmund is only mentioned in Beowulf. Eanmund was the son of Ohther ...

rebelled against his uncle,

Onela Onela was according to ''Beowulf'' a Swedish king, the son of Ongentheow and the brother of Ohthere. He usurped the Swedish throne, but was killed by his nephew Eadgils, who won by hiring foreign assistance. In Scandinavian sagas a Norwegian ki ...

, the king of Sweden, Weohstan fought in the service of Onela and killed Eanmund in battle; for this Onela gave Weohstan Eanmund's sword and armour. In his old age, Weohstan gave this sword and armour to his son Wiglaf. By that time both Weohstan and Wiglaf "lived among the

Geat The Geats ( ; ang, gēatas ; non, gautar ; sv, götar ), sometimes called ''Goths'', were a large North Germanic tribe who inhabited ("land of the Geats") in modern southern Sweden from antiquity until the late Middle Ages. They are one of th ...

s". His name appears in several places where Wiglaf is described as "the son of Weohstan". The scholar

Frederick Klaeber Frederick J. Klaeber (born Friedrich J. Klaeber) (1 October 1863 – 4 October 1954) was a German philologist who was Professor of Old and Middle English at the University of Minnesota. His edition of the poem '' Beowulf'', published as ''Beowul ...

speculated that though Onela himself did not seek a feud with Weohstan, once Onela was dead and Eanmund's brother Eadgils became king of the Swedes, Weohstan found it prudent to leave the service of the Scylfings, and this was how he came to be living among the Geats.

''Kálfsvísa''

In the part of

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 ...

's ''

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, in ...

'' which is called the ''

'', the name Weohstan appears in its

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

form ''Vésteinn''. Moreover, he is mentioned together with his lord

(Áli) and enemy Eadgils (Aðils), and the section concerns the

Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern The Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern was a 6th-century battle recorded in the Norse sagas and referred to in the Old English epic ''Beowulf''. It has been dated to c. AD 530. The epic Beowulf Beowulf is an epic poem that refers to the conflict, bu ...

Nerman, B. ''Det svenska rikets uppkomst''. Stockholm, 1925. pp. 102-103. after which the exile suggested by Klaeber would have taken place: The section apparently mentions Weohstan and his fellow warriors riding together with their king Onela out on the ice, where they meet Eadgils. However, the skald of the ''Kálfsvísa'' expected the listener to be familiar with these characters and mentions no more of what happened. However, as is told in passing in ''Beowulf'' and more in detail by Snorri, Eadgils won the battle.

References

{{Beowulf Heroes in Norse myths and legends English heroic legends Characters in Beowulf