Herrauðr, ''Herraud'', ''Herröðr'', ''Herruðr'', ''Herrud'', ''Herothus'' or ''Heroth'' is a

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

ary earl of

Götaland Götaland (; also '' Gothia'', ''Gothland'', ''Gothenland'' or ''Gautland'') is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises ten provinces. Geographically it is located in the south of Sweden, bounded to the north by Svealand, with the deep wo ...

or king of Sweden, who appears in several medieval legends, in particular those relating to

Ragnar Lodbrok Ragnar Lodbrok (Old Norse: ''Ragnarr loðbrók'', ), according to legends, was a Viking hero and a Legendary Kings of Sweden, Swedish and Legendary kings of Denmark, Danish king.Tale of Ragnar's Sons The ''Tale of Ragnar's sons'' () is an Old Norse story about Ragnar Lodbrok and his sons. Summary Ragnar Lodbrok When Sigurd Ring dies, Ragnar Lodbrok succeeds him as the king of Sweden and Denmark. Many foreign kings come to take parts of his ...

'', ''

Tale of Ragnar Lodbrok The Tale of Ragnarr Loðbrók () is an Icelandic legendary saga of the 13th century about the Viking ruler Ragnarr loðbrók. It is first found in the same manuscript as '' Vǫlsunga saga'', which it immediately follows. The tale covers the origin ...

'', '' Krákumál'' and ''

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 and is an essentia ...

'', book 9). He also has a saga of his own in '' Bósi and Herrauðr's saga''. His main role in the sagas is as the father of

Þóra Borgarhjǫrtr Þóra is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Steinunn Þóra Árnadóttir (born 1977), Icelandic politician, former member of the Althing * Þóra Arnórsdóttir (born 1975), Icelandic documentary film maker * Elín Þóra Elías ...

who gave his daughter one or two small

lindworm The lindworm (''worm'' meaning snake, see germanic dragon), also spelled lindwyrm or lindwurm, is a mythical creature in Northern, Western and Central European folklore that traditionally has the shape of a giant serpent monster which lives de ...

s which grew so big that he had to promise her to the man who could slay the serpent(s).

longship Longships, a type of specialised Viking ship, Scandinavian warships, have a long history in Scandinavia, with their existence being archaeologically proven and documented from at least the fourth century BC. Originally invented and used by th ...

into a harbou

''Bósi and Herrauðr's saga''

''Bósi and Herrauðr's saga'' tells that Herrauðr was the son of king Ring of

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

and the nephew of

Gautrekr Gautrekr was a legendary Geatish king who appears in several sources, such as ''Gautreks saga'', '' Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar'', ''Bósa saga ok Herrauðs'', ''Ynglinga saga'', ''Nafnaþulur'' (part of the ''Prose Edda'') and '' Af Upplendinga k ...

, the king of

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Vä ...

. Herrauðr's grandfather was Gauti, a son of

Odin Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...

. Herrauðr's father Ring preferred his illegitimate son Sjóðr to Herrauðr. When Herrauðr's best friend Bósi was outlawed, the two friends set off to spend some years pillaging as Vikings. Back in Östergötland, Sjóðr forced Bósi's father to pay money in compensation for Bósi's crime, so when Sjóðr and Bósi met in

Wendland The Wendland () is a region in Germany on the borders of the present states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. Its heart is the Hanoverian Wendland in the county of Lüchow-Dannenberg in Lower Saxony. ...

the two started fighting and Sjóðr was killed. When the two friends returned to Östergötland, Ring refused to reconcile with Herrauðr and instead he incarcerated Herrauðr and Bósi and intended to execute them. Through magic and threats, Busla, Bósi's foster-mother, prevailed on Ring to send the two young men on a dangerous quest instead of executing them. They were to find a vulture's egg inscribed with golden letters. The two young men went to

Bjarmaland Bjarmaland (also spelled ''Bjarmland'' and ''Bjarmia'') was a territory mentioned in sagas from the Viking Age and in geographical accounts until the 16th century. The term is usually understood to have referred to the southern shores of the Whit ...

and killed the vulture guarding the temple of

Jumala (), () or ( Mari)A History of Pagan Europe, P. 181
means in the

and the priestess Kolfrosta. They also saved the priestess-to-be, Hleið, the sister of

Guðmundr Guðmundr (Old Norse: , sometimes anglicised as Godmund) was a semi-legendary Norse king in Jotunheim, ruling over a land called ''Glæsisvellir'', which was known as the warrior's paradise.Otto Höfler, ''Kultische Geheimbünde der Germanen'', v ...

Glæsisvellir Glæsisvellir (Glittering Plains) was a location in Jotunheim in Norse mythology. It is mentioned in sources such as '' Bósa saga ok Herrauds'', '' Hervarar saga'', ''Þorsteins þáttr bæjarmagns'' and '' Helga þáttr Þórissonar''. Legend I ...

. Hleið was happy to be saved and became Herrauðr's wife. Back in Östergötland, Ring accepted the egg and reconciled with his son and Bósi. Herrauðr and Bósi then departed for the

Battle of Brávellir The Battle of Brávellir or the Battle of Bråvalla was a legendary battle, said to have taken place c. 770, that is described in the sagas as taking place on the Brávellir between Sigurd Hring, king of Sweden and the Geats of Västergötland, ...

to fight for

Harald Wartooth Harald Wartooth or ''Harold Hiltertooth'' (Old Norse: ''Haraldr hilditǫnn''; Modern Swedish and Danish: Harald Hildetand; Modern Norwegian: ''Harald Hildetann'')Röreksson was a semi- legendary king of Denmark who is mentioned in several tradit ...

and survived the immense battle. Gudmund of Glæsisvellir who wanted to find his sister promised her to Siggeir, the son of Harekr the king of Bjarmaland, if he could find her. The Bjarmians invaded Östergötland, killed king Ring and took Hleið back to Bjarmaland. When Herrauðr and Bósi returned from the

Brávellir Brávellir (Old Norse) or Bråvalla (modern Swedish) () was the name of the central plain of Östergötland (East Götaland), in Norse mythology. It appears in several traditions, such as those of the Battle of Bråvalla (Battle of the Bravelli ...

, they set off to find Hleið together with Bósi's foster-mother Busla and his brother Smiðr. They rescued Hleið and kidnapped Edda, the king's daughter. King Harek died trying to stop them. Herrauðr became the new king of Östergötland, while Bósi ascended the throne of Bjarmaland together with his queen Edda. Herrauðr and his queen Hleið had a daughter, Þóra Borgarhjǫrtr. When the vulture's egg hatched, there was a

inside and it soon encircled Þóra Borgarhjǫrtr's bower. Herrauðr promised his daughter to the man who could slay the serpent and it was Ragnar Lodbrok who liberated her.

''Tale of Ragnar's sons''

In the tale of ''Tale of Ragnar's sons'', Herrauðr is the

earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

of Götaland and one of Ragnar Lodbrok's vassals (this fits ''Bósi and Herrauðr's saga'' as

Sigurd Hring Sigurd Ring (Old Norse: ''Sigurðr Hringr'', in some sources merely called ''Hringr'') according to legend was a king of the Swedes, being mentioned in many old Scandinavian sagas. According to these sources he was granted rulership over Sweden ...

who was victorious at the

had died and was succeeded by his son Ragnar). Herrauðr's daughter Þóra Borgarhjǫrtr was very beautiful. He had given her a lindworm, but after some time, it had encircled her bower and threatened anyone who approached it, except for her servants who fed it with an ox every day. At his

symbel Symbel ( OE) and sumbl ( ON) are Germanic terms for "feast, banquet". Accounts of the ''symbel'' are preserved in the Anglo-Saxon ''Beowulf'' (lines 489–675 and 1491–1500), '' Dream of the Rood'' (line 141) and '' Judith'' (line 15), Old Sa ...

, Herrauðr promised his daughter to the man who could kill the serpent. When Ragnar heard of this, he went to

and dressed himself in shaggy clothes that he had treated with tar and sand. He took a spear and approached the serpent which blew poison at him. Ragnar protected himself with his shield and his clothes and stuck the spear through its heart. He then cut off the serpent's head, and when the people found out what had happened, he married Þora.

''Gesta Danorum''

In ''Gesta Danorum'', book 9, Herodd is the king of Sweden. One day when he hunted in the woods, he found some

adder ''Vipera berus'', also known as the common European adder Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. . and the common European viper, ...

s that he gave to his daughter Tora. She raised the snakes with whole oxen until they had grown so large that they terrorized the entire country side. Horrified, Herrod promised his daughter to anyone who could kill the serpents. Ragnar Lodbrok donned some furry clothes to protect himself and went to Sweden. There he threw himself in cold water and let the frost make the water into an icy protection of his clothes. At the palace, he met two large snakes who attacked him. Shielded by his clothes he managed to kill them by piercing their hearts with a spear.

''See Also''

Herod the Great Herod I or Herod the Great () was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman Jewish client king of the Herodian kingdom of Judea. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea. Among these works are the rebuilding of the ...

, King of Judea. He ruled the Herodian Kingdom until it split into the Herodian Tetrarchy after his death

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

, Ancient Greek Historian

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Herraudr Legendary kings of the Geats