Offa (nickname for Wulf) is a semi-legendary king of the Angles in the genealogy of the kings of Mercia presented in the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...

''. He is the son of Wermund and the father of Angeltheow. His name is also mentioned in the Old English poem ''

Widsith "Widsith" (, "far-traveller", lit. "wide-journey"), also known as "The Traveller's Song", is an Old English poem of 143 lines. It survives only in the '' Exeter Book'' (''pages 84v–87r''), a manuscript of Old English poetry compiled in the la ...

''. He has been identified with Uffo (also ''Uffe, Uffi of Jutland''), a legendary Danish king in the ''

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 ...

'' by

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (), 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. He is the author ...

, and the '' Gesta Danorum på danskæ''.

History

The Old English poem ''

'' (8th century) refers briefly to his victorious single combat, a story which is related at length by the 12th-century Danish historians Saxo and

Sven Aggesen Sven Aggesen (also known as ''Svend Aagesen,'' ''Aggessøn'', or ''Aggesøn'', in Latin ''Sveno Aggonis''; born around 1140 to 1150, death unknown) was the author of '' Brevis historia regum Dacie'', one of the first attempts to write a coherent ...

. Offa is also mentioned in the ''Annales Ryenses'', ''Vita Offae Primi'' and '' Vitae duorum Offarum''. According to ''Widsith'' and the Danish sources, Offa successfully conquered the Myrgings, possibly a clan of Saxon origin, and incorporated their land into Angle or Danish lands, by slaying two Myrging princes in single combat and installing himself as their king. It is possible that the Offa mentioned in ''

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ) is an Old English poetry, Old English poem, an Epic poetry, epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translat ...

'' (lines 1949 and 1957) and married to Modþryð, a lady of murderous disposition, is the same person.

Legend

In the narrative of Saxo, Uffi is said to have been dumb or silent during his early years. His aged and blind father, King Wermund believed him to be a simpleton and in order to preserve his son's position as king had him marry the daughter of Freawine (a neighbouring warlord/king) so that Freawine would assist Uffi when he became king. However, the plans did not come to pass, as Freawine was killed by a Myrging warlord called

Eadgils Eadgils, ''Adils'', ''Aðils'', ''Adillus'', ''Aðísl at Uppsölum'', ''Athisl'', ''Athislus'' or ''Adhel'' was a semi-legendary king of Sweden, who is estimated to have lived during the 6th century. ''Beowulf'' and Old Norse sources present ...

. Wermund subsequently raised Freawine's sons Ket and Wig as his own. The two would eventually cause great dishonour to the Angles when they ambushed Eadgils in a forest as he walked alone and slew him. The surrounding peoples began to mock the Angles, accusing them of cowardice and dishonour. Eventually the neighbouring Saxons decided that Wermund was too weak to resist their requests for him to surrender his kingdom, and they sent their emissaries to Wermund's court. There they proceeded to mock the blind man, prompting Wermund to challenge their king to a duel — but the king stated that he would not fight a blind man. It was then that Uffi regained his speech, and revealed that his silence had been caused by the great dishonour involved in Eadgil's death. He promptly challenged the prince of the Saxons and one of his champions to a duel in order to regain the honour of the Angles. Uffi's combat took place at

Rendsburg Rendsburg (, also ''Rensborg'', , also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the Eider (river), River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the central part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of Rendsburg-Eckernfoerde, Rends ...

on an island in the

Eider River The Eider ( ; ; Latin: ''Egdor'' or ''Eidora'') is the longest river in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The river starts near Bordesholm and reaches the southwestern outskirts of Kiel on the shores of the Baltic Sea, but flows to the w ...

at Fifeldore/Monster-Gate, and Uffi succeeded in killing both his opponents. A somewhat corrupt version of the same story is preserved in the 13th-century '' Vitae duorum Offarum'', where, however, the scene is transferred to England.

References

Literature

* See H. M. Chadwick, ''Origin of the English Nation'' (Cambridge, 1907), for references to the original authorities. *Rickert, Edith. "The Old English Offa Saga." '' Modern Philology'' 2 (1904-5): 29-77 (part 1), 321-76 (part 2)
PDF available from Internet Archive
*Shippey, Tom. "Wicked Queens and Cousin Strategies in ''Beowulf'' and Elsewhere." '' The Heroic Age'' 5 (2001)
Available online
* {{Authority control Legendary kings of Denmark Anglish people English heroic legends Anglo-Saxon warriors Characters in Beowulf