''Styrbjarnar þáttr SvÃakappa'' (''The Tale of Styrbjörn the Swedish Champion'') is a short story, a ''
þáttr
The ''þættir'' (Old Norse singular ''þáttr'', literally meaning a "strand" of rope or yarn)O'Donoghue (2004:226). are short stories written mostly in Iceland during the 13th and 14th centuries.
The majority of ''þættir'' occur in two compen ...
'' on the Swedish claimant and
Jomsviking Styrbjörn the Strong preserved in the ''
Flatey Book'' (GKS 1005 fol 342-344, ca 1387-1395).
It is inserted together with ''
Hróa þáttr heimska'' in the description of
Olaf Haraldsson's wooing of the Swedish princess
Ingegerd Olofsdotter. Their purpose appears to be to present the Swedish court, its traditions and
Þorgnýr the Lawspeaker.
In the story, Styrbjörn becomes the leader of the
Jomsvikings
The Jomsvikings were a legendary order of Viking mercenaries or conquerors of the 10th and 11th centuries. Though reputed to be staunchly dedicated to the worship of the Old Norse gods, they would allegedly fight for any lord who could pay t ...
and makes war against the Danes, until he makes peace with the Danish king
Haraldr Gormsson who in return gave Styrbjörn his daughter and 100 ships.
However, Styrbjörn is not happy with the agreement and attacks Denmark with an even larger fleet and forces king Harald to give him 200 ships and the king himself as a hostage.
Styrbjörn goes back to Sweden to take the Swedish throne. Styrbjörn has
sacrificed to
Thor
Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
, but
Eric the Victorious has sacrificed to
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 ...
and has promised to belong to Odin within ten years if he wins.
When the forces meet,
Þorgnýr the Lawspeaker has created an ingenious war machine by tying horses and cows together with spears and spikes. This war machine wreaks havoc among the Jomsvikings. After three days of battle, Eric throws his spear over the Danes and cries "I give you all to Odin", and a landslide and a rain of ''Odin's arrows'' kill Styrbjörn and his men.
External links
A chapter in Swedish from Verner von Heidenstam's "Svenskarna och deras hövdingar" where he recounts the tale of Styrbjörn''Philology and Fantasy before Tolkien''
by Andrew Wawn (this scholar only knows of two sources for Styrbjörn)
''Cultural Paternity in the Flateyjarbók Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar''
by Elizabeth Ashman Rowe (this scholar has got Eric's agreement with Odin slightly wrong. Eric did not promise 10 years to Odin, he promised to belong to Odin after 10 years)
* Carl L. Thunbergbr>(2012): ''Slaget på Fyrisvallarna i ny tolkning (The Battle of Fýrisvellir in a New Interpretation)''
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Medieval literature
Jomsvikings
Þættir