Skoglar Toste or Skoglar Tosti (there are several variations) is a legendary 10th century chieftain from the Swedish province of

West Gothland West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

Snorri Sturlusson 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 ...

recounts in ''

Heimskringla ''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derived ...

'' that he was a great Viking who often waged war and that is why he was called " Skagul's Tosti". Skagul was a

Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997:36) ...

.Davidson, Hilda Roderick Ellis (1988). Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions. Manchester University Press. . p. 96 Toste is mentioned in several sagas, most notable in ''

''. According to

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 ...

, he was the father of

Sigrid the Haughty Sigrid the Haughty (Old Norse:''Sigríðr (hin) stórráða''), also known as ''Sigrid Storråda'' (Swedish), is a Scandinavian queen appearing in Norse sagas. Sigrid is named in several late and sometimes contradictory Icelandic sagas composed ge ...

. For some time he gave refuge to

Harald Grenske Harald Grenske (10th century) was a petty king in Vestfold in Norway. Harald Grenske was the son of Gudrød Bjørnsson. Gudrød is claimed to have been grandson of Harald Fairhair and the king of Vestfold. Harald's cognomen ''Grenske'' is due to h ...

, who later came back to woo Sigrid, only to be killed by her for his persistence. According to the sagas, Skoglar Toste was also the father of

Ulf Tostesson Ulf Tostesson was a jarl in Sweden, jarl and the son of the Viking Skogul Toste. He was the brother of Sigrid the Haughty, and his son was Ragnvald Ulfsson. Geats 11th-century Swedish people Swedish jarls {{Sweden-royal-stub ...

, father of

Ragnvald Ulfsson Ragnvald Ulfsson the Old (beginning 11th century) was a jarl of Västergötland or Östergötland and was married to a sister of King Olav Tryggvason.Winroth 1995–1997:616 Biography According to Snorri, Ragnvald was the son of jarl Ulf Tost ...

and grandfather of Stenkil who became the

King of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary system: see the Instrument o ...

in 1060. Toste has been connected to the U 344 runestone in

Orkesta Orkesta was a parish with 1103 inhabitants (2003), located in Vallentuna Municipality, Stockholm County in Sweden. The parish is since 2006 a part of Vallentuna parish. See also *Orkesta Runestones The Orkesta Runestones are a set of 11th-cent ...

Vallentuna Vallentuna is the seat of Vallentuna Municipality in Stockholm County, Sweden, with 33,219 inhabitants in 2018. Vallentuna's cultural landscape is well preserved, and human habitation in the area has been traced back as far as the Stone Age. Archeo ...

, near

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, which tells of how

Ulf of Borresta Ulf of Borresta (Old Norse: ''Ulfr í Báristöðum'', modern Swedish: ''Ulf i Borresta'') was a runemaster in the eleventh century Uppland, Sweden, and a successful Viking who returned from England three times with a share of the Danegeld. He is ...

three times took

danegeld Danegeld (; "Danish tax", literally "Dane yield" or tribute) was a tax raised to pay tribute or protection money to the Viking raiders to save a land from being ravaged. It was called the ''geld'' or ''gafol'' in eleventh-century sources. It ...

: : in ulfr hafiʀ o, , onklati ' þru kialt, , takat þit uas fursta þis tusti ka-t ' þ(a) ---- (þ)urktil ' þa kalt knutr Translation: : "And

(''ulfr'') has taken three payments in England. That was the first that Toste (''tusti'') paid. Then

Thorkell the Tall Thorkell the Tall, also known as Thorkell the High in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' (Old Norse: Þorke(ti)ll inn hávi; no, Torkjell Høge; Swedish: ''Torkel Höge''; da, Torkild den Høje), was a prominent member of the Jomsviking order and ...

(''Þurktil '') paid. Then

Canute the Great Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway ...

(''knutr'') paid''.

References

Other sources

*''Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700'' by Frederick Lewis Weis, Lines: 241–5, 243A-20 {{DEFAULTSORT:Skoglar Toste Viking warriors Geats 10th-century Swedish people 10th-century Vikings