Jutland, he met a son of King Gudlaug, in the battle with whom he was
overpowered, captured and hanged.
King _Aune_ or _Ane_ was the son of Jorund. He was a wise man who
made great sacrifices to the gods. Being no warrior he lived quietly
at home. Twice he fled from Upsala, on account of Danish invasions,
remaining in West Gothland twenty-five years each time, and holding
sway at Upsala for an equally long time between his periods of exile.
He lived to become 110 years of age. The secret of his longevity was
that he sacrificed one of his sons to Odin every tenth year, and was
granted in return a decade of prolonged life. When about to sacrifice
his tenth son, the people interfered, and he died from old age. The
last ten years of his life he was very feeble, drinking out of a horn
like an infant. He was buried in a mound at Upsala.
King _Egil_ was the son of Ane, and, like his father, no warrior.
Under his reign and that of his son, king _Ottar_, Sweden suffered a
good deal of trouble from Denmark. The Danish king Frode had helped
Egil against the revolt of one of his subjects, and demanded from
his son a scat, or tribute, in return. Ottar fell in battle against
the jarls of Frode. Both he and his son _Audils_, who ruled Svithiod
after him, are mentioned in Beowulf as Ôhthere and his son Eadgils
of the royal Swedish line of the Scylfingas (Skilfings). This fact
gives to Swedish history its first reliable date. The Danish king
Hugleik, a contemporary of King Ottar, died in 515 A.D., which renders
with a certainty Ottar’s reign as falling in the first part of the
sixth century. Audils ruled for a long time and often went on viking
expeditions to Saxonland, Denmark and Norway. In Saxonland, Audils
captured the household of King Geirthiof, among whom was a remarkably
beautiful girl, called Yrsa. The king married her, but she was
afterward taken to Denmark by King Helge of Leire after a successful
plundering expedition in Svithiod. Helge had a son by her, Rolf Krake,
but Yrsa returned to her first husband, after being told by Queen Alof,
the wife of Geirthiof, that Helge was her father and Alof her mother.
When Rolf Krake later became king his men once helped King Audils in
one of his expeditions in Norway. King Rolf’s men did not receive the
compensation promised them, and Rolf came to Upsala to demand it for
them. King Rolf was warned by his mother Yrsa that Audils was not well
disposed, and he and his men made in haste for their ships. King Audils
and his men started out in their pursuit. Then Rolf took a horn filled
with gold, a recent gift of his mother, emptying its contents on the
plain. Audils and his men stopped to pick up the gold, and Rolf thus
made his escape. Rolf Krake is one of the most famous of Danish heroes.
In the poetic language of the Old Northern literature, gold is often
called “the seed of the Fyrisvols” or “Rolf Krake’s seed.” As King
Audils once rode around the hall at a sacrifice his horse stumbled and
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account