The Relation of the Hrólfs Saga Kraka and the Bjarkarímur to Beowulf: A Contribution To The History Of Saga Development In England And The; Scandinavian CountriesOlson, Oscar Ludvig
History
The Relation of the Hrólfs Saga Kraka and the Bjarkarímur to Beowulf: A Contribution To The History Of Saga Development In England And The; Scandinavian Countries
When they arrived at Frothi's, Frothi began to hunt for the boys, and
bade a witch, who had come to the hall, to try her skill in finding
them. She told him that they were in the hall. Then Signy threw her a
gold ring, and the witch said that what she had just stated was false.
Frothi threatened to torture her if she did not tell the truth; and she
said that unless he soon prevented it, which he would not do, the boys
would be his death. But the boys, terrified, fled to the wood. The king
ordered his men to seize them; but Regin put out the lights in the hall,
and, in the confusion that followed, those who were friendly to the boys
used the opportunity to obstruct those who would pursue them. Frothi
vowed that he would take vengeance at a more suitable time on those who
had assisted the boys, but added, "Let us now drink and feast"; and this
they did till the men lay in a drunken stupor in a heap on the floor.
Regin rode out to where the boy's were, but would not return their
salutation. In fact, he pretended to be angry. They wondered what this
meant, and followed him. Helgi thought that Regin wanted to help them,
but without violating his oath to the king. Then Regin said to himself,
so that the boys heard it, "If I had a matter to settle with the king, I
would burn this grove." They took the hint and started a fire. Sævil
came out with all his men and bade them aid the boys, and Regin took
measures to get all his men and relatives out of the hall. The king
awoke from a dream, in which the goddess of the nether world was
summoning him. He discovered the fire, and learning who had set it,
offered the boys peace on their own terms; but terms of peace were
denied. Frothi then retired from the door of the hall, hoping to escape
by an underground passage; but at the entrance stood Regin, who blocked
his progress, and he returned into the hall and perished in the flames.
His wife, Sigrith (now mentioned for the first time), the mother of
Hroar and Helgi, refused to leave the hall and perished also.
The boys thanked their brother-in-law, Sævil, and their foster-father,
Regin, and all the others who had helped them, and gave the men rich
gifts. The boys subdued the whole land and seized the late king's
possessions; and for a while the time passed without the occurrence of
anything worthy of special mention.
At this time there was a king by the name of Northri, who ruled over a
part of England. Hroar often passed long intervals at the court of
Northri, supporting him against his enemies and defending his land.
Hroar married Ögn, the daughter of Northri, shared the royal power with
his father-in-law, and after Northri's death succeeded to the throne of
Northumberland. Helgi remained at home, and, by agreement with Hroar,
became sole King of Denmark.
In Saxo's seventh book, there is another version of the same story. The
features in which it chiefly varies from the version in the _Hrólfssaga_
are as follows.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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