_Dawn of Swedish History--Heimskringla and Ynglingatal_
Snorre Sturleson, the great historian and poet of Iceland, of the
earlier half of the thirteenth century, is considered to be the author
of the history of the kings of Norway which, after the first words of
the first chapter, has been called Heimskringla. As an introduction
to the work he has put the saga of the Yngling kings of Sweden, of
whom many of the Norwegian kings were supposed to be descendants. The
Ynglinga Saga is a paraphrase to the much older song of Ynglingatal,
a poem composed by the Norwegian poet Thiodulf of Hvin (who lived
in the latter part of the ninth century) in praise of the supposed
Swedish ancestors of the Norwegian king Ragnvald. The Ynglings were
probably not identical with the kings of Upsala, who were of the
race of the Skilfings, but of South Swedish or Danish origin. It is
either out of ignorance, or out of sagacity, that the poet selected
the Upsala rulers as originators of the Norwegian line of kings, but
he has been unfortunate in the choice of a name for the dynasty. The
poem itself is a trustworthy historical document, at least as far as
the times are concerned which come comparatively close to the time
of its own composition, the first part containing many traits of a
mythical character. The saga spun around it is far from trustworthy.
Of the poem evidently the first, or first few, strophes are missing,
but the “historian” supplies the vacuum with stories of the gods Odin,
Niord and Frey, whom he, according to the ideas of his time, changes
from gods into historic kings, the first who ruled Svithiod (Sweden).
Among learned men in Snorre’s day there was a craze for tracing the
pedigree of all nations of any renown back to some of the heroes of
ancient Troy. Snorre serves us a saga of Odin’s migration from Troy
which, besides being confuse, would appear only ridiculous, if it
had not wielded about as highly disastrous an influence upon correct
conceptions of Swedish history as the work by Jordanes. This migration
saga is found in a still more elaborate form in an introduction to
Snorre’s Edda, and is responsible for the erroneous opinion held by
earlier Swedish historians, that the Swedes had migrated from Asia
under the leadership of a chief who called himself Odin, and that the
Swedes and the Gauts were, if not of different origin, at least of a
habitation of differing age in their present locations.
Based upon the information found in Ynglinga Saga we will give a review
of the history of the early kings of Sweden, although the first dozen,
and more, of these kings are of a doubtful “historic” character. At
the dawn of history, Sweden was, like most other countries of Northern
Europe, divided into petty communities, each ruled by a king. These
communities seem to have been nearly identical with the “lands”
or later provinces into which Sweden is yet divided, although the
administrative divisions are different. In spite of the fact that it
is about 1,200 years since these communities were united into one
single realm, the inhabitants preserve to this day their respective
peculiarities of customs and language.
The most important among the chieftains of Sweden was, since time
immemorial, the king of Upsala, who conducted the sacrifices and temple
service at Upsala, the oldest and most celebrated place of heathen
worship in the Scandinavian North. Originally, he had under his rule
only one-third of the present province of Upland, the chief settlement
of the Sviar, or Swedes in a limited sense. The Upsala kings belonged
to the ancient royal race of Skilfings (or “Ynglings,” according to
Snorre), who traced their origin from the gods. The founder of the
dynasty as accepted by Thiodulf and others was _Yngve_, who is said
to have built the great temple at Upsala, moving thither the capital
from the older Sigtuna and contributing to the temple all his lands and
riches. Yngve’s son was _Fiolner_. King Fiolner was drowned by accident
in a huge vessel full of mead, during a visit paid to King Frode in
Denmark.
His son _Sveigder_ disappeared during a journey which he made in order
to find Odin, the old. Both the names Fiolner and Sveigder appear to
be mythical. Sveigder’s son _Vanlande_ was a great warrior. He is said
once to have taken up his winter abode in Finland, which, together with
several archæological finds, point to an early intercourse between
Sweden and Finland. _Visbur_ succeeded his father Vanlande, marrying
the daughter of Aude (the Rich), whom he afterward left and took
another wife, bringing on himself a curse by so doing. Visbur’s sons
fell unexpectedly over him, burning him in his house. _Domalde_, his
son, succeeded him. During a great famine in Svithiod he was offered
to the gods in order to obtain good seasons. Domalde’s son and
grandson, _Domar_ and _Dygve_, both reigned and died in peace. _Dag_,
the son of Dygve, was so wise a man that he understood the language
of birds. _Agne_, the son of Dag, was the ruler after him. One summer
he invaded Finland with his army. When the Finns gathered there was a
great battle, in which Agne gained victory, subduing all Finland. The
daughter of a conquered chief, Skialf, was carried back to Sweden as
his bride. But after a drinking feast, Agne was hanged in a tree by
Skialf and her men. The place where this happened was called Agnefit,
and is said to be identical with the site of Stockholm, the later
capital of the country. _Alrek_ and _Eric_ became kings after the
death of their father Agne. They got into a dispute one day while out
walking. Having no weapons, they assailed and killed each other with
their horses’ bridles. Their successors, _Yngve_ and _Alf_, the sons
of Alrek, shared a similar fate, killing each other in the royal hall
by the high-seat. After them _Hugleik_, the son of Alf, became king of
the Swedes. On the Fyrisvols, the plains by the river Fyris in Upland,
Hugleik was killed in battle against a famous sea-king Hake, who
subdued the country and became king of Svithiod. The saga mentions that
this Hake was a brother of Hagbard, whose love for the king’s daughter,
Signe, cost him his life. This love story is one of the most famous in
the North and much spoken of in saga and song. The spot where Hagbard
was hanged in a tree is still pointed out. When Hake had ruled as king
for three years, _Jorund_ and _Eric_, the sons of Yngve, returned
with warships and warriors. They had grown up and become famous by
conquering the king Gudlaug, of the Haleygians in Norway, whom they had
met in Denmark. Now they met King Hake and his army at the Fyrisvols.
In the battle, Eric was killed and Jorund fled to his ship. But King
Hake was himself so grievously wounded that he ordered a warship to be
loaded with his dead men and their weapons, and himself to be placed
upon it. The sails were hoisted and the ship set on fire, and out it
flew, with the dying king on board, between the skerries to the sea.
Jorund now became king in Upsala. When he was one summer marauding in
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
fell, and the king was killed.
_Eystein_, the son of Audils, ruled after him and was succeeded by his
son _Yngvar_. Eystein was never able to defend his people against the
Danes, while Yngvar was a successful warrior, both at home and abroad.
But one summer when he was fighting in Esthonia he was killed by the
Esthonians. He was buried in a mound close to the seashore.
_Anund_ was Yngvar’s son and successor. He went to Esthonia to avenge
his father, ravaging the country and returning with great booty. In
his time there were fruitful seasons in Svithiod. On this account, and
because he made many roads, cleared the woods and cultivated the new
land, he became one of the most popular of early Swedish kings. He was
called _Brœt-Anund_, viz., Anund Roadmaker.
_Ingiald_, the son of Anund, became king in Upsala after his father. He
was the most remarkable of all the Ynglings (Skilfings), for, through
violence and cunning, he united all the communities of Sweden into
one realm. When his father died, the king at Upsala was certainly the
supremely powerful ruler in Svithiod, but not the only one, for there
were many district-kings who were to a great extent independent. There
were not only kings in East Gothland, Sœdermanland, and Nerike, but
in Upland there were, besides the Upsala king, also kings in each of
the three “lands” into which this province was formerly divided; viz.,
Tiundaland, Attundaland, and Fiedrundaland. Ingiald ordered a great
feast to celebrate the fact that he had come to the throne after his
father, and invited seven other kings, all of whom were present, except
Granmar, king of Sœdermanland. When the Brage-bowl, on which promises
were made, was carried in, King Ingiald made a solemn vow to enlarge
his dominions by one-half, toward all the four corners of the world,
or die. In the evening Ingiald set fire to the hall, and all the six
royal guests perished with their followers. Ingiald took possession
of all the dominions belonging to the unfortunate kings. In the next
year he surrounded the hall in which King Granmar found himself at the
time, killing him and taking his land in possession. “It was a common
saying,” Snorre tells us, “that King Ingiald had killed twelve kings
and deceived them all under pretence of peace; therefore he was called
Ingiald Illrade (the evil-adviser).” His daughter, Asa, was of the same
disposition as her father. She was married to Gudrod, king of Scania,
but had to flee from the land after having caused the death of her
husband and his brother. When it was learned that King Ivar, nephew of
Gudrod, had entered Svithiod with an army, Asa counselled her father to
set fire to the hall of the king after his men were drunk and asleep.
Thus perished Ingiald Illrade with his daughter, very much in the same
fashion in which he had killed so many of the petty kings.
For the centuries following upon Ingiald’s death, Snorre has a very
short, or almost no account to give about Sweden and her rulers. What
can be gathered from other sources, principally from late Icelandic
sagas, is not trustworthy, mythical and fictitious elements being
discernible.
After Ingiald, _Ivar Vidfamne_ (the Far-stretching) is said to have
ruled Sweden, “also Denmark, Saxonland, all of Austria and one-fifth
of England.” One account has it that Ivar was the head of a new
dynasty in Sweden. As he was originally king of Scania, perhaps these
were the real Ynglings. Another source claims for the succeeding
Swedish kings descent from the old race of the Ynglings (viz., the
Skilfings). Ingiald’s son Olof, according to Snorre, fled to the woods
of Vermland, until then uninhabited, and later came to Norway. But it
is a misunderstanding of Thiodulf’s lines which causes Snorre to say
that King Olof was buried close by the Lake Venar, in Vermland. The
province of Vermland was inhabited much earlier than in Olof’s time,
and the Olof who became the founder of a Norwegian dynasty was probably
a Danish prince.
_Harald Hildetand_ of Denmark is said to have succeeded Ivar, and to
have ruled over as much territory as his mother’s father. Several
sources speak of King Harald and the battle of Bravols, in which his
life was ended and which battle generally is taken as a historic
milestone, marking the opening of the Viking Age. It was fought
somewhere about the year 740. King Harald had become old and almost
blind. In Svithiod and West Gothland, the kings Sigurd and Ring (by
the sagas made into one hero by the name “Sigurd Ring”) ruled under
Harald, while he reigned himself over Denmark and East Gothland. The
relations were good at first, but their aspect soon changed. After
great preparations on either side, Ring met Harald on the plains of
Bravik in East Gothland. The battle was a long and bloody one and the
most renowned in song and saga. King Harald, too old to take an active
part, mounted a chariot, which carried him into the midst of the fight.
When King Ring at last saw the chariot empty, he understood that the
aged king had fallen and gave the sign that the battle should come to
an end. King Ring caused the remains of his fallen foe to be burned
with great pomp and ceremony on a pile with his horse, weapons and many
a costly treasure of gold and silver. King _Ring_ was said to have been
ruler of Sweden and Denmark after King Harald. The sagas mention the
hero, _Ragnar Lodbrok_, as his son and successor. While this great
viking and sea-king appears to have been a historic personage in the
earlier half of the ninth century, it is impossible that he could have
been identical with King Ring’s son _Ragnar_, or that he or his sons
ever were kings in Upsala or Sweden.
With the first attempts to introduce Christianity into Sweden (of which
more later) a more definite knowledge of Swedish rulers and conditions
is gained. When Ansgar, the apostle of Sweden, visited the country
for the first time, about 830, the ruling king was _Biœrn_. Shortly
afterward King _Anund_ is mentioned. He fled from his land, but was
reinstated with the help of the Danes. King _Olof_ was on the throne
at the time of Ansgar’s second visit to Sweden, about 850. These kings
must have been of the same family as those who held the throne up to
the middle of the eleventh century, for their names all occur again in
the line of later Swedish kings, the reigns of whom fall in the broad
light of history.
We have seen how Ingiald Illrade joined the various communities into
one single realm. Although there is doubt whether this realm from the
start embraced all Sweden, there is no historical evidence or any
reliable traditions whatever to show that Sweden was ever divided into
smaller kingdoms after the death of King Ingiald. When Ansgar reaches
Sweden he travels through half of the country in order to reach the
commercial centre of Birka, where the king of Sweden is dwelling.
No other king, great or petty, is spoken of, while the contemporary
Icelanders mention jarls (earls) in Gothaland, which proves that the
once independent kings in that district were made away with.
Of particular importance is the account of a journey which a certain
Wulfstan made to the North, at the close of the ninth century. This
account is given in an Old English translation of Orosii Historia,
credited to King Alfred of England. Thus it runs: “Wulfstan said that
he went from Schleswig to Truso in seven days, that the ship was all
the way running under sail. Wendland was on his right, but Langeland,
Lolland, Falster and Scania on his left, and all these lands belong
to Denmark, and then Bornholm was on our left, which has a king of
its own. Then after Bornholm, the lands of Bleking, Mœre, Œland, and
Gotland, were first on our left, and these lands belong to Sweden.”
Wulfstan’s account, besides furnishing evidence to prove the political
consolidation of Sweden, also gives a good idea of the size of the
country in this period. The once independent province of Scania, which
had kings of its own, already belongs to Denmark. So does also the
province of Halland, while Bohuslæn belongs to Norway. Dal and Vermland
are contested provinces between the kings of Sweden and Norway, while
great parts of Norrland are yet uninhabited, except by Laps, who ramble
from one place to another, without a fixed dwelling place. In King
Alfred’s Orosius, Danish Jutland and Swedish Gautland (Gothaland) are
alike called _Gotland_, which recalls the supposition of the majority
of modern scholars that Gotland was in the earliest times the common
Teutonic name of the North, and Goths the common name of its Teutonic
inhabitants.