Skuld (princess)

Skuld was a princess of Scandinavian legend who married Heoroweard and encouraged him to kill Hroðulf (Hrólfr Kraki). The accounts of her vary greatly from source to source.

"Hrólfr Kraki's saga"

"Hrólfr Kraki's saga" tells that one Yule, Helgi (appears as Halga in "Beowulf") was visited by an ugly being while he was in his hunting house. No person in the entire kingdom allowed the being to enter the house, except Helgi. Later, the thing asked to sleep in his bed. Unwillingly he agreed, and as the thing got into the bed, it turned into an elvish woman, who was clad in silk and who was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He ravished her, and made her pregnant. Helgi forgot the woman and a couple of days after the date had passed, he was visited by the woman, who had Skuld on her arms. The daughter would marry Hjörvarðr (Heoroweard).

Much later when her half-brother Hrólfr Kraki was king of the Daner, Skuld began to turn her husband against Hrólfr. Under the pretext that they would wait three years before paying the accumulated tribute at one time, Skuld assembled a large army which included strong warriors, criminals, elves and norns. She used seiðr (witchcraft) to hide the great muster from Hrólfr and his champions.

They then arrived at Lejre one Yule for the midwinter blóts, with all the weapons hidden in wagons. A fight started and like in the account found in "Gesta Danorum", Bödvar Bjarki fought in the shape of a spirit bear until he was awakened by Hjalti. Skuld used her witchcraft to resuscitate her fallen warriors and after a long fight Hrólfr and all his berserkers fell.

Skuld became the ruler of Denmark but did not rule well. Bödvar Bjarki's brothers Elk-Froði and Þorir Houndsfoot went to Denmark to avenge their brother. The Swedish queen Yrsa gave them a large Swedish army headed by Vöggr. They captured Skuld before she could use her magic and tortured her to death. Then they raised a mound for Hrólfr Kraki where he was buried together with his sword Skofnung.

"Skjöldunga saga"

The "Skjöldunga saga" [ [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/14878 "The Relation of the Hrolfs Saga Kraka and the Bjarkarimur to Beowulf" by Olson, 1916, at Project Gutenberg] ] [Nerman (1925:150)] relates that Helgo (Halga) was the king of Denmark together with his brother Roas (Hroðgar). Helgo raped Olava, the queen of the Saxons, and she bore a daughter named Yrsa. The girl later married King Adillus (Eadgils), the king of Sweden. Yrsa and Adillus had the daughter Scullda.

Yrsa and Adillus married their Scullda to the king of Öland, Hiørvardus (also called "Hiorvardus" and "Hevardus", and who corresponds to Heoroweard in "Beowulf"). As her half-brother Rolfo (Hrólfr Kraki, Hroðulf) was not consulted about this marriage, he was infuriated and he attacked Öland and made Hiørvardus and his kingdom tributary to Denmark.

Hiørvardus and his queen Skullda rebelled against Rolfo and killed him. However, Hiørvardus did not live long after this and was killed.

"Gesta Danorum"

The "Gesta Danorum" (book 2), by Saxo Grammaticus, tells that Roluo (Hrólfr Kraki) defeated Athislus (Eadgils) and gave Sweden to young man named Hiartuar (Heoroweard), who also married Roluo's sister Skulde. Skulde, however, did not like the fact that her husband had to pay taxes to Roluo and so encited Hiartuar to rebell against him. They so went to Lejre (a town which Roluo had built) with arms hidden in the ships, under the pretense that they wanted to pay tribute.

They were well-received, but after the banquet, when most people were drunk asleep, the Swedes and the Goths (i.e. the Geats) proceeded to kill everyone at Roluo's residence. After a long battle, involving Roluo's champion Bjarki, who fought in the shape of a spirit bear until he was awakened by his comrade Hjalti, the Geats won and Roluo was killed.

Hiartuar asked Wigg if he wanted to fight for him, and Wigg said yes. Hiartuar wanted to give Wigg a sword, but he insisted on receiving it by taking the hilt. Having the hilt in his hand, Wigg pierced Hiartuar with the sword and so avenged Roluo. Swedes and Geats then rushed forward and killed Wigg. The Swedish king Høtherus (based on the god Höðr), the brother of Athislus, succeeded Roluo and became the king of a combined Sweden and Denmark.

"Chronicon Lethrense" and "Annales Lundenses"

The "Chronicon Lethrense" (and the included "Annales Lundenses") tell that Rolf Krage's sister Skulda was married against Rolf's will to Hartwar/Hiarwarth ["Hartwar" according to the "Chronicon Lethrense", but "Hiarwarth" according to the "Annales Lundenses".] (Heoroweard), a German earl of Skåne, but reputedly Rolf had given Skulda to him together with Sweden.

This Hartwar arrived in Zealand with a large army and said that he wanted to give his tribute to Rolf, but killed Rolf together with all his men. Only one survived, Wigge, who played along until he was to do homage to Hartwar. Then, he pierced Hartwar with a sword, and so Hartwar was only king one morning. However, according to a reputation, it was instead an Ake who killed Hartwar and so became king.

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