- Gudrød the Hunter
Gudrød the Hunter (
Old Norse : "Guðrǫðr veiðikonungr", Norwegian: "Gudrød Veidekonge") was a semi-legendary king in south-eastNorway , during the earlyViking Age . He is mentioned in theskald ic poem "Ynglingatal ".Snorri Sturluson elaborates on Gudrød's story in "Heimskringla ", written c. 1230; however, this is not considered to be a historical account by modern historians. The following account is taken from "Heimskringla".Gudrød was the son of
Halfdan the Mild of theHouse of Yngling andLiv Dagsdotter ofVestmar . He married Alfhild, a daughter of Alfarin the king ofAlfheim (Bohuslän ), which was the name of the area betweenGlomma andGöta älv , and inherited half the province ofVingulmark . They had a son,Olaf Gudrødsson .When Alfhild died, Gudrød sent his warriors to
Agder and its king, Harald, to propose a marriage with his daughter Åsa. However,Harald Granraude declined, so Gudrød decided to take his daughter by force.They arrived at night. When Harald realised that he was being attacked, he assembled his men and fought well, but died together with his son Gyrd. Gudrød carried away Åsa and married her. He raped her and she gave him a son named Halfdan who would be called
Halfdan the Black .In the fall, when Halfdan was a year old, Gudrød was having at a feast in
Stiflesund . He was very drunk and in the evening, as he was walking on the gangway to leave the ship, an assassin thrust a spear through Gudrød, killing him. Gudrød's men instantly killed the assassin, who turned out to be Åsa's page-boy. Åsa admitted that the page-boy had acted on her behalf.ee also
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Heimskringla
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