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HeoroweardHeoroweard, Hjrvard, Hjorvard or Hiar(t(h))uar is a character who appears both in Beowulf and in Norse mythology, where he is named Hjrvard. Hereoweard rebelled against Hrlf Kraki and killed him, but otherwise the sources vary greatly. In the paraphrase of Bjarkimal in Gesta Danorum, his army consisted of Swedes in one line and of Geats in another line. Several sources mention that he was married to Skuld, who according to Angrim's summary of the lost Skjldunga saga, and the Chronicon Lethrense was the daughter of Adils the Swedish king (called Eadgils in Beowulf). However, according to Hrlf Kraki's saga she was the daughter of Helgi, whereas Saxo is vague whether it was Adils or Helgi who was her father. Hrlf Kraki's saga does not mention where he came from, but according to Arngrim, Heoroweard was the king of land and according to Saxo, he became Hrlf's jarl in Sweden, whereas in the Chronicon Lethrense, he was German and the jarl of Skne. In Beowulf, he is the son of Heorogar, the elder brother of Halga (Helgi) and Hrothgar (Hrar). Consequently, he had greater right to the Danish throne than Hrlf Kraki (Hrothulf), and it is not surprising that he was the one who slew Hrlf. He did not survive long after Hrlfs death. According to Arngrim, Hrlf Kraki's saga and the Chronicon Lethrense, he was killed shortly after. According to Hrlf Kraki's saga, he was killed during the battle, and according to the other sources, he became king but was killed the same day. Succession According to Arngrim, Hereoweard was succeeded by Rrek (called Hredric in Beowulf), the cousin of Hrlf's father, but he was attacked by Valdar. They shared the kingdom so that Rrek kept Zealand, whereas Valdar took Skne. This version does not fit Bjarkimal as it relates that Rrik had been killed by Hrlf. According to Hrlf Kraki's saga, Skuld inherited the kingdom but was killed by the Geatish king Thorir Houndsfoot and by Yrsa's men. The kingdom then passed into the hands of Hrlf's daughters. According to Saxo, it is Hod, Adils' brother who became the king of both Denmark and Sweden. In the Chronicon Lethrense, it is Haki, son of Hamund, who became the king of Denmark, but the other sources who mention him place him centuries earlier. Comments The Danish scholar Olrik (1903) has proposed a solution to why the sources vary. According to Beowulf, Adils gains the Swedish throne aided by the Geats. In Heoroweard's case, he is a pretender who gains the Danish throne aided by the Swedes. This is why Heoroweard is easily made jarl of Swedes, as in Saxo's patriotic tradition Swedish rulers are frequently appointed and dethroned. In order to make this possible, Saxo, or his tradition, had to make Adils defeated by the Danes and loosing his kingdom. In Arngrim's Icelandic tradition, which had a more clear conception of the Swedish line of kings, Heoroweard could not be made ruler of Sweden, and so he was named as the ruler of a kingdom on the fringe of Sweden, land, a kingdom which was known to be independent, but whose line of kings was no longer known. In Arngrim and the Chronicon Lethrense, Heoroweard is the son-in-law of Adils, married to his daughter Skuld, whereas Hrlf Kraki's saga makes him the son-in-law of Helgi (according to Olrik, he could not be married to his own cousin). The account shows that Heoroweard had close connection with Adils and Olrik suggests that the real reason behind Hrlfs voyage to Uppsala was Adils' support of Heoroweard. However, according to Snorri, Hrlf died during the Swedish king sten's reign. If both Snorri and Olrik are right, the Swedish king who supported Hereoweard when attacking and killing Hrlf may not have been Adils, but sten. See also Origins for Beowulf and Hrlf Kraki for more on the historical background of these characters. References Nerman, B. Det svenska rikets uppkomst. Stockholm, 1925. Olrik, (1903) Danmarks heltedigtning I, p. 39ff.
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