Arngrim
Encyclopedia
Arngrim was a berserker
, who figures in Hervarar saga
, Gesta Danorum
, Lay of Hyndla, a number of Faroese
ballads and Orvar-Odd's saga in Norse mythology
.
, who was in possession of Tyrfing
at the moment. Tyrfing cut through Arngrim's shield and down into the soil, whereupon Arngrim cut off Svafrlami's hand, grabbed the sword and slew him with his own weapon. Then Arngrim captured Svafrlami's daughter Eyfura
and forced her to marry him.
Version R, however relates that Arngrim became Sigrlami's war-chief and won many battles and conquered land and subjects for the old king. In recompense, Arngrim was given a high position in the realm, Eyfura and Tyrfing.
In all versions of the saga, Arngrim returned to Bolmsö
with Eyfura (although versions H and U say that it was the island Bolm in Hålogaland
). They had twelve sons who all followed in their father's footsteps and became berserkers. According to the U version, they were called Angantyr
, Hjörvard, Hervard, Hrani, Barri, Tyrfing, Tind, two Haddings, Bui, Bild and Toki. According to the H version, their names were Angantyr, Hjorvard, Hervard, Hrani, Brami, Barri, Reifnir, Tind, Saeming and Bui and the two Haddings (in version R only six are mentioned: Angantyr, Hjörvard, Hervard, Hrani and the two Haddings).
For the continued adventures of the sword Tyrfing, see Angantyr
and Hjalmar
.
According to Saxo Grammaticus
, Arngrim was a Swedish champion who had killed Skalk the Scanian. This made him very proud of himself and he consequently ventured to ask for the hand of Eyfura
, the daughter of Frodi, a Danish king.
However, when Frodi denied his request, Arngrim turned to Erik
, the King of Sweden, and asked him for advice. Erik told Arngrim to earn Frodi's respect by killing Egther, the king of Bjarmaland
and Thengil, the king of Finnmark
. Arngrim first attacked Thengil and crushed the Saami
s. As the Saamis fled they threw three pebbles behind them that they enchanted so that the pebbles looked like three mountains. As Arngrim was tricked he called back his men. The next day, they again started to chase the Saamis, but the Saamis threw snow on the ground and made it look like a river, and this made the Swedes stop the pursuit. The third day, the battle recommenced and this time the Saamis had no more magic to resort to, and they were defeated. The Saamis agreed to the peace terms, and every third year every Saami was forced to pay a full carriage of reindeer
hides.
Then Arngrim took on Egther of Bjarmaland and slew him in single combat. He then forced the Bjarmians to pay him one hide each. Arngrim returned to Erik, who accompanied Arngrim to Frodi. Erik convinced Frodi that Arngrim was the best possible match for Frodi's daughter Eyfura. Frodi agreed to the marriage and by Eyfura Arngrim had twelve sons.
Saxo Grammaticus agrees with Hervarar saga by giving the same names for nine of the twelve sons: Angantyr
, Hjörvard, Hervard, Hrani, Biarbe, Tyrfing, Tand, two Haddings, Brand, Brodd and Hiarrande.
and that they had as sons twelve ravaging berserkers named Hervard, Hjorvard, Rane, Angantyr, Bue, Brame, Barre, Reivner, Tind, Tyrving and two Haddings.
(The restless men) relates to the "sons of Arngrim" in the refrain: "Those sons of Arngrim of the north pray for homeward passage".
Berserker
Berserkers were Norse warriors who are reported in the Old Norse literature to have fought in a nearly uncontrollable, trance-like fury, a characteristic which later gave rise to the English word berserk. Berserkers are attested in numerous Old Norse sources...
, who figures in Hervarar saga
Hervarar saga
Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks is a legendary saga from the 13th century combining matter from several older sagas. It is a valuable saga for several different reasons beside its literary qualities. It contains traditions of wars between Goths and Huns, from the 4th century, and the last part is used as...
, Gesta Danorum
Gesta Danorum
Gesta Danorum is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th century author Saxo Grammaticus . It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark and is an essential source for the nation's early history...
, Lay of Hyndla, a number of Faroese
Faroese language
Faroese , is an Insular Nordic language spoken by 48,000 people in the Faroe Islands and about 25,000 Faroese people in Denmark and elsewhere...
ballads and Orvar-Odd's saga in Norse mythology
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
.
Hervarar saga
According to versions H and U, Arngrim went pillaging to Gardariki and met its king SvafrlamiSvafrlami
Svafrlami was in the H and U version of the Hervarar saga the son of Sigrlami, who was the son of Odin. In the R version, Svafrlami is called Sigrlami and his parentage is not given. Svafrlami was the king of Gardariki and the first owner of the magic sword Tyrfing.One day, he was hunting on his...
, who was in possession of Tyrfing
Tyrfing
Tyrfing or Tirfing was a magic sword in Norse mythology, which figures in a poem from the Poetic Edda called Hervararkviða, and in Hervarar saga...
at the moment. Tyrfing cut through Arngrim's shield and down into the soil, whereupon Arngrim cut off Svafrlami's hand, grabbed the sword and slew him with his own weapon. Then Arngrim captured Svafrlami's daughter Eyfura
Eyfura
Eyfura was a princess in Norse mythology, who married Arngrim and had twelve sons. In all accounts, her twelve sons would be slain by the Swedish champion Hjalmar and his friend Orvar-Odd....
and forced her to marry him.
Version R, however relates that Arngrim became Sigrlami's war-chief and won many battles and conquered land and subjects for the old king. In recompense, Arngrim was given a high position in the realm, Eyfura and Tyrfing.
In all versions of the saga, Arngrim returned to Bolmsö
Bolmsö
Bolmsö is an island located in lake Bolmen near Växjö in Småland. It had 382 inhabitants in 1998.It presents 530 ancient remains, including dolmens and cobble-clad graves in various forms, especially large triangular ones. The dominating graves are large barrows from the Iron Age with the addition...
with Eyfura (although versions H and U say that it was the island Bolm in Hålogaland
Hålogaland
Hålogaland was the northernmost of the Norwegian provinces in the mediaeval Norse sagas. In the early Viking Age, before Harald Fairhair, Hålogaland was a petty kingdom extending between Namdalen in Nord-Trøndelag and Lyngen in Troms.-Etymology:...
). They had twelve sons who all followed in their father's footsteps and became berserkers. According to the U version, they were called Angantyr
Angantyr
Angantyr was the name of three characters from the same line in Norse mythology, and who appear in Hervarar saga, in Gesta Danorum and Faroese ballads....
, Hjörvard, Hervard, Hrani, Barri, Tyrfing, Tind, two Haddings, Bui, Bild and Toki. According to the H version, their names were Angantyr, Hjorvard, Hervard, Hrani, Brami, Barri, Reifnir, Tind, Saeming and Bui and the two Haddings (in version R only six are mentioned: Angantyr, Hjörvard, Hervard, Hrani and the two Haddings).
For the continued adventures of the sword Tyrfing, see Angantyr
Angantyr
Angantyr was the name of three characters from the same line in Norse mythology, and who appear in Hervarar saga, in Gesta Danorum and Faroese ballads....
and Hjalmar
Hjálmar
- Current :*Þorsteinn Einarsson - Guitar and vocals*Sigurður Halldór Guðmundsson - Keyboards and vocals*Guðmundur Kristinn Jónsson - Guitar* Valdimar Kolbeinn Sigurjónsson - Bass* Helgi Svavar Helgason - Percussion- Former :...
.
Gesta Danorum
Saxo Grammaticus
Saxo Grammaticus also known as Saxo cognomine Longus was a Danish historian, thought to have been a secular clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, foremost advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. He is the author of the first full history of Denmark.- Life :The Jutland Chronicle gives...
, Arngrim was a Swedish champion who had killed Skalk the Scanian. This made him very proud of himself and he consequently ventured to ask for the hand of Eyfura
Eyfura
Eyfura was a princess in Norse mythology, who married Arngrim and had twelve sons. In all accounts, her twelve sons would be slain by the Swedish champion Hjalmar and his friend Orvar-Odd....
, the daughter of Frodi, a Danish king.
However, when Frodi denied his request, Arngrim turned to Erik
Alrek and Eirík
Alaric and Eric , were two legendary kings of Sweden. and may have lived in the 5th century- In the Ynglinga saga :...
, the King of Sweden, and asked him for advice. Erik told Arngrim to earn Frodi's respect by killing Egther, the king of Bjarmaland
Bjarmaland
Bjarmaland was a territory mentioned in Norse sagas up to the Viking Age and - beyond - in geographical accounts until the 16th century. The term is usually seen to have referred to the southern shores of the White Sea and the basin of the Northern Dvina River and - presumably - some of the...
and Thengil, the king of Finnmark
Finnmark
or Finnmárku is a county in the extreme northeast of Norway. By land it borders Troms county to the west, Finland to the south and Russia to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea to the northwest, and the Barents Sea to the north and northeast.The county was formerly known as Finmarkens...
. Arngrim first attacked Thengil and crushed the Saami
Sami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
s. As the Saamis fled they threw three pebbles behind them that they enchanted so that the pebbles looked like three mountains. As Arngrim was tricked he called back his men. The next day, they again started to chase the Saamis, but the Saamis threw snow on the ground and made it look like a river, and this made the Swedes stop the pursuit. The third day, the battle recommenced and this time the Saamis had no more magic to resort to, and they were defeated. The Saamis agreed to the peace terms, and every third year every Saami was forced to pay a full carriage of reindeer
Reindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
hides.
Then Arngrim took on Egther of Bjarmaland and slew him in single combat. He then forced the Bjarmians to pay him one hide each. Arngrim returned to Erik, who accompanied Arngrim to Frodi. Erik convinced Frodi that Arngrim was the best possible match for Frodi's daughter Eyfura. Frodi agreed to the marriage and by Eyfura Arngrim had twelve sons.
Saxo Grammaticus agrees with Hervarar saga by giving the same names for nine of the twelve sons: Angantyr
Angantyr
Angantyr was the name of three characters from the same line in Norse mythology, and who appear in Hervarar saga, in Gesta Danorum and Faroese ballads....
, Hjörvard, Hervard, Hrani, Biarbe, Tyrfing, Tand, two Haddings, Brand, Brodd and Hiarrande.
Lay of Hyndla
The lay of Hyndla also mentions Arngrim and Eyfura, but only relates that they lived on BolmsöBolmsö
Bolmsö is an island located in lake Bolmen near Växjö in Småland. It had 382 inhabitants in 1998.It presents 530 ancient remains, including dolmens and cobble-clad graves in various forms, especially large triangular ones. The dominating graves are large barrows from the Iron Age with the addition...
and that they had as sons twelve ravaging berserkers named Hervard, Hjorvard, Rane, Angantyr, Bue, Brame, Barre, Reivner, Tind, Tyrving and two Haddings.
Arngrim's sons
Interestingly, it appears that Lay of Hyndla preserves the original list.| Lay of Hyndla | Hervarar saga | Gesta Danorum | ||
| version R | version U | version H | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angantyr | Angantyr | Angantyr | Angantyr | Anganty |
| Hjörvard | Hjörvard | Hjörvard | Hjörvard | Hjörvard |
| Hervard | Hervard | Hervard | Hervard | Hervard |
| Hrani | Hrani | Hrani | Hrani | Hrani |
| Hadding | Hadding | Hadding | Hadding | Hadding |
| Hadding | Hadding | Hadding | Hadding | Hadding |
| Barri | Barri | Barri | Barbi | |
| Tind | Tind | Tind | Tand | |
| Tyrfing | Tyrfing | Saeming | Tyrfing | |
| Bui | Bui | Bui | Brand | |
| Brami | Bild | Brami | Brodd | |
| Reifnir | Toki | Reifnir | Hiarrande | |
Ballads
A medieval ballad collected in TelemarkTelemark
is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien. Until 1919 the county was known as Bratsberg amt.-Location:...
(The restless men) relates to the "sons of Arngrim" in the refrain: "Those sons of Arngrim of the north pray for homeward passage".