Battle of the Brávellir
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Brávellir or the Battle of Bråvalla was a legendary battle that is described in the Norse sagas as taking place on the Brávellir
between Sigurd Ring
, king of Sweden
and the Geats of West Götaland
, and his uncle Harald Wartooth
, king of Denmark
and the Geats of East Götaland
.
s Hervarar saga
, Bósa saga ok Herrauds
and Sögubrot af Nokkrum, but it is most extensively described in the Danish Gesta Danorum
.
, but ruled Denmark and East Götaland, whereas his subordinate king Sigurd Ring
was the ruler of Sweden
and West Götaland. According to legend, Harald Wartooth
realised that he was growing old (150) and may die of old age and so never go to Valhalla
. He consequently asked Sigurd if he would let him leave this life gloriously in a great battle.
, both hosts prepared for seven years, and mustered armies of 200 000 men. Harald was joined by the legendary heroes Ubbe of Friesland, Uvle Brede, Are the One-eyed, Dag the Fat, Hroi Whitebeard and Hothbrodd the Indomitable as well as 300 shieldmaiden
s led by Hed, Visna and Hedborg. Sigurd recruited the legendary heroes Starkad
, Egil the Bald, Grette the Evil (a Norwegian), Blig Bignose, Einar the Fatbellied and Erling Snake. Famous Swedes were Arwakki, Keklu-Karl, Krok the peasant, Gummi and Gudfast from Gislamark. They were joined by scores of Norwegians
, Finns, Estonians
, Curonians
, Bjarmians, Livonians, Saxons
, Angles
, Frisians
, Irish
, Rus'
etc... All picking their sides. Whole forests were chopped down in order to build 3000 longships to transport the Swedes. Harald's Danes had built so many ships that they could walk across The Sound
.
The numbers are obviously exaggerated, certainly tenfold or more. For comparison with the 3000 Swedish ships, the leidang
fleets of the Scandinavian kingdoms numbered around 300 ships each during the Viking Age
.
speaks about Brávelli í eystra Gautlandi (i.e. Bråvalla in East Götaland
), and in Sögubrot af Nokkrum the battle is said to have taken place south of Kolmården
which separated Sweden
(i.e. Svealand
) from East Götaland and where Bråviken is located: ... Kolmerkr, er skilr Svíþjóð ok Eystra-Gautland ... sem heitir Brávík. and Saxo ends his account by saying "thus ended the battle of Bråvik". Most historians have held the battle to have taken place near Bråviken,. but in the 17th century a minority view appears to have located it in Småland at Lake Åsnen.
and Sögubrot are essentially the same.
At first the two armies fought collectively, but after a while Ubbi was in the centre of attention. He slew first Ragnvald the Wise Councilor, then the champion Tryggvi and three Swedish princes of the royal dynasty. Humbled, king Sigurd Ring sent forth the champion Starkad
who managed to wound Ubbi but was himself even more seriously wounded. Then Ubbi killed Agnar, and took the sword in both hands and slashed a path through the Swedish host, until he fell riddled with arrows from the archers of Telemark
. Then the shieldmaiden
Veborg killed the champion Soti and managed to give additional wounds to Starkad who was greatly angered. Furious Starkad went forth in the Danish army killing warriors all around him and cut off the shieldmaiden Visna's arm, which held the Danish banner. Starkad then proceeded to slay the champions Brai, Grepi, Gamli and Haki. When Harald had observed these heroic feats, he stood on his knees in his chariot with one sword in each hand and killed a great many warriors both to his left and to his right. After a while, Harald's steward Bruni deemed that his liege had amassed enough glory and crushed the king's skull with a club.
and Denmark
(40,000 warriors had died).
summarized the ebbs and tides of its historicity. He stated that older scholarship had treated the accounts of the battle uncritically and perceived the accounts as largely historical. During the last decades of the 19th century, however, the hypercritical school considered the battle as entirely fictional and considered even the area where it took place as mythical. The pendulum turned and during the first decades of the 20th century, the opinion was once again in favour of its historicity, although the contemporary scholarship regarded it as a fictionalized historic event. In 1990, the Swedish encyclopedia Nationalencyklopedin
summed up the debate by claiming that the historicity of the battle is impossible to verify. There is also a hypothesis relating the battle to the events of 827
when Harald Klak
was expelled from Denmark.
Brávellir
Brávellir or Bråvalla was the name of the central plain of Östergötland , in Norse mythology....
between Sigurd Ring
Sigurd Ring
Sigurd Hring was a Swedish and Danish king mentioned in many old Scandinavian legends. According to Bósa saga ok Herrauds, there was once a saga on Sigurd Hring, but this saga is now lost...
, king of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and the Geats of West Götaland
Västergötland
', English exonym: West Gothland, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden , situated in the southwest of Sweden. In older English literature one may also encounter the Latinized version Westrogothia....
, and his uncle Harald Wartooth
Harald Wartooth
Harald Wartooth or Harold Hiltertooth was a legendary king of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and the historical northern German province of Wendland, in the 8th and 9th century...
, king of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and the Geats of East Götaland
Östergötland
Östergötland, English exonym: East Gothland, is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland, and the Baltic Sea. In older English literature, one might also encounter the Latinized version, Ostrogothia...
.
Sources
This battle is said to have taken place in the mid 8th century and it is retold in several sources, such as the Norse sagaNorse saga
The sagas are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, about early Viking voyages, the battles that took place during the voyages, about migration to Iceland and of feuds between Icelandic families...
s 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...
, Bósa saga ok Herrauds
Bósa saga ok Herrauds
Bósa saga ok Herrauds or "Saga of Bósi and Herraud" is a legendary saga written around 1300 preserved in three 15th century manuscripts relating the fantastic adventures of the two companions Herraud and Bósi....
and Sögubrot af Nokkrum, but it is most extensively described in the Danish 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...
.
Cause
Harald had inherited Sweden from his maternal grandfather Ivar VidfamneIvar Vidfamne
Ivar Vidfamne was a Danish and Swedish king hailing from Scania. He may have died c. 700. According to the Heimskringla and the Hervarar saga, Ivar was also the king of Norway, Denmark, Saxony and parts of England.- Ivar in the Sagas :He began as king of Scania and conquered Sweden by defeating...
, but ruled Denmark and East Götaland, whereas his subordinate king Sigurd Ring
Sigurd Ring
Sigurd Hring was a Swedish and Danish king mentioned in many old Scandinavian legends. According to Bósa saga ok Herrauds, there was once a saga on Sigurd Hring, but this saga is now lost...
was the ruler of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and West Götaland. According to legend, Harald Wartooth
Harald Wartooth
Harald Wartooth or Harold Hiltertooth was a legendary king of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and the historical northern German province of Wendland, in the 8th and 9th century...
realised that he was growing old (150) and may die of old age and so never go to Valhalla
Valhalla
In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those that die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyja's field Fólkvangr...
. He consequently asked Sigurd if he would let him leave this life gloriously in a great battle.
Preparation
According to Saxo GrammaticusSaxo 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...
, both hosts prepared for seven years, and mustered armies of 200 000 men. Harald was joined by the legendary heroes Ubbe of Friesland, Uvle Brede, Are the One-eyed, Dag the Fat, Hroi Whitebeard and Hothbrodd the Indomitable as well as 300 shieldmaiden
Shieldmaiden
A shieldmaiden was a woman who had chosen to fight as a warrior in Scandinavian folklore and mythology. They are often mentioned in sagas such as Hervarar saga and in Gesta Danorum. Shieldmaidens also appear in stories of other Germanic nations: Goths, Cimbri, and Marcomanni. The mythical Valkyries...
s led by Hed, Visna and Hedborg. Sigurd recruited the legendary heroes Starkad
Starkad
Starkad, Old Norse: Starkaðr or Störkuðr, Latin: Starcaterus, and during the late Middle Ages, also known as Starkodder, was a legendary hero in Norse mythology....
, Egil the Bald, Grette the Evil (a Norwegian), Blig Bignose, Einar the Fatbellied and Erling Snake. Famous Swedes were Arwakki, Keklu-Karl, Krok the peasant, Gummi and Gudfast from Gislamark. They were joined by scores of Norwegians
Norwegians
Norwegians constitute both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in United States, Canada and Brazil.-History:Towards the end of the 3rd...
, Finns, Estonians
Estonians
Estonians are a Finnic people closely related to the Finns and inhabiting, primarily, the country of Estonia. They speak a Finnic language known as Estonian...
, Curonians
Curonians
The Curonians or Kurs were a Baltic tribe living on the shores of the Baltic sea in what are now the western parts of Latvia and Lithuania from the 5th to the 16th centuries, when they merged with other Baltic tribes. They gave their name to the region of Courland , and they spoke the Old...
, Bjarmians, Livonians, Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
, Angles
Angles
The Angles is a modern English term for a Germanic people who took their name from the ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...
, Frisians
Frisians
The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal parts of the Netherlands and Germany. They are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia, that was a part of Denmark until 1864. They inhabit an area known as Frisia...
, Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Rus'
Rus' (people)
The Rus' were a group of Varangians . According to the Primary Chronicle of Rus, compiled in about 1113 AD, the Rus had relocated from the Baltic region , first to Northeastern Europe, creating an early polity which finally came under the leadership of Rurik...
etc... All picking their sides. Whole forests were chopped down in order to build 3000 longships to transport the Swedes. Harald's Danes had built so many ships that they could walk across The Sound
Oresund
The Sound , is the strait that separates the Danish island Zealand from the southern Swedish province of Scania. Its width is just at the narrowest point between Helsingør, Denmark, and Helsingborg, Sweden...
.
The numbers are obviously exaggerated, certainly tenfold or more. For comparison with the 3000 Swedish ships, the leidang
Leidang
The institution known as leiðangr , leidang , leding, , ledung , expeditio or sometimes lething , was a public levy of free farmers typical for medieval Scandinavians. It was a form of conscription to organise coastal fleets for seasonal excursions and in defence of the realm...
fleets of the Scandinavian kingdoms numbered around 300 ships each during the Viking Age
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
.
Location
The Hervarar sagaHervarar 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...
speaks about Brávelli í eystra Gautlandi (i.e. Bråvalla in East Götaland
Östergötland
Östergötland, English exonym: East Gothland, is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland, and the Baltic Sea. In older English literature, one might also encounter the Latinized version, Ostrogothia...
), and in Sögubrot af Nokkrum the battle is said to have taken place south of Kolmården
Kolmården
Kolmården is a large forest that separates the Swedish provinces of Södermanland and Östergötland, two of the country's main agricultural areas, from each other.-History:...
which separated Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
(i.e. Svealand
Svealand
Svealand , Swealand or Sweden proper is the historical core region of Sweden. It is located in south central Sweden and is one of three lands of Sweden, bounded to the north by Norrland and to the south by Götaland. Deep forests, Tiveden, Tylöskog, Kolmården, separated Svealand from Götaland...
) from East Götaland and where Bråviken is located: ... Kolmerkr, er skilr Svíþjóð ok Eystra-Gautland ... sem heitir Brávík. and Saxo ends his account by saying "thus ended the battle of Bråvik". Most historians have held the battle to have taken place near Bråviken,. but in the 17th century a minority view appears to have located it in Småland at Lake Åsnen.
Battle
The accounts found in Gesta DanorumGesta 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...
and Sögubrot are essentially the same.
At first the two armies fought collectively, but after a while Ubbi was in the centre of attention. He slew first Ragnvald the Wise Councilor, then the champion Tryggvi and three Swedish princes of the royal dynasty. Humbled, king Sigurd Ring sent forth the champion Starkad
Starkad
Starkad, Old Norse: Starkaðr or Störkuðr, Latin: Starcaterus, and during the late Middle Ages, also known as Starkodder, was a legendary hero in Norse mythology....
who managed to wound Ubbi but was himself even more seriously wounded. Then Ubbi killed Agnar, and took the sword in both hands and slashed a path through the Swedish host, until he fell riddled with arrows from the archers of Telemark
Telemark
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:...
. Then the shieldmaiden
Shieldmaiden
A shieldmaiden was a woman who had chosen to fight as a warrior in Scandinavian folklore and mythology. They are often mentioned in sagas such as Hervarar saga and in Gesta Danorum. Shieldmaidens also appear in stories of other Germanic nations: Goths, Cimbri, and Marcomanni. The mythical Valkyries...
Veborg killed the champion Soti and managed to give additional wounds to Starkad who was greatly angered. Furious Starkad went forth in the Danish army killing warriors all around him and cut off the shieldmaiden Visna's arm, which held the Danish banner. Starkad then proceeded to slay the champions Brai, Grepi, Gamli and Haki. When Harald had observed these heroic feats, he stood on his knees in his chariot with one sword in each hand and killed a great many warriors both to his left and to his right. After a while, Harald's steward Bruni deemed that his liege had amassed enough glory and crushed the king's skull with a club.
Outcome
Sigurd won the battle and became the sovereign ruler of all of SwedenSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
(40,000 warriors had died).
Historicity
The general agreement on the historicity of the battle has turned back and forth during the last two centuries depending on what was the prevalent ideology among Scandinavian historians. In 1925, the Swedish archaeologist Birger NermanBirger Nerman
Birger Nerman was a Swedish archaeologist, professor, and author.-Background:Birger Nerman belonged to a bourgeois family Nerman from Vimmerby. He was the son of Janne Nerman , the bookseller in Norrköping, and his wife Anna Ida Nordberg...
summarized the ebbs and tides of its historicity. He stated that older scholarship had treated the accounts of the battle uncritically and perceived the accounts as largely historical. During the last decades of the 19th century, however, the hypercritical school considered the battle as entirely fictional and considered even the area where it took place as mythical. The pendulum turned and during the first decades of the 20th century, the opinion was once again in favour of its historicity, although the contemporary scholarship regarded it as a fictionalized historic event. In 1990, the Swedish encyclopedia Nationalencyklopedin
Nationalencyklopedin
Nationalencyklopedin is the most comprehensive contemporary Swedish language encyclopedia, initiated by a favourable loan from the Government of Sweden of 17 million Swedish kronor in 1980, which was repaid by December 1990...
summed up the debate by claiming that the historicity of the battle is impossible to verify. There is also a hypothesis relating the battle to the events of 827
827
Year 827 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Beginning of the invasion of Sicily by the Aghlabid dynasty of Ifriqiya . The campaign in the island against Byzantium will take 51 years...
when Harald Klak
Harald Klak
Harald 'Klak' Halfdansson was a king in Jutland around 812–814 and again from 819–827.-Family:...
was expelled from Denmark.
External links
- Sögubrot af Nokkrum fornkonungum í Dana ok Svíaveldi - kap 7,9: ..Kolmerkr, er skilr Svíþjóð ok Eystra-Gautland ... sem heitir Brávík..
- Hervarar saga og Heiðreks - kap 15: ..Brávelli í eystra Gautlandi..
- Saxo: The Danish History, Book Eight Part I - Saxo on the Battle of Bråvalla.