Eadgils of the Myrgings
Encyclopedia
Eadgils of the Myrgings is a king of the Myrgings a clan of Saxon origin who is mentioned on lines 93-96 in the Anglo-Saxon
poem Widsith
. He would have lived in the 5th century and is mentioned as the lord of the scop
himself in the poem.
According to the Old English poem Widsith
before Eadgils became king the Myrgings had been at war with a tribe called the Mofdings under the previous king Meaca who was probably killed in battle fighting against them resulting in their defeat and forcing the Myrgings to retreat back to the Eider (river) where Eadgils probably became king, Following Meaca's death Eadgils became a powerful Myrging king by defeating the Mofdings and plundering the Angles
and their lands as he was determined to rule over them, However the Angles forced the Myrgings to flight.
No other source remembers the Myrgings as they were probably assimilated to the surrounding Angles
and only leaving the slightest of traces, This Eadgils has sometimes been confused with the Swedish king Eadgils
who lived almost a century later.
Eadgils was at war with the Angles
and plundered their lands, He slew Frowinus, the governor of Schleswig
. Frowinu's sons Ket and Wig
avenged their fathers death by killing Eadgils, but did so by fighting two against one. Because of this Offa
decides to fight two Myrging princes, probably the sons of Eadgils, and slew them after this the Myrgings were successfully conquered by Offa.
The slaying of Eadgils is also mentioned in Annales Ryenses and by the Danish historian Svend Aagesen
. The latter says that the shameful act of letting two warriors fight at the same time against the Angle king Offa unable to speak when he was young.
Anglo-Saxon literature
Old English literature encompasses literature written in Old English in Anglo-Saxon England, in the period from the 7th century to the Norman Conquest of 1066. These works include genres such as epic poetry, hagiography, sermons, Bible translations, legal works, chronicles, riddles, and others...
poem Widsith
Widsith
Widsith is an Old English poem of 144 lines that appears to date from the 9th century, drawing on earlier oral traditions of Anglo-Saxon tale singing. The only text of the fragment is copied in the Exeter Book, a manuscript of Old English poetry compiled in the late 10th century containing...
. He would have lived in the 5th century and is mentioned as the lord of the scop
Scop
A ' was an Old English poet, the Anglo-Saxon counterpart of the Old Norse .As far as we can tell from what has been preserved, the art of the scop was directed mostly towards epic poetry; the surviving verse in Old English consists of the epic Beowulf, religious verse in epic formats such as the...
himself in the poem.
According to the Old English poem Widsith
Widsith
Widsith is an Old English poem of 144 lines that appears to date from the 9th century, drawing on earlier oral traditions of Anglo-Saxon tale singing. The only text of the fragment is copied in the Exeter Book, a manuscript of Old English poetry compiled in the late 10th century containing...
before Eadgils became king the Myrgings had been at war with a tribe called the Mofdings under the previous king Meaca who was probably killed in battle fighting against them resulting in their defeat and forcing the Myrgings to retreat back to the Eider (river) where Eadgils probably became king, Following Meaca's death Eadgils became a powerful Myrging king by defeating the Mofdings and plundering the 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...
and their lands as he was determined to rule over them, However the Angles forced the Myrgings to flight.
No other source remembers the Myrgings as they were probably assimilated to the surrounding 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...
and only leaving the slightest of traces, This Eadgils has sometimes been confused with the Swedish king Eadgils
Eadgils
Eadgils, Adils, Aðils, Adillus, Aðísl at Uppsölum, Athisl, Athislus or Adhel was a semi-legendary king of Sweden, who is estimated to have lived during the 6th century....
who lived almost a century later.
Eadgils was at war with the 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...
and plundered their lands, He slew Frowinus, the governor of Schleswig
Schleswig
Schleswig or South Jutland is a region covering the area about 60 km north and 70 km south of the border between Germany and Denmark; the territory has been divided between the two countries since 1920, with Northern Schleswig in Denmark and Southern Schleswig in Germany...
. Frowinu's sons Ket and Wig
Ket and Wig
Ket and Wig appear in the Gesta Danorum as the sons of Frowin, the governor of Schleswig. Wig also appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as the son of Freawine and father of Gewis, eponymous ancestor of the kingdom of Wessex and their kings, but this is thought to be a late manipulation, inserting...
avenged their fathers death by killing Eadgils, but did so by fighting two against one. Because of this Offa
Offa of Angel
Offa was the 4th-great-grandfather of Creoda of Mercia, and was reputed to be a great-grandson of Woden, English god of war and poetry and creator of Middle-Earth, the realm of man. Offa was the son of Wermund, and the father of Angeltheow...
decides to fight two Myrging princes, probably the sons of Eadgils, and slew them after this the Myrgings were successfully conquered by Offa.
The slaying of Eadgils is also mentioned in Annales Ryenses and by the Danish historian Svend Aagesen
Svend Aagesen
Svend Aggesen is most famous, in Denmark at least, as the author of one of the first attempts to write a coherent history of Denmark covering the period 300AD-1185AD...
. The latter says that the shameful act of letting two warriors fight at the same time against the Angle king Offa unable to speak when he was young.