Gautrekr
Encyclopedia
Gautrekr was a legend
ary Geatish king who appears in several sources, such as Gautreks saga
, Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar
, Bósa saga ok Herrauðs
, Ynglinga saga
, Nafnaþulur
(part of the Prose Edda
) and Af Upplendinga konungum
.
He appears in different temporal settings, and he could represent different kings named Gautrekr, as the name simply means "Geatish ruler". In the various settings, he also has different offspring. However, all settings present him as the son of a Gaut or Gauti, and in one of the later settings, his father Gaut gave his name to Götaland
(Geatland).
In Nafnaþulur, he is mentioned as one of the sea-king
s, after his father Gauti.
and the Swedish kings Erik and Alrik.
Gautreks saga
tells that Gautrekr was born out of the meeting between Gauti, the king of Västergötland
, and Snotra who was the most intelligent of a family of backwoods skinflints. Her family committed suicide for having lost too much food supporting Gauti as their guest. Snotri took the child Gautrek to Gauti's court and King Gauti, years later on his deathbed, made Gautrek his heir.
Gautrekr married Álfhildr, the daughter of king Harald of Wendland
. When she died, Gautrekr went somewhat out of his mind, ignored all matters of state, and spent all his time on Álfhildr's burial mound, flying his hawk.
Through trickery and the advice of Neri, one of Gautrekr's earls, a man named Ref gained the
hand of Gautrek's daughter Helga. He also gained the earldom that Neri held from King Gautrekr.
If Gautreks saga tells that Gautrekr had the daughter Helga, Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar
adds two sons, Ketill and Hrólfr Gautreksson
. They both succeeded Gautrekr and Hrólfr spent many years pillaging in Brittany
and Great Britain
until he finally kidnapped the Swedish princess and made her his wife.
r, the last Geatish king, in Scandinavian legends.
Both Af Upplendinga konungum
and Ynglinga saga
describe him as the son of Gaut, after whom Götaland
(Geatland) took its name. Af Upplendinga konungum tells that Gautrekr was married to Alof, the daughter of Olaf the Clear-Sighted, the king of Närke
. Both sources tell that Gautrekr had a son named Algaut
r whose daughter Gauthildr
married the Swedish king Ingjald
Ill-ruler.
The Ynglinga saga
then continues by telling how the Swedish king invited Algautr and several other petty kings to a banquet at Uppsala
only to be burnt to death inside the hall where they had the banquet. Ingjald then proceeded to conquer the kingdoms of the dead kings.
, Gautrekr the Generous is shortly mentioned as the son of Gauti, the son of Odin
. It adds that his brother Ring was the king of Östergötland
and the father of Herrauðr
. This Herrauðr is the same as the Geatish earl who gave his daughter Þóra Town-Hart
to Ragnar Lodbrok
, when he had saved her from the Lindworm
in a number of other sagas.
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
ary Geatish king who appears in several sources, such as Gautreks saga
Gautreks saga
Gautreks saga is a Scandinavian legendary saga put to text towards the end of the 13th century which survives only in much later manuscripts...
, Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar
Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar
Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar is a Scandinavian legendary saga which was put to text in Iceland in the 13th century. It has a prequel in Gautreks saga.Gautrekr was a Geatish king who descended from Odin himself...
, Bósa saga ok Herrauðs
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....
, Ynglinga saga
Ynglinga saga
Ynglinga saga is a legendary saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It was first translated into English and published in 1844....
, Nafnaþulur
Nafnaþulur
Nafnaþulur is a subsection of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the last part of the Skáldskaparmál. It is a listing in verse of names that may be used in poetry for various items, such as gods, giants, people, animals, and weapons...
(part of the Prose Edda
Prose Edda
The Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda or simply Edda, is an Icelandic collection of four sections interspersed with excerpts from earlier skaldic and Eddic poetry containing tales from Nordic mythology...
) and Af Upplendinga konungum
Af Upplendinga konungum
Af Upplendinga konunum or Of the Kings of the Uplands, found in the Hauksbók, is a short presentation of the House of Yngling from Olof Trätälja to Ragnvald the Mountain-High. It tells the same story as the last part of the Ynglinga saga but in summarized form.-External links:****...
.
He appears in different temporal settings, and he could represent different kings named Gautrekr, as the name simply means "Geatish ruler". In the various settings, he also has different offspring. However, all settings present him as the son of a Gaut or Gauti, and in one of the later settings, his father Gaut gave his name to Götaland
Götaland
Götaland , Gothia, Gothland, Gothenland, Gautland or Geatland is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises provinces...
(Geatland).
In Nafnaþulur, he is mentioned as one of the sea-king
Sea-King
A Sea King was the Viking name for a powerful pirate chieftain.They could be actual kings of Sweden , Denmark or a Norwegian kingdom, and sons of kings, such as Refil, but they could also be men "without roof" like Hjörvard the Ylfing.In the Norse sagas, such men without roof could be so powerful...
s, after his father Gauti.
Early setting
In the early setting, Gautrekr is the contemporary of legendary characters such as StarkadStarkad
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....
and the Swedish kings Erik and Alrik.
Gautreks saga
Gautreks saga
Gautreks saga is a Scandinavian legendary saga put to text towards the end of the 13th century which survives only in much later manuscripts...
tells that Gautrekr was born out of the meeting between Gauti, the king of Västergötland
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 Snotra who was the most intelligent of a family of backwoods skinflints. Her family committed suicide for having lost too much food supporting Gauti as their guest. Snotri took the child Gautrek to Gauti's court and King Gauti, years later on his deathbed, made Gautrek his heir.
Gautrekr married Álfhildr, the daughter of king Harald of Wendland
Wendland
Wendland may refer to either of the following regions or people:*Wendland may refer to a region once inhabited by Wends, an old Germanic term for Slavic tribes living in close proximity to the Germanic tribes:...
. When she died, Gautrekr went somewhat out of his mind, ignored all matters of state, and spent all his time on Álfhildr's burial mound, flying his hawk.
Through trickery and the advice of Neri, one of Gautrekr's earls, a man named Ref gained the
hand of Gautrek's daughter Helga. He also gained the earldom that Neri held from King Gautrekr.
If Gautreks saga tells that Gautrekr had the daughter Helga, Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar
Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar
Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar is a Scandinavian legendary saga which was put to text in Iceland in the 13th century. It has a prequel in Gautreks saga.Gautrekr was a Geatish king who descended from Odin himself...
adds two sons, Ketill and Hrólfr Gautreksson
Hrólfr Gautreksson
Hrólfr Gautreksson was a legendary Geatish king who appears in Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar and probably in Hyndluljóð.Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar tells that he was the son of king Gautrek and when his father died, his elder brother Ketill became king. Hrólfr would court and finally win the Swedish king...
. They both succeeded Gautrekr and Hrólfr spent many years pillaging in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
until he finally kidnapped the Swedish princess and made her his wife.
Gautrekr the Mild
In the late setting, Gautrekr the Mild is the father of AlgautAlgaut
Algaut was a Geatish king who ruled West Götaland according to the Heimskringla. Snorri Sturluson relates that he was burnt to death by his son-in-law, the Swedish king Ingjald Ill-ruler....
r, the last Geatish king, in Scandinavian legends.
Both Af Upplendinga konungum
Af Upplendinga konungum
Af Upplendinga konunum or Of the Kings of the Uplands, found in the Hauksbók, is a short presentation of the House of Yngling from Olof Trätälja to Ragnvald the Mountain-High. It tells the same story as the last part of the Ynglinga saga but in summarized form.-External links:****...
and Ynglinga saga
Ynglinga saga
Ynglinga saga is a legendary saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It was first translated into English and published in 1844....
describe him as the son of Gaut, after whom Götaland
Götaland
Götaland , Gothia, Gothland, Gothenland, Gautland or Geatland is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises provinces...
(Geatland) took its name. Af Upplendinga konungum tells that Gautrekr was married to Alof, the daughter of Olaf the Clear-Sighted, the king of Närke
Närke
' is a Swedish traditional province, or landskap, situated in Svealand in south central Sweden. It is bordered by Västmanland to the north, Södermanland to the east, Östergötland to the southeast, Västergötland to the southwest, and Värmland to the northwest...
. Both sources tell that Gautrekr had a son named Algaut
Algaut
Algaut was a Geatish king who ruled West Götaland according to the Heimskringla. Snorri Sturluson relates that he was burnt to death by his son-in-law, the Swedish king Ingjald Ill-ruler....
r whose daughter Gauthildr
Gauthildr Algautsdóttir
Gauthildr Algautsdóttir was, according to the Heimskringla, the daughter of the Geatish king Algaut and the wife of Ingjald Ill-ruler, a legendary king of Sweden. She was the mother of Olof Trätälja, the last Yngling ruler of Sweden and Åsa who married Gudröd, a legendary king of Skåne....
married the Swedish king Ingjald
Ingjald
Ingjald illråde or Ingjaldr hinn illráði was a legendary Swedish king of the House of Ynglings. Ingjald may have ruled in the 7th century, and he was the son of the former king Anund....
Ill-ruler.
The Ynglinga saga
Ynglinga saga
Ynglinga saga is a legendary saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It was first translated into English and published in 1844....
then continues by telling how the Swedish king invited Algautr and several other petty kings to a banquet at Uppsala
Gamla Uppsala
Gamla Uppsala is a parish and a village outside Uppsala in Sweden. It had 16,231 inhabitants in 1991.As early as the 3rd century AD and the 4th century AD and onwards, it was an important religious, economic and political centre...
only to be burnt to death inside the hall where they had the banquet. Ingjald then proceeded to conquer the kingdoms of the dead kings.
Gautrekr the Generous
In Bósa saga ok HerrauðsBósa 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....
, Gautrekr the Generous is shortly mentioned as the son of Gauti, the son of Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
. It adds that his brother Ring was the king of Östergötland
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 the father of Herrauðr
Herrauðr
Herrauðr, Herraud, Herröðr, Herruðr, Herrud, Herothus or Heroth is a legendary earl of Götaland or king of Sweden, who appears in several medieval legends, in particular those relating to Ragnar Lodbrok...
. This Herrauðr is the same as the Geatish earl who gave his daughter Þóra Town-Hart
Þóra Town-Hart
Þóra Town-Hart or Þóra borgarhjörtr was the daughter of Herrauðr, the earl of Götaland and wife of Ragnar Loðbrók....
to Ragnar Lodbrok
Ragnar Lodbrok
Ragnar Lodbrok was a Norse legendary hero from the Viking Age who was thoroughly reshaped in Old Norse poetry and legendary sagas.-Life as recorded in the sagas:...
, when he had saved her from the Lindworm
Lindworm
Lindworm in British heraldry, is a technical term for a wingless bipedal dragon often with a venomous bite.-Etymology:In modern Scandinavian languages, the cognate lindorm can refer to any 'serpent' or monstrous...
in a number of other sagas.