Heaðolaf was a member of a Scandinavian clan named the Wulfings, which according to the Norse sagas ruled the Geat

Geat

Geats , and sometimes Goths) were a North Germanic tribe inhabiting what is now Götaland in modern Sweden...

ish petty kingdom

Petty kingdom

A petty kingdom is one of a number of small kingdoms, described as minor or "petty" by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it...

 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...

.

All that is known of Heaðolaf is that he was slain by Ecgþeow

Ecgþeow

Ecgþeow or Edgetho or Ecgtheow is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf. He is not mentioned outside the Beowulf manuscript, and it is not known whether he was based on a real person. He belonged to a probably Swedish family called the Waegmundings...

, the father of Beowulf. Reportedly, his powerful family demanded too high a weregild

Weregild

Weregild was a value placed on every human being and every piece of property in the Salic Code...

 from Ecgþeow's clan, the Wægmunding

Wægmunding

The Wægmundings were a prominent probably Swedish clan in Beowulf. A name such as Wægmunding meant "belongs to Wægmund", i.e. they were the descendants of a man named Wægmund. This was the normal way of naming a Germanic clan The Wægmundings were a prominent probably Swedish clan (an ätt, see...

s, so Ecgþeow was banished and had to seek refuge with the Danes. The Danish king Hroðgar

Hroðgar

Hroðgar, King Hroþgar, "Hrothgar", Hróarr, Hroar, Roar, Roas or Ro was a legendary Danish king, living in the early 6th century....

paid the weregild and the matter was settled.