Southern Gothenburg Archipelago
Encyclopedia
The Southern Gothenburg Archipelago lies off the coast of Gothenburg
, Sweden
's second-largest city. It has 5,000 permanent and another 6,000 summer residents. The archipelago
is completely car free.
In the Norse saga
s, it was called Elfarsker (the river islets), as the river Göta älv
had its estuary there. The islands appear to have been famous as a location for holmgang
ar during the Viking Age
.
Sagas where the location appears:
One of the islands, Brännö
, is described as an important location for fairs in the Laxdaela saga, and it is also considered to be the likely location of Breca and the Brondings
of the Anglo-Saxon
poems Widsith
and Beowulf
.
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, 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....
's second-largest city. It has 5,000 permanent and another 6,000 summer residents. The archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
is completely car free.
In the Norse saga
Norse 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, it was called Elfarsker (the river islets), as the river Göta älv
Göta älv
The Göta is a river that drains lake Vänern into the Kattegat at the city of Gothenburg on the western coast of Sweden. It is located in Götaland, with the river itself being a site of early Geatish settlement. The length is 93 km. Often the combination of Göta älv and Klarälven is mentioned...
had its estuary there. The islands appear to have been famous as a location for holmgang
Holmgang
Holmgang was a duel practiced by early medieval Scandinavians. It was a recognized way to settle disputes....
ar 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,...
.
Sagas where the location appears:
- Orvar-OddOrvar-OddÖrvar-Oddr is a legendary hero about whom an anonymous Icelander wrote a fornaldarsaga in the latter part of the 13th century. Örvar-Odds saga, the Saga of Örvar-Odd, became very popular and contains old legends and songs...
's saga - Bósa saga ok HerraudsBósa saga ok HerraudsBósa 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....
- Þorsteins saga VíkingssonarÞorsteins saga VíkingssonarÞorsteins saga Víkingssonar or The Saga of Thorstein, Viking's Son is a legendary saga taking place in the 7th century and it is about the father of Frithjof the Bold. It begins in Norway and Sweden but continues into exotic places such as India. It is not one of the more famous sagas, but it is...
One of the islands, Brännö
Brännö
Brännö is an island in the Southern Göteborg Archipelago and a locality situated in Göteborg Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 698 inhabitants in 2005...
, is described as an important location for fairs in the Laxdaela saga, and it is also considered to be the likely location of Breca and the Brondings
Brondings
The Brondings were a Germanic tribe. They and Breca the Bronding are mentioned in Beowulf , as Beowulf's childhood friend, and in Widsith , where Breca is the lord of the Brondings...
of the Anglo-Saxon
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
poems 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...
and Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
.