Wihtlæg
Encyclopedia
Wihtlæg, Whitlæg, Wighlek or Wiglek is a legendary king of either Denmark
or Angeln
in Germanic legends.
In Anglo-Saxon
genealogies, Whitlæg is one of the Sons of Woden. According to the genealogies in the Anglian collection
, Weothulgeot was ancestor to the royal house of Mercia
and the father of Whitlæg. According to the Historia Britonum
, Weothulgeot was father of Weaga who was father of Whitlæg. But the two Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
versions of this genealogy include neither Weothulgeot nor Weaga but make Whitlæg himself the son of Woden. In all versions Whitlæg is father of Wermund
, father of Offa of Angel
. According to the Old English
poem Widsith
Offa ruled over the continental Angles
.
The Danish Chronicon Lethrense
(and the included Annales Lundenses) tell that the Danish king Rorik Slengeborre was succeeded by his son Wighlek. This Wiglek married Nanna
, and he ruled in peace. He died in his bed and was succeeded by his son Wermund
, the father of Offe (Offa).
The somewhat later Danish chronicle Gesta Danorum
tells that when the Danish king Rorik Slyngebond had died Wiglek succeeded him. He took all the wealth from the mother of Amleth (Hamlet
) and complained about Amleth's actions as the ruler of Jutland
. Amleth, on the other hand offered Wiglek riches, in reconciliation. Wiglek disposed of Fiallar, the ruler of Scania
who retired to Undensakre
, and then he mustered the leidang
of Zealand and Scania, and sent a message to Amleth challenging him to war. In the battle Amleth fell, and his wife Hermutrude gave up herself as Wiglek's spoil of war. Wiglek died of illness and was succeeded by his son Wermund
, the father of Uffo (Offa).
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...
or Angeln
Angeln
Modern Angeln, also known as Anglia , is a small peninsula in Southern Schleswig in the northern Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, protruding into the Bay of Kiel...
in Germanic legends.
In Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
genealogies, Whitlæg is one of the Sons of Woden. According to the genealogies in the Anglian collection
Anglian collection
The Anglian collection is a collection of Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies and regnal lists. These survive in four manuscripts; two of which now reside in the British Library...
, Weothulgeot was ancestor to the royal house of Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
and the father of Whitlæg. According to the Historia Britonum
Historia Britonum
The Historia Brittonum, or The History of the Britons, is a historical work that was first composed around 830, and exists in several recensions of varying difference. It purports to relate the history of the Brittonic inhabitants of Britain from earliest times, and this text has been used to write...
, Weothulgeot was father of Weaga who was father of Whitlæg. But the two Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
versions of this genealogy include neither Weothulgeot nor Weaga but make Whitlæg himself the son of Woden. In all versions Whitlæg is father of Wermund
Wermund
Wermund or Garmund is an ancestor of the Mercian royal family, a son of Wihtlaeg and father of Offa. Mythology claims him to be a grandson of Woden, but the Danish histories written by Saxo Grammaticus disagree with this concept....
, father of Offa of Angel
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...
. According to the Old English
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...
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...
Offa ruled over the continental 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...
.
The Danish Chronicon Lethrense
Chronicon Lethrense
Chronicon Lethrense is a small Danish medieval work from the 12th century, written in Latin.-Themes:...
(and the included Annales Lundenses) tell that the Danish king Rorik Slengeborre was succeeded by his son Wighlek. This Wiglek married Nanna
Nanna (Norse deity)
In Norse mythology, Nanna Nepsdóttir or simply Nanna is a goddess associated with the god Baldr. Accounts of Nanna vary greatly by source. In the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, Nanna is the wife of Baldr and the couple produced a son, the god Forseti. After Baldr's...
, and he ruled in peace. He died in his bed and was succeeded by his son Wermund
Wermund
Wermund or Garmund is an ancestor of the Mercian royal family, a son of Wihtlaeg and father of Offa. Mythology claims him to be a grandson of Woden, but the Danish histories written by Saxo Grammaticus disagree with this concept....
, the father of Offe (Offa).
The somewhat later Danish chronicle 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...
tells that when the Danish king Rorik Slyngebond had died Wiglek succeeded him. He took all the wealth from the mother of Amleth (Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
) and complained about Amleth's actions as the ruler of Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
. Amleth, on the other hand offered Wiglek riches, in reconciliation. Wiglek disposed of Fiallar, the ruler of Scania
Scania
Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...
who retired to Undensakre
Glæsisvellir
Glæsisvellir was a location in Jotunheim in Norse mythology. It is mentioned in sources, such as Bósa saga ok Herrauds and Hervarar saga. -Legend:...
, and then he mustered 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...
of Zealand and Scania, and sent a message to Amleth challenging him to war. In the battle Amleth fell, and his wife Hermutrude gave up herself as Wiglek's spoil of war. Wiglek died of illness and was succeeded by his son Wermund
Wermund
Wermund or Garmund is an ancestor of the Mercian royal family, a son of Wihtlaeg and father of Offa. Mythology claims him to be a grandson of Woden, but the Danish histories written by Saxo Grammaticus disagree with this concept....
, the father of Uffo (Offa).
External links
- Peter Tunstall's translation of the Chronicon lethrense at The Chronicle of the Kings of Lejre and Northvegr: The Saga of Hrolf Kraki: The Chronicle of the Kings of Lejre.
- Book four of Gesta Danorum at the Online Medieval and Classical Library