Origins for Beowulf and Rolf Krake
Beowulf and
Rolf Krake (Hrolf Kraki) are two well-known characters in the myths and sagas of ancient
Scandinavia.
Both are supposed to have lived sometimes around 450 - 550 AD, and much have been discussed over the years regarding the origin of them both.
Character alignments
\nThere are several characters in Beowulf that apparently match the names \nknown from other ancient northern tales and Sagas.
- A common assumption is that Rolf Krake, would be the 'same' as the character of Hrothulf in Beowulf (Hrothgar's nephew).
There seems to be some foreshadowing in Beowulf that Hrothulf will attempt to usurp the throne from Hrothgar's sons, and there is another reference to the future burning of the hall of Heorot in the beginning of the poem - which is the legendary death of Rolf Krake, who is believed to have been burnt to death by his brother-in-law Hjorvard, over a matter of taxes.\n*Then, the standard view seems to be that -- if Beowulf himself indeed does have a 'cognate' character in Rolf Krakes Saga -- it is Bodvar Bjarke (Bodvar Biarki), who also has a younger companion, Hjalte (Hialti) - perhaps matching the Beowulf character Wiglaf.\n*Both Beowulf and Bodvar Bjarke have brothers who are kings of Geatland. Morever, like Beowulf, Bodvar Bjarke arrives to Denmark from Götaland (Geatland), and upon arriving to Denmark he kills a beast that has been ravaging the Danish court for two years.\n*According to this theory, also the name of Beowulf is assumed to originate from: beo (bee) + wulf (wolf), i.e. Bee-Wolf, i.e. a kenning for Bear (the wolf/hunter of bees).
This is another reason why people see Biarki as Beowulf's 'cognate' (because of the names).
- As for the king of the Danes, Hrothgar, he is consequently identified as Ro, or Roar, an uncle of Rolf Krake who had been known to reign in England at the time when Rolf's father Helge ruled Denmark. \n*Furthermore, the Swedish kings referenced in Beowulf are adequately matched with the 5th and 6th century Svea kings in Uppsala:
In
Rolf Krake's saga,
Bodvar Bjarke aides
Adils in defeating his uncle
Ale. In
Beowulf, Beowulf aides
Eadgils and kills
Onela. As far as the Swedish adventure is concerned, Beowulf and Bodvar Bjarke are one and the same. This match supports the hypothesis that the adventure with the dragon is also originally the same story.
It is thus likely, that
Beowulf and
Rolf Krake's saga are two versions of the same original Germanic heroic epic. Like the
Saga of the Volsungs and
Nibelungenlied, there are similar patters and corresponding personalities. It is also possible that
Beowulf and
Rolf Krake's saga are based on real events in the same way as the
Saga of the Volsungs and
Nibelungenlied.
However,
Bodvar Bjarke and
Beowulf are given distinct genealogies. Although Beowulf does have some bear-like characteristics, he is never said in the epic to change his skin or project his fetch (in the shape of a bear) as Bjarki did. Some of the similarities could perhaps be accounted for by common literary traditions and devices. For instance, both accounts resemble in various ways a
Bear Son Tale.
Geographical definitions
\nThe geographical placements of Beowulf's Weder-Geats as well as the \nother geograhically referenced places in Beowulf are subject to \nmuch debate.
- Roar is supposed to have founded Roskilde (e.g. Saxo Grammaticus Gesta Danorum), by which modern and middle age town in northern Sjælland (Zealand), Denmark, also the ancient kingdom seat Lejre was located. This then would seem appropriate a place for Hrothgar to have built the great hall of Heorot.\n*The identity of the Geats has been contested. From a linguistic point of view, the question has a simple answer since Geat is plainly the Anglo-Saxon form of Old Norse Gaut and modern Swedish Göt. This is also the generally accepted view. Moreover, in the Liber Monstrorum, Chlochilachus or Huiglaucus who is identified with Hygelac (Hugleikr) is described as rex Getarum. However, the Geats have been identified with quite a number of different peoples and areas, by different authors for various purposes - such as the Gotlanders, the Goths, the Jutes, etc., etc. However, in Beowulf, there is no such confusion. The Geats, the Danes and the Jutes (Eotenas) are described as three distinct nations (for good review of relevant discussion see the Chambers book referenced below). And as a learned fiction (see the Leake ref. below).\n*Wherever the Weder-Geats place their origin, it is supposedly (according to Beowulf) located only two nights sail-way from the Danes great hall Heorot. This distance corresponds well to the distance between Själland and the estuary of Göta älv (the narrow riverine gate of the traditional Götaland between Viken (a former Norwegian province) and Halland (belonged formerly to Denmark)). However, this distance is just as well thought of to be a distance not totally reliable - which in turns leave the field open for various interpretations that accommodates the different views on where to place the Geats.
References
\nAlignment of characters in the Sagas
\nThere has been some work on possible equivalences between the Beowulf\ncharacters and the characters from the various Norse sagas and king-lists,\netc.
Here are some references:
- Malone, Kemp. Studies in Heroic Legend and in Current Speech. S. Einarsson & N.E. Eliason, eds. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger, 1959.\n*Lukman, Niels Clausen. Skjoldunge und Skilfinge. Hunnen- und Heruler-könige in Ostnordischer Überlieferung. Classica et mediaevalia, dissertationes III. Copenhagen: Gyldendalske Boghandel Nordisk Forlag, 1943.\n*Hemmingsen, Lars. By Word of Mouth: the origins of Danish legendary history - studies in European learned and popular traditions of Dacians and Danes before A.D. 1200. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Copenhagen (Dept. of Folklore), 1995.\n*Anderson, Carl Edlund. Formation and Resolution of Ideological Contrast in the Early History of Scandinavia. Ph.D. thesis, University of Cambridge, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic (Faculty of English). [1]
General Beowulf discussions
\nFor other references on Beowulf, see the page for Beowulf. Also the \nfollowing sources are of interest.\n*Chambers, Raymond W.
Beowulf: an introduction to the study of the poem with a discussion of the stories of Offa and Finn. Cambridge: Cambridge Uni. Press, 1921 (2nd rev. ed., 1932).\n*Leake, Jane Acomb.
The Geats of Beowulf: a study in the geographical mythology of the Middle Ages. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1967.\n*Smithers, George V. 'The Geats in Beowulf'.
Durham University Journal 63.2 (1971).
