Hrólfr Kraki
Hrólfr Kraki spreading gold to escape the Swedes, byJenny Nyström (1895).
Died	6th-century
Known for	Semi-legendary Danish king

Hrólfr Kraki (Old Norse:[ˈhroːlvz̠ˈkrɑke]),Hroðulf,Rolfo,Roluo,Rolf Krage (early 6th century^[1]) was asemi-legendary Danish king who appears in bothAnglo-Saxon andScandinavian tradition.

Both traditions describe him as a DanishScylding, the nephew ofHroðgar and the grandson ofHealfdene. The consensus view is thatAnglo-Saxon and Scandinavian traditions describe the same people.^[2] Whereas the Anglo-SaxonBeowulf andWidsith do not go further than treating his relationship with Hroðgar and their animosity withFroda andIngeld, the Scandinavian sources expand on his life as the king atLejre and on his relationship withHalga, Hroðgar's brother. InBeowulf andWidsith, it is never explained how Hroðgar and Hroðulf are uncle and nephew.

The poemBeowulf introducesHroðulf as kinsman.^[3] Later, the text explains that Hroðulf is Hroðgar's nephew and that "each was true to the other".^[4] Hroðgar is given three siblings, brothersHeorogar andHalga and an unnamed sister, all the children ofHealfdene and belonging to the royalclan known as theScyldings.^[5] The poem does not indicate which of Hroðgar's siblings is Hroðulf's parent, but later Scandinavian tradition establishes this as Halga.

Hroðgar and queenWealhþeow had two young sons,Hreðric and Hroðmund, and Hroðulf would be their guardian in case Hroðgar dies. In a deliberately ironic passage^[6] it appears that the queen trusts Hroðulf, not suspecting that he will murder her sons to claim the throne for himself:

No existence of any Hreðric or Hroðmund, sons of Hroðgar, has survived in Scandinavian sources (although Hreðric has been suggested to be the same person as Hroerekr/Roricus, a Danish king generally described as a son or successor ofIngjald^[9]). This Hroerekr is sometimes said to have been killed by Hrólfr, vindicating the foreshadowing inBeowulf.

The Scyldings were in conflict with anotherclan or tribe named theHeaðobards led by their kingFroda and his sonIngeld. It is in relation to this war that Hroðulf is mentioned in the otherAnglo-Saxon poem where he appears,Widsith.

A common identification is that Hrólf Kraki is the same as the character Hroðulf (Hroðgar's nephew) inBeowulf. There seems to be some foreshadowing inBeowulf that Hroðulf will attempt to usurp the throne from Hroðgar's sonsHreðric andHroðmund, a deed that also seems to be referred to inSaxo Grammaticus'sGesta Danorum (Book 2), where we find: "... our king, who laid lowRorik, the son of Bok the covetous, and wrapped the coward in death."Rorik is the form we would expectHreðric to take in Danish and we find personages namedRorik orHrok or similar in most version of the Hrólf Kraki tradition, but differently accounted for, seemingly indicating that Scandinavian tradition had forgotten who exactlyHreðric/Rorik/Hrok was and various story tellers subsequently invented details to explain references to this personage in older poems. The future slaying of Hreðric may be the occasion of the future burning of the hall ofHeorot in the beginning of the poem – though some take it instead to refer to the legendary death of Hrólf Kraki, who inIcelandic sources is said to have died in the burning of his hall by his brother-in-lawHjörvard.

The standard view is that, ifBeowulf himself has a 'cognate' character in Rolf Kraki's story, it isBödvar Bjarki (Bodvar Biarke),^[10] who also has a younger companion, Hjalti (Hialte) – perhaps matching the Beowulf characterWiglaf. Beowulf comes from Geatland (= Götaland) and one of Bödvar Bjarki's elder brothers,Thorir, becomes a king of Götaland. Moreover, like Beowulf, Bödvar Bjarki arrives in Denmark from Götaland (Geatland), and upon arriving in Denmark he kills a beast that has been ravaging the Danish court for two years. The monster inHrólf Kraki's saga, however, is quite unlike theGrendel ofBeowulf; but it does have characteristics of a more typicaldragon, a creature which appears later inBeowulf.Just as Beowulf and Wiglaf slay a dragon at the end ofBeowulf, Bödvar Bjarki and Hjalti help each other slay the creature in Denmark.

Proponents of this theory, likeJ. R. R. Tolkien,^[11] argue that both the namesBeowulf (lit. "bee-wolf", a kenning for "bear") andBjarki are associated with bears. Bodvar Bjarki is constantly associated with bears, his father actually being one.

In some of the Hrólf Kraki material, Bödvar Bjarki aids Adils in defeating Adils' uncle Áli, in theBattle on the Ice of Lake Vänern. InBeowulf, the hero Beowulf aids Eadgils in Eadgils' war againstOnela. As far as this Swedish adventure is concerned, Beowulf and Bödvar Bjarki are one and the same. This match supports the hypothesis that the adventure with the dragon is also originally derived from the same story.

As for the king of the Danes,Hroðgar, he is identical toHróar orRo, the uncle of Hrólf Kraki who in other sources outside ofBeowulf rules as a co-king with his brother Helgi. But in those sources it isHróar/Hroðgar who dies before his brother or who departs toNorthumberland to rule his wife's kingdom leavingHelgi/Halga the sole rule of Denmark. InBeowulf Halga/Helgi has died and Hroðgar is the primary ruler with Hroðulf son of Halga as a junior co-ruler.

Furthermore, the Swedish kings referenced in Beowulf are adequately matched with the 5th and 6th centurySwedish kings inUppsala (see alsoSwedish semi-legendary kings):This has obviously nothing to do with a common origin of the Beowulf and Hrólf Kraki legends in particular but simply reflects a shared genealogical tradition.

The poemWidsith also mentions Hroðgar and Hroðulf, but indicates that the feud with Ingeld did not end until the latter was defeated atHeorot:

This piece suggests that the conflict between the Scyldings Hroðgar and Hroðulf on one side, and the Heaðobards Froda and Ingeld on the other, was well known in Anglo-Saxon England. This conflict also appears in Scandinavian sources, but in the Norse tradition the Heaðobards had apparently been forgotten and the conflict is instead rendered as a family feud (seeHrólf Kraki's saga andSkjöldunga saga).

TheChronicon Lethrense and the includedAnnales Lundenses tell that Haldan (Healfdene) had two sons, Helghe (Halga) and Ro (Hroðgar). When Haldan died of old age, Helghe and Ro divided the kingdom so that Ro ruled the land, and Helghe the sea. One day, Helghe arrived inHalland/Lolland^[12] and slept with Thore, the daughter of one of Ro's farmers. This resulted in a daughter namedYrse. Much later, he met Yrse, and without knowing that she was his daughter, he made her pregnant withRolf. Eventually, Helghe found out that Yrse was his own daughter and, out of shame, went east and killed himself.

Both Helghe and Ro being dead, a Swedish king, called Hakon in theChronicon Lethrense proper, andAthisl in theAnnales – corresponding toEadgils – forced theDanes to accept a dog as king. Thedog king was succeeded by Rolf Krage.

Rolf Krage was a big man in body and soul and was so generous that no one asked him for anything twice. His sisterSkulda was married against Rolf's will to Hartwar or Hiarwarth (Heoroweard), aGerman earl ofSkåne, but reputedly Rolf had given Skulda to him together withSweden.

This Hartwar arrived inZealand with a large army and said that he wanted to give his tribute to Rolf, but killed Rolf together with all his men. Only one survived,Wigg, who played along until he was to do homage to Hartwar. Then, he pierced Hartwar with a sword, and so Hartwar was king for only one morning.

The Book 2 of theGesta Danorum bySaxo Grammaticus contains roughly the same information as theChronicon Lethrense and theAnnales Lundenses, i.e. that Ro (Hroðgar) and Helgo (Halga) were the son of Haldanus (Healfdene). When Haldanus died of old age, Ro took the land and Helgo the water. One day during his sea roving, Helgo arrived atThurø, where he found and raped the young girl Thora, which resulted in Urse (Yrsa). When Helgo after many years returned to Thurø, Thora avenged her lost virginity by sending Urse to Helgo who, unknowingly raped his own daughter. This resulted inRoluo, who was a gifted man, both physically and intellectually and as brave as he was tall. After some time Helgo repelled a Swedish invasion, avenged Ro by killing the Swedish kingHothbrodd, and made the Swedes pay tribute. However, he committed suicide due to shame for his incestuous relationship with Urse. Roluo succeeded him.

The new king of Sweden, Athislus (Eadgils), thought that the tribute to theDaner might be smaller if he married the Danish king's mother and so took Urse for a queen. However, after some time, Urse was so upset with the Swedish king's greed that she thought out a ruse to run away from the king and at the same time liberate him of his wealth. She incited Athislus to rebel against Roluo, and arranged so that Roluo would be invited and promised a wealth in gifts.

At the banquet Roluo was at first not recognised by his mother, but when their fondness was commented on by Athisl, the Swedish king and Roluo made a wager where Roluo would prove his endurance. Roluo was placed in front of a fire that exposed him to such heat that finally a maiden could suffer the sight no more and extinguished the fire. Roluo was greatly recompensed by Athisl for his endurance.

When the banquet had lasted for three days, Urse and Roluo escaped from Uppsala, early in the morning in carriages where they had put all the Swedish king's treasure. In order to lessen their burden, and to occupy any pursuing warriors they spread gold in their path (later in the work, this is referred to as "sowing theFyrisvellir"), although there was a rumour that she only spread gilded copper. When Athislus, who was pursuing the escapers saw that a precious ring was lying on the ground, he bent down to pick it up. Roluo was pleased to see the king of Sweden bent down, and escaped in the ships with his mother.

A young man namedWigg was impressed with Roluo's bodily size and gave him the cognomenKrage, which meant a tall tree trunk used as a ladder. Roluo liked this name and rewarded Wigg with a heavy bracelet. Wigg, then, swore to Roluo to avenge him, if he was killed.Roluo later defeated Athislus and gave Sweden to young man named Hiartuar (Heoroweard), who also married Roluo's sisterSkulde. Skulde, however, did not like the fact that her husband had to pay taxes to Roluo and so incited Hiartuar to rebel against him. They so went toLejre (a town which Roluo had built) with arms hidden in the ships, under the pretense that they wanted to pay tribute.

They were well-received, but after the banquet, when most people were drunk asleep, the Swedes and the Goths (i.e. theGeats) proceeded to kill everyone at Roluo's residence. After a long battle, involving Roluo's championBjarki, who fought in the shape of a spirit bear until he was awakened by his comradeHjalti, the Geats won and Roluo was killed.

Hiartuar asked Wigg if he wanted to fight for him, and Wigg said yes. Hiartuar wanted to give Wigg a sword, but he insisted on receiving it by taking the hilt. Having the hilt in his hand, Wigg pierced Hiartuar with the sword and so avenged Roluo. Swedes and Geats then rushed forward and killed Wigg. The Swedish king Høtherus (based on the godHöðr), the brother of Athislus, succeeded Roluo and became the king of a combinedSweden andDenmark.

InHrólfr Kraki's saga, Halfdan (Healfdene) had three children, the sons Helgi (Halga) and Hróarr (Hroðgar) and the daughter Signý. The sister was the eldest and married to Sævil Jarl, with whom she had the son Hrókr. Halfdan was murdered by his own brother Fróði (Froda) and the two brothers had to seek refuge with a man called Vivil on an island, until they could avenge their father and kill Fróði.Whereas Hróarr moved toNorthumbria and married the king's daughter, Helgi (i.e.Halga) went to theSaxons wanting to woo their warlike queen Oluf. She was, however, not interested and humiliated Helgi by shaving his head and covering him with tar, while he was asleep, and sending him back to his ship. Some time later, Helgi returned and through a ruse, he kidnapped the queen for a while during which time he made her pregnant.

Having returned to her kingdom, the queen bore a child, a girl which she named Yrsa after her dog. Yrsa was set to live as a shepherd, until she was 12 years old, when she met her father Helgi who fell in love with her, not knowing it was his daughter. Oluf kept quiet about the parentage and saw it as her revenge that Helgi would wed his own daughter. Helgi and Yrsa had the sonHrólfr.

Learning that Helgi and Yrsa lived happily together, queen Oluf travelled to Denmark to tell her daughter the truth. Yrsa was shocked and although Helgi wanted their relationship to remain as it was, Yrsa insisted on leaving him to live alone. She was later taken by the Swedish king Aðils (Eadgils) as his queen, which made Helgi even more unhappy. Helgi went toUppsala to fetch her, but was killed by Aðils in battle. InLejre, he was succeeded by his son Hrólfr.

Hrólfr soon assembled twelve greatberserkers named Hrómundr harði, Hrólfr skjóthendi,Svipdagr,Beigaðr, Hvítserkr inn hvati, Haklangr, Harðrefill, Haki inn frækni, Vöttr inn mikilaflaði, Starólfr,Hjalti inn hugprúði andBödvar Bjarki.

After some time,Bödvar Bjarki encouraged Hrólfr to go Uppsala to claim the gold that Aðils had taken from Helgi after the battle. Hrólfr departed with 120 men and his twelveberserkers and during a rest they were tested by a farmer called Hrani (Odin in disguise) who advised Hrólfr to send back all his troops but his twelve berserkers, as numbers would not help him against Aðils.

They were at first well received, but in his hall, Aðils did his best to stop Hrólfr with pit traps and hidden warriors who attacked the Danes. Finally Aðils entertained them but put them to a test where they had to endure immense heat by a fire. Hrólfr and his berserkers finally had enough and threw the courtiers, who were feeding the fire, into the fire and leapt at Aðils. The Swedish king disappeared through a hollow tree trunk that stood in his hall.

Yrsa admonished Aðils for wanting to kill her son, and went to meet the Danes. She gave them a man namedVöggr to entertain them. This Vöggr remarked that Hrólfr had the thin face of a pole ladder, aKraki. Happy with his new cognomen Hrólfr gave Vöggr a golden ring, and Vöggr swore to avenge Hrólfr if anyone should kill him. Hrólfr and his company were then attacked by atroll in the shape of a boar in the service of Aðils, but Hrólfr's dog Gram killed it.

They then found out that Aðils had set the hall on fire, and so they broke out of the hall, only to find themselves surrounded by heavily armed warriors in the street. After a fight, king Aðils retreated to summon reinforcements.

Yrsa then provided her son with a silver drinking horn filled with gold and jewels and a famous ring, Svíagris. Then she gave Hrólf and his men twelve of the Swedish king's best horses, and all the armour and provisions they needed.

Hrólfr took a fond farewell of his mother and departed over theFyrisvellir. When they saw Aðils and his warriors in pursuit, they spread the gold behind themselves. Aðils saw his precious Svíagris on the ground and stooped to pick it up with his spear, whereupon Hrólf cut his back with his sword and screamed in triumph that he had bent the back of the most powerful man in Sweden.

Hrólfr lived in peace for some time. However, hishalf-elven half-sisterSkuld was married to Hjörvarðr (Heoroweard) one of Hrólfr's subkings, and she began to turn her husband against Hrólfr. Under the pretext that they would wait three years before paying the accumulated tribute at one time, Skuld assembled a large army which included strong warriors, criminals,elves andnorns. She usedseiðr (witchcraft) to hide the great muster from Hrólfr and his champions.

They then arrived atLejre oneyule for the midwinter celebrations, with all the weapons hidden in wagons. A fight started and like in the account found inGesta Danorum, Bödvar Bjarki fought in the shape of a spirit bear until he was awakened by Hjalti. Skuld used her witchcraft to resuscitate her fallen warriors and after a long fight Hrólfr and all his berserkers fell.

Skuld became the ruler of Denmark but did not rule well. Bödvar Bjarki's brothersElk-Froði andÞorir Houndsfoot went to Denmark to avenge their brother. The Swedish queen Yrsa gave them a large Swedish army headed by Vöggr. They captured Skuld before she could use her magic and tortured her to death. Then they raised a mound for Hrólfr Kraki where he was buried together with his swordSkofnung.

TheSkjöldunga saga^[14][15] relates that Helgo (Halga) was the king of Denmark together with his brother Roas (Hroðgar). Helgo raped Olava, the queen of theSaxons, and she bore a daughter namedYrsa. The girl later married king Adillus (Eadgils), the king of Sweden, with whom she had the daughterScullda.

Some years later, Helgo attacked Sweden and captured Yrsa, not knowing that she was his own daughter. He raped her and took her back to Denmark, where she bore the sonRolfo. After a few years, Yrsa's mother, queen Olava, came to visit her and told her that Helgo was her own father. In horror, Yrsa returned to Adillus, leaving her son behind. Helgo died when Rolfo was eight years old, and Rolfo succeeded him, and ruled together with his uncle Roas. Not much later, Roas was killed by his half-brothers Rærecus and Frodo, whereupon Rolfo became the sole king of Denmark.

In Sweden, Yrsa and Adillus marriedScullda to the king ofÖland, Hiørvardus (also calledHiorvardus andHevardus, and who corresponds toHeoroweard inBeowulf). As her half-brother Rolfo was not consulted about this marriage, he was infuriated and he attacked Öland and made Hiørvardus and his kingdom tributary to Denmark.

After some time Adillus requested Rolfo's aid against king Ale (Onela) ofOppland, and Rolfo sent him his berserkers. Adillus then won the war, but refused to pay the expected tribute for the help and so Rolfo came to Uppsala to claim his recompense. After surviving some traps, Rolfo fled with Adillus' gold, helped by his mother Yrsa, and "sowed" it on theFyrisvellir.

Hiørvardus and his queen Skullda rebelled against Rolfo and killed him. However, Hiørvardus did not live long after this and was killed. Rolfo was succeeded by his father's cousinRörek, who, however, had to leaveSkåne toValdar and could only keepZealand.

In theSkáldskaparmál bySnorri Sturluson, the story of Hrólfr Kraki is presented in order to explain why gold was known by thekenningKraki's seed.

Snorri relates thatHrólfr was the most renowned king in Denmark for valour, generosity and graciousness. One day a poor boy calledVöggr arrived and expressed his surprise that such a great king would look like a little pole (kraki). Hrólfr said that Vöggr had given him a name and gave Vöggr a golden ring in recompense. In gratitude Vöggr swore to Hrólfr to avenge him, should he be killed.

A second tale was when the king of Sweden, Aðils (Eadgils), was in war with a Norwegian king named Áli (Onela), and they fought in theBattle on the Ice of Lake Vänern. Aðils was married toYrsa, the mother of Hrólfr and so sent an embassy to Hrólfr asking him for help against Áli. He would receive three valuable gifts in recompense. Hrólfr was involved in a war against theSaxons and could not come in person but sent his twelve berserkers. Áli died in the war, and Aðils took Áli's helmetBattle-boar and his horse Raven. The berserkers demanded three pounds of gold each in pay, and they demanded to choose the gifts that Aðils had promised Hrólfr, that is the two pieces of armour that nothing could pierce: the helmet battle-boar and the mailcoatFinn's heritage. They also wanted the famous ringSvíagris. Aðils considered the pay outrageous and refused.

When Hrólfr heard that Aðils refused to pay, he set off toUppsala. They brought the ships to the riverFyris and rode directly to the Swedish king's hall at Uppsala with his twelve berserkers. Yrsa welcomed them and led them to their lodgings. Fires were prepared for them and they were given drinks. However, so much wood was heaped on the fires that the clothes started to burn away from their bodies. Hrólfr and his men had enough and threw the courtiers on the fire. Yrsa arrived and gave them a horn full of gold, the ring Svíagris and asked them to flee. As they rode over theFyrisvellir, they saw Aðils and his men pursuing them. The fleeing men threw their gold on the plain so that the pursuers would stop to collect the gold. Aðils, however, continued the chase on his horse Slöngvir. Hrólfr then threw Svíagris and saw how Aðils stooped down to pick up the ring with his spear. Hrólfr exclaimed that he had seen the mightiest man in Sweden bend his back.

TheSkjöldunga saga^[15] was used bySnorri Sturluson as a source when he told the story of Aðils (Eadgils) andYrsa, in hisYnglinga saga, a part of theHeimskringla. What remains of theSkjöldunga saga is a Latin summary byArngrímur Jónsson, and so the two versions are basically the same, the main difference being that Arngrímur's version is more terse.

Snorri relates that Aðils betook himself to pillage the Saxons, whose king was Geirþjófr and queen Alof the Great. The king and consort were not at home, and so Aðils and his men plundered their residence at ease driving cattle and captives down to the ships. One of the captives was a remarkably beautiful girl named Yrsa, and Snorri writes that everyone was soon impressed with the well-mannered, pretty and intelligent girl. Most impressed was Aðils who made her his queen.

Some years later, Helgi (Halga), who ruled inLejre, attacked Sweden and captured Yrsa. He raped Yrsa, his own daughter, and took her back toLejre, where they had a son,Hrólfr. When the boy was three years of age, Yrsa's mother, queen Alof of Saxony, came to visit her and told her that her husband Helgi was her own father. Horrified, Yrsa returned to Aðils, leaving her son behind, and stayed in Sweden for the rest of her life. When Hrólfr was eight years old, Helgi died during a war expedition and Hrólf was proclaimed king.

Snorri finishes his account by briefly mentioning that theSkjöldunga saga contained an extensive account of how Hrólf came to Uppsala and sowed gold on theFyrisvellir.

TheGróttasöngr contains a stanza (nr 22) sung by the giantessesFenja andMenja. It only names Yrsa and the situation that her son and brother (i.e.Hroðulf) will avenge Fródi (Froda):

This piece cannot refer toHrólfr Kraki's saga where Froda was the half-brother of Healfdene because this Froda was killed by Hroðgar (and therefore they avenged him). It can, however, be interpreted through theSkjöldunga saga in which Hroðulf's uncle Hroðgar was murdered by his half-brother Froda.

Either Frodi's death is the one they want to avenge, or they seek vengeance for Hroðgar, killed by his half brother. The Danish equivalent ofhefna isat hævne, meaning revenge (or avenging), in this case for Fródi's murder, indicating no relation to Hroðgars death, but to Frodi's. 'Kin' and 'kinsmen' share a certain reference to blood relation, yet 'brother' can also have the meaning of either: 'one of us' and 'our tribesmen', or simply 'son and brother'. After being recognized for his deeds, Yrsa will see Hroðulf as her son once more.^{[citation needed]}

Hrólfr Kraki is mentioned briefly inGautreks saga, written around 1300, when the adventurer Ref comes to him with a gift consisting of two dogs. In return for this gift Hrólfr gives him a helmet and a chainmail, both made of red gold.

Danish playwrightJohannes Ewald wrote a play aboutRolf Krage (1770), based on Saxo's version of the story inGesta Danorum. Danish poetAdam Oehlenschläger wrote a poem,Helge: et Digt (1814).

The American writerPoul Anderson used this story in his novelHrolf Kraki's Saga (1973). Anderson's story begins in earlier generations and more or less follows the version inHrolfr Kraki's Saga described above. The book was well received by many fantasy fans.

"Sellic Spell', a fictionalized treatment of the story byJ. R. R. Tolkien, was published inBeowulf: A Translation and Commentary on May 22, 2014,^[17] Tolkien himself explaining that his was "a limited...attempt to reconstruct the Anglo-Saxon tale that lies behind the folk-tale element inBeowulf".^[18]

The Danish Navy's firstironclad warship was namedRolf Krake.

In the 2022 video gameGod of War Ragnarök, Hrólfr is featured as a malevolentghostlyberserker and the final opponent in a series of side-quests involving him and his twelve lieutenants.

• English translations of the Old NorseHrólfs saga kraka ok kappa hans:
  • The Saga of Hrolf Kraki and his Champions. Trans. Peter Tunstall (2003). Available atNorse saga: The Saga of Hrolf Kraki andNorthvegr: The Saga of Hrolf Kraki.
  • The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki. Trans. Jesse L. Byock (1998). London: Penguin.ISBN 0-14-043593-X. Selection from this translation are available atThe Viking Site: Excerpts fromThe Saga of King Hrolf Kraki.
  • "King Hrolf and his champions" included inEirik the Red: And Other Icelandic Sagas. Trans. Gwyn Jones (1961). Oxford: Oxford World's Classics, Oxford University Press.ISBN 0-19-283530-0.
• Original texts:
  • Hrólfs saga kraka ok kappa hans in Old Norse from heimskringla.no
  • Hrólfs saga kraka ok kappa hans in Old Norse from heimskringla.no
  • University of Oregon: Norse: Fornaldarsögur norðurlanda: Hrólfs saga kraka ok kappa hans
  • Sagnanet: Hrólfs saga kraka
• Anderson, Poul (1973).Hrolf Kraki's Saga. New York: Ballantine Books.ISBN 0-345-23562-2. New York: Del Rey Books.ISBN 0-345-25846-0. Reprinted 1988 by Baen Books,ISBN 0-671-65426-8.
• Literary Encyclopedia entry
• Birger Nerman, 1925,Det svenska rikets uppkomst (in Swedish)

Wikisource has the text of the1911Encyclopædia Britannica article "Hrólfr Kraki".

• Beowulf:
• Beowulf read aloud in Old English
  • Modern English translation byFrancis Barton Gummere
  • Modern English translation byJohn Lesslie Hall
  • Ringler, Dick.Beowulf: A New Translation For Oral Delivery, May 2005. Searchable text with full audio available, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries.
  • Several different Modern English translationsArchived 2011-07-20 at theWayback Machine
• Chronicon Lethrense andAnnales Lundense:
  • Chronicon Lethrense andAnnales Lundense in translation by Peter Tunstall
  • The same translation at Northvegr
• Book 2 ofGesta Danorum at the Online and Medieval & Classical library
• The Relation of the Hrolfs Saga Kraka and the Bjarkarimur to Beowulf by Olson, 1916, at Project Gutenberg
• theYnglinga saga in translation by Samuel Laing, 1844, at Northvegr
• TheGróttasöngr in Thorpe's translation
• Skáldskaparmál:
  • Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda in the original language
  • CyberSamurai Encyclopedia of Norse Mythology: Prose Edda - Skáldskaparmál (English)
  • CyberSamurai Encyclopedia of Norse Mythology: Prose Edda - Skáldskaparmál (Old Norse)
• Malone, Kemp.Studies in Heroic Legend and in Current Speech. S. Einarsson & N.E. Eliason, eds. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger, 1959.
• Lukman, Niels Clausen.Skjoldunge und Skilfinge. Hunnen- und Heruler-könige in Ostnordischer Überlieferung.Classica et Mediaevalia, dissertationes III. Copenhagen: Gyldendalske Boghandel Nordisk Forlag, 1943.
• 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.
• 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]
• Overing, Gillian R., and Marijane Osborn. 'Landscape of Desire: Partial Stories of the Medieval Scandinavian World.' Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1994: 1-37. (possible sailing times and the account of a "Beowulfian" voyage on the Cattegat)

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• English heroic legends
• Characters in Beowulf
• Heroes in Norse myths and legends
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