The Relation of the Hrólfs Saga Kraka and the Bjarkarímur to Beowulf / A Contribution To The History Of Saga Development In England And The / Scandinavian Countries

by Oscar Ludvig Olson

1. "The short and chronicle-like form [i.e., of the Hroar-Helgi story] in the Skjọldungasaga, where the murderer is called Ingjald, not Frothi," is taken from the account that appears in the Hrólfssaga; this account must therefore be earlier than the corresponding account in the Skjọldungasaga.

2. As the story about Frothi, Halfdan, etc., in the Bjarkarímur is substantially the same as in the Skjọldungasaga, it must be derived from the same source as the story in the Skjọldungasaga. The Bjarkarímur are, therefore, at this point a later composition than the corresponding portion of the Hrólfssaga; and this fact affords further corroboration of the idea that the stories in the rímur of Bjarki's slaying the wolf and Hjalti's slaying the bear are later than the Hrólfssaga's account of Bjarki's slaying the winged monster.

3. When the Skjọldungasaga says that Hrolf Kraki met Hrani-Odin on the expedition to Sweden, though nothing is said about such a meeting in Snorri's Edda, the idea is probably taken from a version of the story essentially as we have it in the Hrólfssaga.[185]

4. Though the Hrólfssaga is made up of elements of varying degrees of antiquity and merit, it contains features worthy of more consideration than has generally been accorded them.

5. In discussing the genealogy of the Danish kings in Beowulf and comparing it with that of other documents,[186] it is to be remembered that the Skjọldungasaga has no independent value as an authority in this connection; its value lies in its recognition of a conflict between the Ingjald lay and the story in the Hrólfssaga, and its attempt to harmonize the two.

6. On the whole, as Olrik says, "Hvor værdifuld den islandske Skjọldungasaga end er, den er selvfölgelig ikke på alle punkter at foretrække for enhver anden kilde."[187] When it disagrees with other documents, its statements should be scanned with care.

A little ought to be said about Saxo's treatment of the problem, the solution of which in the Skjọldungasaga has just been considered. The solution in the saga is based on the recognition of the fact that Frothi as a king who was slain (i.e., by Swerting) and later avenged by his son is irreconcilable with the idea that he slew his brother, whose sons later put Frothi to death and thus avenged their father's murder. Saxo solved the problem by employing two Frothi's,—namely Frothi IV, Ingjald's father, who was slain by Swerting and was avenged by his son, and Frothi V, Ingjald's successor, who slew his brother, Harald (i.e., Halfdan in the Hrólfssaga), and later was put to death by Harald's sons.

On the whole, Saxo's story presents something of an attempt to harmonize Danish and Old Norse tradition. The Danish tradition about the Hroar-Helgi group of kings Saxo preserves in his second book. The Old Norse tradition about them he utilizes in his seventh book, at a point where, in the line of Danish kings, it occurs according to the Old Norse conception of the matter.[188] In the latter connection he repeats certain features of the story as it appears in his second book. Ingjald who appears in the sixth book is really the same Ingjald (second book) whose son Agnar is slain by Bjarki; and Helgi (here called Halfdan) takes to sea, just as he does in the second book. All that concerns Hrolf Kraki, Yrsa, Bjarki, etc., Saxo omits from the seventh book; but he gives Halfdan (Helgi) a career in Sweden, something like Helgi's (second book). Halfdan dies, however, without leaving an heir to the Danish throne; and this solves another problem, for thus the necessity of introducing Hrolf Kraki, Helgi's son, again, or some substitute for him, is obviated, and the story of this royal family is brought to an end.

Conclusion.

We have, therefore, only two versions of the Hroar-Helgi story (Saxo's version and the one in the Hrólfssaga), and these have been subjected to a variety of influences and manipulations. The two versions do not, however, always employ the same features in just the same way, as is exemplified in the treatment of the insanity motive; nor have they always retained the same features present in the source of influence, as where the place of concealment of the boys in one instance is a cave and in the other a hollow tree. But the possession of the two versions is valuable in this respect, that they afford a double confirmation of the source of influence, as in the instances just cited and in Frothi's consulting the witch.