|623 to 630.|
By the death of Ingiald, his son, Olaf Trætelia, was the last of the Ynglings; but his claim to the throne, however sanctioned by custom or blood, was not likely to avail in opposition to so powerful an enemy as Ivar Vidfadme. At this moment, Ivar was at the head of the Danish, the Swedish, part of the Saxon and Anglian states (the Angles of Holstein); and his career was not to be resisted by a youth without army, without followers. Indeed, Olaf made no effort to resist; he saw that the people were resolved on the expulsion of the Ynglings; and, with the few friends who adhered to him, he hastened to the desert lands north and west of the Vener Lake. There he cleared off the forests,—hence his surname of Trætelia, or the Tree-feller,—drained them, and not only rendered them habitable, but in a short time made them the foundation of a new state, that of Vermeland. From him descended the famous Harald Harfager, monarch of Norway, the restorer of the ancient glory of the Ynglings.[[134]]
The crimes and misfortunes of this dynasty must, to every reader, contrast strangely with its pretended divine origin. Compared to it, the fate of our Stuarts was a happy one. If we except the companions of Odin, the ends of most were tragical. Fiolner was drowned in a butt of mead; Swegdir, whatever the manner of his death, did not leave this world in a natural way; Vanland perished, not by the hands of witches, but those of conspirators; Visbur was burnt to death by his own sons; Domald was sacrificed on Odin’s altar by his subjects; Dag was killed by a slave; Agne was hung by his bride; Alaric and Eric were killed by each other’s hands, or by conspirators; Alf and Yngve certainly slew each other; Hugleik was slain by Hako or Sterkodder; Eric died in battle; Jorund was ignominiously hung; Egil was gored to death by a wild bull; Ottar was killed by the Danes; Adils by the fall of his horse; Eystein perished by the hands of pirates; Ingvar by those of the Esthonians; Braut-Onund by an avalanche; Ingiald Illrada was forced to destroy himself; and Olaf Trætelia was driven into everlasting exile. Thus, out of twenty-two sovereigns, from Fiolner to Olaf, three only died a natural death; for that of Olaf, as we shall soon perceive, was also tragical. Assuredly there was nothing in the pre-eminence, divine as it was, of the Ynglings, to render it an object of envy, either to their own times or to posterity.[[135]]
The fortunes of Olaf Trætelia and of his successors may be found in the chapter devoted to the early Norwegian history. Henceforth Sweden, or to speak more precisely, the Swedes, are under the sceptre of the Skioldungs, and not of the Ynglings, though the former, like the latter, were of Odin’s race, being descended from Skiold, whose seat was established at Ledra in Zealand. They did not exercise the sacerdotal functions; they were not pontiff kings; consequently, they were not held in the same veneration as those who were privileged to officiate at Odin’s altar.—Before we proceed with this Swedish branch of the Skioldungian dynasty, we must revert to the Gothic dynasty established in another part of Sweden. At every step we take in the history of this obscure period, we are more fully convinced that the hypothesis we have framed is based on truth; viz., that while the Swiones or Swedes were located in the provinces bordering on Upsal, and were governed by their own kings, the Goths were in the more southern and western provinces, with a dynasty of their own. Where was the seat of this latter dynasty? Probably it was not always stationary. It appears to have been sometimes in West, sometimes in East, Gothland; just as those provinces obeyed one or two kings. Scania too, which, politically, was a province of Denmark, yet geographically a portion of Sweden, was inhabited by Goths, the seat of whose government was Lund. As the kings of Scania, or of East and West Gothia, obtained the preponderance, they were called kings of the Goths. In the same measure, when the Danish star was triumphant, Ledra, or Odensee, or Lund, or some town of Jutland, was regarded as the metropolis of the Goths. But in each of the Gothic provinces of Sweden there was a resident court, and consequently a capital, whose ruler was sometimes dependent on the king of Scania, sometimes on him of Upsal, but more frequently, perhaps, independent of them all. However this be, it is certain that the kings of all these provinces, except Jutland, have been confounded. Hence the uncertainty of regal lists, and, in many instances, their contradiction to one another. In general, the prince who happened to have the preponderance for the moment, whether his seat was in the Gothlands or in Scania, was called king of the Goths. All were, or professed to be, equally descended from Odin; nor is this improbable, when we perceive how frequently a conqueror divided, at his death, his dominions among his sons. This fatal example, as we have seen, was set by Odin himself. Over Scania he placed his son Heimdal; over Zealand and the surrounding islands, his son Skiold; over Jutland and Holstein, his son Balder; over the Swedes at Upsal, his kinsman Freyr; and over the Norwegians, as we shall soon perceive, his son Semming. Such, at least, is the consistent voice of tradition, as perpetuated in the oldest records now extant.[[136]]
From the preceding observations, and from many others in this and the last chapter, the reader will be prepared for the amazing variations in the chronological lists of northern kings, as given by Saxo, Snorro Sturleson, and Joannes Magnus. Thus the king of Scania was sometimes the chief of all the Danes, sometimes of all the Goths, sometimes of both; but in general the kings of the two Gothlands were the acknowledged heads of their nation, whether they happened to be independent, or politically subject to the Danes on the one side, or the Swedes on the other. Besides, the intermarriages which constantly took place among these sovereigns would make them, eventually, of one great family, even if most of them had not derived their origin from the warrior god of the north. Still there were kings who had no such boast, who descended from a regal stem more ancient than theirs, whose ancestors were rulers in the Gothic provinces of Sweden, centuries, perhaps, before Odin was born. And for anything we can prove to the contrary, there might, in the interior of Sweden, be reguli who descended from the original, almost indigenous rulers—from the old Finnish stock; for though the Goths, who were there before the arrival of the kindred tribe of the Swiones, were the dominant caste, they would govern the inland provinces through native chiefs. At this distance of time, however, it is impossible to distinguish the two; nor is it often possible to distinguish the earlier from the subsequent Gothic princes,—those who sprung from ancestors prior to Odin’s arrival, from those who descended from the Swionian branch.[[137]]
According to the Heimskringla, the oldest and best authority for Swedish history, when Odin arrived in the north he found a monarch named Gylfo in possession of the supreme power.[[138]] Was this Gylfo of the Gothic or of the anterior race? This question cannot be answered. From one circumstance, viz., his alleged proficiency in magic science, we should infer that he was a Finn, were it not doubtful whether the Goths did not also cultivate this pretended science, and whether, from the facility of his intercourse with Odin, and from the locality which he occupied, he was not of a race kindred with that of the Swiones,—one that had immigrated into these regions from Asiatic Scythia centuries, perhaps, before “this king of the Turks.” Gylfo is said to have ceded to the strangers a portion of his territory, and that they settled to the north of him. This statement, again, confirms the inference of his Gothic descent. However, from that day down to the permanent union of the two nations—the Goths and the Swedes—under one head (temporary unions had been frequently effected), the more southern people had their own king, their own government and laws. By what degrees the Swiar obtained the ascendancy over the Goths may be easily conjectured. The latter were, at an early period, induced to embrace the religion of the former, or, we should rather say, a modification of that religion; for that they, like the Norwegians, combined a few more ancient tenets with the faith of Odin, may be inferred from many passages. And with all due allowance for this circumstance, we cannot but feel surprise at the facility with which both Norwegians and Goths were brought to the temples of the new faith. This could scarcely be the result of force, since the Swiar do not appear to have been very numerous in comparison with the rest of the population. Like the Saxons in England; and the Scots in Ireland, and the Mohammedans in India, they were the dominant caste, and no doubt their individual valour was superior to that of the natives. Still, in the earliest Norwegian and Danish accounts of these remote transactions, we do not read of the physical so much as of the moral influence of Odin and his immediate successors. They might be numerous enough to obtain possession of any neighbouring province, or even to defeat the petty chiefs with which the country swarmed; but they would scarcely be sufficient to make both Goths and Norwegians embrace a new faith. Between temporal and religious domination there is a wide difference; and all history proves that men will fight more willingly, more perseveringly, for speculative opinions, than for the most substantial social advantages. The comparative ease with which Odin, or rather his immediate successors, thus forced the positive or modified observance of their religious system on a great population, has led some northern writers to assume that before his arrival another Odin had been there, the apostle of a kindred faith.[[139]] But this assumption is gratuitous; we have no good reason for it; and even if we had, the question would still occur, “By what means did this former prophet procure the ascendancy of his religion?” There is but one mode of solving this difficulty, and this is hypothetical. Probably, as both Goths and Swedes—perhaps, too, a considerable portion of the older race—had come from the same Asiatic Scythia, there was between some of their religious opinions an affinity, if not an identity; and this affinity would naturally facilitate the progress of the new faith. If to this consideration we add the pomp with which the sacrifices were conducted—the splendour of the temple—the crowd of officiating priests, with the king at their head—the imposing solemnity of the scene—the alleged godlike descent of the pontiff chief—the reputation which all the Asser priests enjoyed for supernatural knowledge—we shall scarcely be surprised at the rapid progress of the Odinic worship. As a prophet, too, especially one so highly descended, Odin must have pretended to the gift of miracles, or, what is the same thing, to the power of effecting wonderful results by his knowledge of nature’s mysteries. This combination of circumstances must have imposed on the Goths, as on the Norwegian and other ancient tribes. It may account for the facility with which both nations embraced the new faith, and ultimately acknowledged even the temporal superiority of the Swiar. It is certain that as early as even the time of Tacitus, the latter were the dominant tribe; yet, as they occupied the sea-coast,—the usual locality of the last comers,—we may doubt whether they had been there above two centuries. But this superiority being of a moral, not of a physical nature, was often resisted by the Gothic kings, who did not hesitate to march on Upsal, to put the half divine pontiff to death, and to ascend his throne.[[140]]
|A.C. 70 to A.D. 260.|
The names, succession, and chief exploits of these sacerdotal kings, from Odin to Ingiald Illrada, we have, thanks to the industry of Snorro, been able to lay before the reader. But over those of the royal Goths a cloud hangs which time can never remove. All that can now be done is, from Saxo Grammaticus and the Heimskringla itself, to reserve a few scattered names. Gylfo we have already mentioned; and from the alleged fact—which we have no reason to dispute—that Scania was previously ceded by Odin to his son Heimdal, the seat of Gylfo’s empire must have been in one of the Gothlands. He was followed by Frode and Sigtrug; the former, remarkable for his liberal presents to the great temple of Sigtuner; the latter, for his misfortunes. Gram, a Danish king (probably the ruler of Scania), having carried off the daughter of Sigtrug, a war followed, which proved fatal to the Gothic king, who was dethroned and slain. That he reigned in Gothland is expressly affirmed by Saxo Grammaticus[[141]], who relates a graphic incident illustrative of ancient manners. Gram, says the Danish historian, had heard that the princess was affianced to a giant, and he resolved to rescue her from the humiliation; he therefore went into Gothia, and found the royal maiden, with some of her female train, washing at one of the rural streams. Of course she became the prize of the victor, and so did the Gothic kingdom. But Gram did not use his success with moderation; and by Swibdager, a king of Norway, he was slain in his turn.[[142]] Swibdager was now the lord of three states,—of Scania, Gothia, and his hereditary one; but the first he resigned to Guthrum, son of Gram. It was the lot of Swibdager to fall, untimely, by the hands of Hadding, another son of Gram.[[142]] In his Gothic and Norwegian states he was succeeded by his son Asmund, who, desiring to avenge the death of the father, was also slain by Hadding. Uffo, the son of Asmund, succeeded to the quarrel, though not to the throne, of his two predecessors. That throne was in possession of Hadding; but he was able to raise forces and make a diversion, by landing on the coast of Scania (or, perhaps, Jutland), and forcing the Danish king to return to the defence of his dominions. As it was not Uffo’s design to risk a battle in a foreign state, he sailed for Gothland, and took possession of his hereditary dignity. But with the returning spring Hadding resumed his desire of conquest, and, with a considerable force, landed on the Gothic continent. His followers, however, were soon exhausted by hunger and fatigue; and in the ensuing battle he was signally defeated, and compelled to retreat into Denmark.[[143]] Unable to accomplish the destruction of his enemy by force, Hadding had recourse to treachery: he sought an interview with Uffo, and removed that prince by assassination; but, according to the Danish account, he placed Hunding, the brother of Uffo, on the vacant throne. The Swedes, however, assert that it was their nation, not the Danes, who thus acted; and their statement is far more credible. Probably there was, as the former assert, a fierce war between the two; and when both found that no advantage was to be expected from it, they eagerly made peace, and were thenceforward more distinguished for their friendship than they had been for their animosity. In the fabulous spirit of the times, it is said that, when one of them heard of the other’s death, he killed himself through grief. We may, however, admit that they died within a short interval of each other. We may add, that this Hadding is not admitted into the list of Danish, that is, of Zealand kings, by the best critics; and that for his actions we are indebted to Saxo. Probably he did not reign at Ledra.[[144]]
|About 260 to 448.|
Ragnar, the son of Uffo, succeeded to the throne of the Goths, but not until he had rescued it from the domination of his step-mother. His queen was Swanhita, sister of Frode, a king of Denmark; but this alliance did not preserve a good understanding between the two countries. Frode invaded Gothland, but perished in the expedition,—not, observes Saxo, by the hands of the enemy, but through a fever, occasioned alike by the heat and the weight of his armour. On the death of Ragnar, the sceptre of the Goths was seized by Holward, or Hodbrod, who was a warlike prince. In his expedition to Denmark, which was then governed by Helge and Roe, he left the latter sovereign dead on the field. But he himself, after his return to Gothland, was mortally wounded by Helge, and his kingdom became the prize of the victor. But Attil I., the son of Hodbrod, by marrying the daughter of Helge, and, still more, by the bravery of the Goths, was raised to the throne. The issue of this marriage, Hoder, became, in the sequel, king of Scania, no less than of Gothland. This is the Hoder of whom Saxo—so absurd in his chronology—makes the contemporary and rival of Balder, the son of Odin.[[145]] Ruric, the son of Hoder, was also monarch of both states. He, as we have before related, was the grandfather of Hamlet, through the marriage of his daughter with Horwendil, prince of Jutland.[[146]] He governed Denmark through his viceroys, and always remained in Gothland; for this reason, he has been often omitted in the list of Danish kings. Of Attil II. we merely know that he was assassinated by a Danish emissary; of Hogmor and Hogrin, who reigned conjointly, that they perished in a battle with the Danes. But Alaric, their successor, appears to have been identical with Elrec, prince of the Swedes, the brother of Eric[[147]]; and this conjecture is confirmed by the statement of the Swedish historians,—that the Goths and Swedes were at this time united. Probably Elrec ruled one nation, Eric another. In the Swedish annals, too, Eric ranks as the brother and successor of Alaric;—a confusion of chronology common enough in the historians of this period. Halfdan (or Halden) succeeded, who was, probably, the Alf of Snorro.[[148]] This conjecture, too, is strengthened by the statement of the same Norwegian authority, that Yngve and Alf shared the government of the Swedes. Both would scarcely reign at Upsal; and we have strong reason for inferring that, while Yngve held that throne, Alf, or Halfdan, reigned over the Goths. And there is another confirmation in the fact that, on the death of Alf, the two people obeyed different rulers. In the reigns of Siward, Eric, Halfdan II., Ragnald, Asmund, and Haquin (or Hako), we observe few points of coincidence between the history of the Goths and the Swedes: probably they were kings of the former people only, with the occasional superiority over Scania. But the name of Hako must not be dismissed without adverting to an incident which the author of Macbeth has admitted into the greatest of his dramas. Hako, resolved to avenge the death of his brothers who had been assassinated at the Danish court, descended with a strong armament on the coast of Zealand, and marched towards the residence of the Danish king. On his way, to avoid observation, he passed through the woods; and when the path diverged into the open plain, he ordered his men each to cut down a large branch, that the paucity of his followers might not be discovered. Great was the wonder of the sentinel, to see a forest approaching the royal fortress, and he immediately carried the information to the king. The latter inquired how far the moving wood was distant from the walls; and, being answered that it was near, he felt that his last hour was also at hand. Issuing from the fortress to meet the foe on the open plain, he met the fate which he had foreseen.[[149]]