The allusive manner in which Eadgils and his relatives are referred to in
Beowulf suggests that the
scop expected his audience to have sufficient background knowledge about Eadgils, Ohthere and Eanmund to understand the references. Likewise, in the roughly contemporary Norwegian
Ynglingatal, Eadgils (Aðils) is called ''Onela's enemy'' (Ála dólgr), which likewise suggests that the conflict was familiar to the
skald and his audience. The tradition of Eadgils and Onela resurfaces in several Old Norse works in prose and poetry, and another matter also appears: the animosity between Eadgils and
Hrólfr Kraki, who corresponds to Hroðulf in
Beowulf.
Ynglingatal The
skaldic poem Ynglingatal is a poetic recital of the line of the
Yngling clan. They are also called
Skilfingar in the poem (in stanza 19), a name that appears in its
Anglo-Saxon form
Scylfingas in
Beowulf when referring to Eadgils' clan. It is presented as composed by
Þjóðólfr of Hvinir by
Snorri Sturluson in the
Ynglinga saga. Although its age has been debated, most scholars hold to date from the 9th century. It survives in two versions: one is found in the Norwegian historical work
Historia Norvegiæ in
Latin, and the other one in
Snorri Sturluson's
Ynglinga saga, a part of his
Heimskringla. It presents Aðils (Eadgils) as the successor of Óttarr (
Ohthere) and the predecessor of
Eysteinn. The stanza on Aðils refers to his accidental death when he fell from his horse: :Translation: "I have learned, further, that the creature of charms [SORCERESS] had to destroy the life of Aðils. And the deed-eager descendant of Freyr [= Swedish king] had to fall off the back of the steed. And the sea [fluid] of the brains of the son of the ruler [RULER] was blended with mud. And the deed-fortunate enemy of Áli had to die at Uppsala." As can be seen it agrees with the earlier
Ynglingatal and
Beowulf in presenting Eadgils as the successor of Óttarr (
Ohthere).
Skjöldunga saga The
Skjöldunga saga was a
Norse saga which is believed to have been written in the period 1180–1200. The original version is lost, but it survives in a Latin summary by
Arngrímur Jónsson. Arngrímur's summary relates that Eadgils, called
Adillus, married
Yrsa with whom he had the daughter
Scullda. Some years later, the Danish king Helgo (
Halga) attacked Sweden and captured Yrsa, not knowing that she was his own daughter, the result of Helgo raping Olava, the queen of the
Saxons. Helgo raped Yrsa as well and took her back to Denmark, where she bore the son Rolfo (
Hroðulf). 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 (
Hroðgar). 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 married
Scullda to the king of
Öland, Hiørvardus/Hiorvardus/Hevardus (
Heoroweard). 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, there was animosity between king Adillus of Sweden and the Norwegian king Ale of
Oppland. They decided to fight on the ice of Lake
Vänern. Adillus won and took his helmet, chainmail and horse. Adillus won because he had requested Rolfo's aid against king Ale and Rolfo had sent him his berserkers. However, Adillus 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. Seeing that the Swedish king and his men pursued him, Rolfo "sowed" the gold on the
Fyrisvellir, so that the king's men would pick up the gold, instead of continuing the pursuit. As can be seen, the
Skjöldunga saga retells the story of Eadgils fighting his uncle
Onela, but in this version Onela is no longer Eadgils' uncle, but a Norwegian king of
Oppland. This change is generally considered to be a late confusion between the core province of the Swedes,
Uppland, and its Norwegian namesake Oppland. Whereas,
Beowulf leaves the Danish court with the suspicion that Hroðulf (Rolfo Krage, Hrólfr Kraki) might claim the Danish throne for himself at the death of Hroðgar (Roas, Hróarr), it is exactly what he does in Scandinavian tradition. A notable difference is that, in
Beowulf, Eadgils receives the help of the
Geatish king Beowulf against Onela, whereas it is the Danish king Hroðulf who provides help in Scandinavian tradition.
Skáldskaparmál Skáldskaparmál was written by
Snorri Sturluson, c. 1220, in order to teach the ancient art of
kennings to aspiring
skalds. It presents Eadgils, called
Aðils, in two sections. The first section is the
Kálfsvísa of which Snorri quotes small parts: This is a reference to the
Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern, during which Eadgils slew Onela and which also appears in the
Skjöldunga saga. There is also second stanza, where Eadgils is riding his horse Slöngvir, apparently a combination famous enough to be mentioned. Eadgils' horse Slöngvir also appears in Snorri's later work, the
Ynglinga saga. Snorri also presents the story of Aðils and Hrólfr Kraki (
Hroðulf) in order to explain why gold was known by the
kenning ''Kraki's seed''. Snorri relates that Aðils was in war with a Norwegian king named Áli (
Onela), and they fought in the
Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern. Aðils was married to
Yrsa, 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 the
Saxons and could not come in person but sent his twelve berserkers, including
Böðvarr Bjarki. Áli died in the war, and Aðils took Áli's helmet
Battle-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 mailcoat ''Finn's heritage''. They also wanted the famous ring Svíagris. Aðils considered the pay outrageous and refused. When Hrólfr heard that Aðils refused to pay, he set off to
Uppsala. They brought the ships to the river
Fyris 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 clothes. 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 the
Fyrisvellir, they saw Aðils and his men pursuing them. The fleeing men threw the gold on the plain so that the pursuers would stop to collect it. 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.
Ynglinga saga The
Ynglinga saga was written c. 1225 by
Snorri Sturluson and he used
Skjöldunga saga as a source when he told the story of Aðils. Snorri relates that Aðils succeeded his father Óttar (
Ohthere) and 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 in
Lejre, attacked Sweden and captured Yrsa. As he did not know that Yrsa was his own daughter, he raped her, and took her back to
Lejre, where they had a son,
Hrólfr kraki. 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 Hrólfr was proclaimed king. Aðils waged a war against king Áli (
Onela of
Oppland), and they fought in the
Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern. Áli died in this battle. Snorri writes that there was a long account of this battle in the
Skjöldunga Saga, which also contained an account of how Hrólf came to Uppsala and sowed gold on the
Fyrisvellir. Snorri also relates that Aðils loved good horses and had the best horses in his days (the contemporary
Gothic scholar
Jordanes noted that the Swedes were famed for their good horses). One horse was named
Slöngvi and another one
Raven, which he had taken from Áli. From this horse he had bred a horse also named
Raven which he sent to king Godgest of
Hålogaland, but Godgest could not manage it and fell from it and died, in Omd on the island of
Andøya. Aðils himself died in a similar way at the
Dísablót. Aðils was riding around the
Disa shrine when Raven stumbled and fell, and the king was thrown forward and hit his skull on a stone. The Swedes called him a great king and buried him at
Uppsala. He was succeeded by
Eysteinn.
''Hrólfr Kraki's saga'' ''
Hrólfr Kraki's saga'' is believed to have been written in the period c. 1230 – c. 1450. Helgi and Yrsa lived happily together as husband and wife, not knowing that Yrsa was Helgi's daughter. Yrsa's mother 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 as his queen, which made Helgi even more unhappy. Helgi went to
Uppsala to fetch her, but was killed by Aðils in battle. In
Lejre, he was succeeded by his son
Hrólfr Kraki. After some time,
Böðvarr 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 twelve berserkers 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 named
Vöggr to entertain them. This Vöggr remarked that Hrólfr had the thin face of a pole ladder, a
Kraki. 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 a
troll 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 Hrólfr and his men twelve of the Swedish king's best horses, and all the armour and provisions they needed. Hrólfr bid a fond farewell to his mother and departed over the
Fyrisvellir. 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 Hrólfr cut his back with his sword and screamed in triumph that he had bent the back of the most powerful man in Sweden. == Danish sources ==