Editing Yrsa (section)

{{short description|Tragic heroine of early Scandinavian literature}}
{{About|a figure of the Scandinavian literature|the asteroid|351 Yrsa|the writer|Yrsa Sigurðardóttir}}
[[Image:Helgi and Yrsa.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Yrsa falling in love with Helgi, not knowing that he is her father, by [[Jenny Nyström]] (1895).]]

'''Yrsa''', '''Yrse''', '''Yrs''' or '''Urse''' (fl. 6th century)<ref group=note>The dating has never been a matter of controversy. It is inferred from the internal chronology of the sources themselves and the dating of [[Hygelac]]'s raid on [[Frisia]] to c. 516. It is also supported by archaeological excavations of the barrows of [[Eadgils]] and [[Ohthere]] in [[Sweden]]. For a discussion, see e.g. [[Birger Nerman]]'s ''Det svenska rikets uppkomst'' (1925) (in Swedish). For presentations of the archaeological findings, see e.g. Elisabeth Klingmark's ''Gamla Uppsala, Svenska kulturminnen 59'', Riksantikvarieämbetet (in Swedish), or [http://www.raa.se/cms/extern/se_och_besoka/sevardheter/ottarshogen.html this English language presentation by the Swedish National Heritage Board] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070824195155/http://www.raa.se/cms/extern/se_och_besoka/sevardheter/ottarshogen.html |date=2007-08-24 }}</ref> was a [[tragic hero]]ine of early [[Scandinavia|Scandinavian]] legend. She is typically characterized as the wife of Swedish king [[Eadgils]] and mother of Danish king [[Hrólfr Kraki]]. 

Her legacy is recorded in several different versions. In all versions, she is regarded as a desirable and charming girl. The general nucleus of her [[character arc]] is that [[incestual]] sexual relations occur between her and her father, [[Halga]], both of them at first ignorant of their kinship. In most versions, Yrsa is forcibly raped by Halga, and both of them learn later on from Halga's Queen Oluf, that they are actually related. This leads to Yrsa leaving Halga, and in one version Halga wants to pursue their incestual relationship regardless. In other versions, Halga commits [[suicide]] from the torment of his [[Guilt (emotion)|guilty conscience]].

Yrsa's saga narrative is connected to King [[Beowulf|Beowulf's narrative]]. Halga is identified as the younger brother of King [[Hrothgar]] who receives aid from [[Beowulf (hero)|Beowulf]], and king Hrólfr Kraki's identity as Halga's son is evidenced by the Yrsa tradition. Translators such as [[Burton Raffel]] have conjectured an emendment of her name from a corrupt line in the manuscript of ''Beowulf''.