Editing Yrsa (section)

==In the Icelandic sagas==

===''Hrólfr Kraki's saga''===
In ''[[Hrólfr Kraki's saga]]'', Helgi (i.e. [[Halga]]) went to the [[Saxons]] 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 sent 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 son [[Hrólfr Kraki]] (Hroðulf).

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 unhappier.

Missing Yrsa, Helgi went to [[Uppsala]] to fetch her, but was killed by Aðils in battle. Yrsa was naturally upset that the man who was closest to her was killed by her husband, and promised Aðils that his [[berserker]]s would all be slain if she could help it. She was no happier in the king's company and she was not interested in making up with him either. Later, when a young Swedish warrior named [[Svipdag]] arrived to test his skills, she greatly supported him in his fights with the berserkers who eventually were all slain. Svipdag chose not to remain with King Eadils and instead he sought service with Yrsa's son Hrólfr who had succeeded Helgi as the king of Denmark.
[[File:Rolf Krake sår guld på Fyrisvall by Hugo Hamilton.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Hrolf Kraki fleeing the Swedish king Adils on the Fýrisvellir]]
After some time, when Aðils owed Hrólfr not only the gold he had taken from Helgi during the battle, but also tribute for his help fighting king Áli (i.e. [[Onela]] of ''[[Beowulf]]'') in the [[Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern]], Hrólfr arrived at Uppsala to gather his tribute. Aðils did his best to stop Hrólfr through different ruses, but had to go away to gather reinforcements. While the Swedish king was gone, Yrsa provided her son with more gold than was due to him. Then she gave Hrólfr and his men twelve of the Swedish king's best horses (Aðils was famous for his well-bred horses), and all the armour and provisions they needed.

Hrólfr took a fond farewell of 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.

Later, Hrólfr was killed by his brother-in-law Hjörvarðr (i.e. the [[Heoroweard]] of ''[[Beowulf]]'') through treason and when the battle was over Hrólfr's sister the [[half-elf|half-elven]] [[Skuld (princess)|Skuld]] ruled Denmark. Yrsa exacted revenge by sending a large Swedish army led by [[Vogg]] who captured Skuld before she could summon her army. Skuld was tortured to death and Hrólfr's daughters took over the rule of Denmark.

This account resembles that of the ''Gesta Danorum'', but is more elaborate. A notable difference is that Yrsa is no longer Danish but Saxon, and that Yrsa stayed in Sweden, when her son Hroðulf fled Eadgils with the gold.
{{Kings of Hrólfs saga kraka family tree}}

===''Skjöldunga saga''===
The ''[[Skjöldunga saga]]''<ref>[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14878 ''The Relation of the Hrolfs Saga Kraka and the Bjarkarimur to Beowulf'' by Olson, 1916, at Project Gutenberg]</ref><ref name="Nerman 1925:150">Nerman (1925:150)</ref> relates that Helgo ([[Halga]]) was the king of Denmark together with his brother Roas ([[Hroðgar]]). Helgo raped Olava, the queen of the [[Saxons]], and she bore a daughter named Yrsa. The girl later married king Adillus ([[Eadgils]]), the king of Sweden. Yrsa and Adillus had the daughter [[Skuld (princess)|Scullda]].

Some years later, Helgo attacked Sweden and captured Yrsa. He raped Yrsa, his own daughter, 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. Not much later, Roas was killed by his half-brothers Rærecus and Frodo ([[Froda]]), whereupon Rolfo became the sole king of Denmark.

In Sweden, Yrsa and Adillus married their [[Skuld (princess)|Scullda]] to the king of [[Öland]], Hiørvardus (also called ''Hiorvardus'' and ''Hevardus'', and who corresponds to [[Heoroweard]] in ''[[Beowulf]]''). 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.

Adillus requested Rolfo's aid against the Norwegian king Ale ([[Onela]]). Rolfo sent his berserkers, but when the war had been won, Adillus refused to pay. Rolfo came to Uppsala and after some adventures he could flee with Adillus' gold, helped by his mother Yrsa, and he "sowed" it on the [[Fyrisvellir]].

This account differs from ''Hrólf Kraki's saga'' in the respect that Yrsa was first peacefully married to Eadgils, and later captured by Halga, who raped her and made her pregnant with Hroðulf. In ''Hrólfr Kraki's saga'', she was first captured by Halga who had Hroðulf with him. Learning that Halga was her father, she returned to Saxland from where Eadgils kidnapped her. In ''Hrólfr Kraki's saga'', Helgi dies when more or less trying to save her from Eagdils, while the ''Skjöldunga saga'' presents her marriage with Eadgils as a happier one, and Halga died in a different war expedition.

===''Ynglinga saga''===
The ''[[Skjöldunga saga]]''<ref name="Nerman 1925:150" /> was used by [[Snorri Sturluson]] as a source when he told the story of Aðils ([[Eadgils]]) and Yrsa. What remains of the ''Skjöldunga saga'' is a Latin summary by [[Arngrímur 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 in [[Lejre]], attacked Sweden and captured Yrsa. He raped Yrsa, his own daughter, and took her back to [[Lejre]], where they had a son, Hrólfr ([[Hroðulf]]). 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.

Snorri finishes his account by briefly mentioning that the ''Skjöldunga saga'' contained an extensive account of how Hrólfr came to Uppsala and sowed gold on the [[Fyrisvellir]].

===''Skáldskaparmál''===
In the ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'', Yrsa's husband King Aðils ([[Eadgils]]) requested Yrsa's son Hrólfr's help against the Norwegian king Áli ([[Onela]]). Hrólfr was busy fighting the [[Saxons]] but sent his [[berserker]]s.

When Hrólfr heard that Aðils refused to pay, he set off to [[Gamla Uppsala|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 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 the [[Fyrisvellir]], 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.

===''Gróttasöngr''===
[[Image:Fenja och Menja vid kvarnen Grotte (xylograph).JPG|thumb|right|Fenja and Menja at the mill]]The ''[[Gróttasöngr]]'' contains a stanza (nr 22) sung by the giantesses [[Fenja]] and [[Menja]]. It only names Yrsa and the situation that her son and brother (i.e. [[Hroðulf]]) will avenge Fródi ([[Froda]]):
{|
|
:Mölum enn framar.
:Mun Yrsu sonr,
:niðr Halfdanar,
:hefna Fróða;
:sá mun hennar
:heitinn verða
:burr ok bróðir,
:vitum báðar þat.
|
:Let us grind on!
:Yrsa's son,
:Hálfdan's kinsman,
:will avenge Fródi:
:he will of her
:be called
:son and brother:
:we both know that.([https://web.archive.org/web/20071121221718/http://www.northvegr.org/lore/poetic2/042.php Thorpe's translation])
|}

This piece cannot refer to ''Hrólfr Kraki's saga'' where Froda was the half-brother of Healfdene because this Froda was killed by Hroðgar. It can, however, be interpreted through the ''Skjöldunga saga'' in which Hroðulf's uncle Hroðgar was murdered by his half-brother Froda.