Bǫðvarr Bjarki (Old Norse: [ˈbɔðˌwɑrː ˈbjɑrke]), meaning 'Warlike Little-Bear', is the hero appearing in tales of Hrólfr Kraki in Hrólfs saga kraka, in the Latin epitome to the lost Skjöldunga saga, and as Biarco in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum.[1]
Links with Beowulf[]
Some think Bjarki and the hero Bēowulf in the Old English poem Beowulf were originally the same personage, while others instead accept some kinship between the two,[2] perhaps pointing to the same distant source.[3] Unlike Beowulf, Böðvarr is a shapeshifter,[4] and he is also said to have been Norwegian, which may be explained by the fact that his story was written by Icelandic authors who were mostly of Norwegian descent.
However, his brother was the king of Gautland (Geatland) and, like Beowulf, it was from Geatland that Böðvarr arrived in Denmark. Moreover, upon arriving at the court of Denmark, he kills a monstrous beast that has been terrorising the court at Yule for two years (comparable to Grendel's role in Beowulf).
Bear-form[]
The famous poem Bjarkamál (of which only a few stanzas are preserved but which Saxo Grammaticus presents in the form of a florid Latin paraphrase) is understood as a dialogue between Böðvarr Bjarki and his younger companion Hjalti which begins by Hjalti again and again urging Böðvarr to awake from his sleep and fight for King Hrólfr in this last battle in which they are doomed to be defeated. In Hrólfs saga kraka, it is explained that this rousing was ill-done, as Bjarki was in a trance and his spirit in the form of a monstrous bear was already aiding Hrólfr far more than Bjarki could do with only his mannish strength: as Bjarki puts it on awakening, "You have not been so helpful to the king by this action as you think".[5]
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| Heroes in Norse mythology | |
|---|---|
| Angantýr Arngrímsson • Arngrímr • Áslaug • Bjǫrn Járnsíða • Bǫðvarr Bjarki • Egill • Erpr • Gjúki • Guðmundr • Hagbarðr • Haki • Hamðir • Heiðrekr • Helgi Haddingjaskati • Helgi Hundingsbane • Hervǫr Angantýsdóttir • Hervǫr Heiðreksdóttir • Hildólfr • Hjálmarr and Ingibjǫrg • Hlǫðr • Hrólfr Kraki • Hǫðbroddr • Karl Hundason • Níðuðr • Palnatóki • Ragnarr Loðbrók • Ring II • Rerir • Sigi • Sigmundr • Signý • Sigurðr • Sigurðr Hjort • Sinfjǫtli • Starkaðr • Styrbjǫrn Sterki • Svafrlami • Svanhildr • Svipdagr • Sæmingr • Sǫrli • Vésteinn • Víkarr • Vikingr • Vǫlsungr • Yrsa • Þiðrekr af Bern • Ǫrvar-Oddr | |