Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka

Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka (The Saga of Hálfr & His Heroes) or Hálfssaga is a legendary saga composed in the early 14th century,^[1] based on a legend that has also been preserved in the Scandinavian medieval ballad Stolt Herr Alf.^[2] It is about Hálfr (Proto-Norse: Haþuwolafr, meaning "battle-wolf"^[1]) who was one of Norway's most famous legendary sea-kings.

His champions had to submit to harsh rules. When Hálfr had spent 18 years of free-booting, he returned to Hordaland, where Hálfr's stepfather Asmund had ruled in his stead. Asmund invited Hálfr and half of his warband to a banquet and swore Hálfr his loyalty. However, Asmund put them to the sword or burnt them to death inside his hall. Only two warriors survived and managed to escape, Utsten and Hrok the Black.

Utsten and Hrok united with Sölve of Njardey and they avenged Hálfr and the slain warriors. Then they appointed Hálfr's son Hjor to be the king of Hordaland.

It is known for its great diversity in content, ranging from folklore to heroic poetry. Some of the poetry is of considerable age^[1] suggesting a long time of oral transmission prior to its being put to paper. One of his champions is also mentioned in Hyndluljóð^[1] (Instein).

Videos[]

A Bargain with Odin

Notes[]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 The article Half in Nordisk familjebok (1909).
↑ Mitchell, Stephen A. (1991). Heroic Sagas and Ballads, In the series Myth and Poetics. Cornell University Press. ISBN: 9781501735974 . pp. 177, 183

External links[]

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka (view authors). As with Myth and Folklore Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported).

[half-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 The article Half in Nordisk familjebok (1909).

[2] Mitchell, Stephen A. (1991). Heroic Sagas and Ballads, In the series Myth and Poetics. Cornell University Press. ISBN: 9781501735974 . pp. 177, 183

[1]

[2]