Skjöldunga saga
Also known as: Skjoldunga saga, Saga of the Scyldings, Saga of the Skjoldungs


A lost Icelandic kings’ saga recounting the legendary Danish Skjöldung (Scylding) dynasty from its divine founder Skjöldr through Helgi and Hróarr to Hrólfr Kraki, integrating heroic lore, dynastic feuds, and cross-Scandinavian history.
Description
The Skjöldunga saga (Saga of the Scyldings) presented a continuous legendary history of the Danish royal house from its mythic origins to the age of Hrólfr Kraki. Though the original Old Norse prose is lost, its narrative can be partially reconstructed from Arngrímur Jónsson’s Latin epitome and cognate traditions preserved in related sagas, rímur, and external sources. The saga wove genealogies, battle accounts, and courtly intrigues into a kings’ saga framework, situating Danish legends within a broader Scandinavian milieu that intersects with Swedish and Geatish lore familiar from Beowulf and Saxo. Themes include the sacral charisma of kingship, the perils of kin-slaying, and the tragic brilliance of heroic courts.
Historiography
The work likely originated in Iceland in the late 12th or early 13th century as a kings’ saga of the Danish Skjöldungs. The medieval manuscript(s) are lost, with knowledge of the contents derived mainly from Arngrímur Jónsson’s Latin abstract and from later Icelandic poetic reworkings such as Bjarkarímur, as well as parallels in Hrólfs saga kraka and Saxo Grammaticus. The loss of the original complicates source-criticism, but comparative study has outlined a coherent narrative core and royal genealogy. Modern scholarship treats it as a key yet fragmentary witness to Scandinavian legendary historiography.
Date Notes
Original Icelandic text lost; contents known chiefly through Arngrímur Jónsson’s early modern Latin epitome and later derivative materials.
Symbols
Major Characters
- Skjöldr
- Halfdan
- Frodi
- Hrothgar
- Hrólfr Kraki
Myths
- Origins of the Scylding (Skjöldung) Dynasty
- Hrolf Kraki and Bjarki
- Legendary Feuds of the Shieldings
Facts
- A kings’ saga of the Danish Skjöldung dynasty; the medieval Icelandic original is lost.
- Known primarily through Arngrímur Jónsson’s early modern Latin epitome and later Icelandic poetic reworkings.
- Narrative arc spans from the divine founder Skjöldr to the court and death of Hrólfr Kraki.
- Shares characters and motifs with Beowulf (Hrothgar/Hróarr, Halga/Helgi, Hrothulf/Hrólfr).
- Closely parallel to, and possibly drawn upon by, Saxo Grammaticus’s Danish history.
- Centers on royal genealogies, dynastic feuds, and exemplary heroic episodes.
- Features the famed champions of Hrólfr Kraki, including Bǫðvarr Bjarki and Hjalti.
- Yrsa’s story (mother and later queen) is pivotal to the lineage and court politics.
- Adils of Uppsala episode ties Danish and Swedish legendary history.
- The saga functioned as a mytho-historical framework for Danish royal identity.