''Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka'' (''The Saga of Half & His Heroes'') or ''Hálfssaga'' is a

legendary saga A legendary saga or ''fornaldarsaga'' (literally, "story/history of the ancient era") is a Norse saga that, unlike the Icelanders' sagas, takes place before the settlement of Iceland.The article ''Fornaldarsagor'' in ''Nationalencyklopedin'' (1991 ...

composed in the early 14th century,The article ''Half'' in ''Nordisk familjebok'' (1909).
/ref> based on a legend that has also been preserved in the Scandinavian medieval ballad ''

Stolt Herr Alf "Stolt Herr Alf" ("Proud Lord Alf", SMB 206, TSB E 58) or "Álvur kongur" ( CCF 14) is a medieval Scandinavian ballad with Swedish and Faroese variants, based on the same legendary material as the Icelandic legendary saga ''Hálfs saga ok H� ...

''.Mitchell, Stephen A. (1991). ''Heroic Sagas and Ballads'', In the series ''Myth and Poetics''. Cornell University Press. . pp. 177, 183 It is about Halfr (

Proto-Norse Proto-Norse (also called Ancient Nordic, Ancient Scandinavian, Ancient Norse, Primitive Norse, Proto-Nordic, Proto-Scandinavian and Proto-North Germanic) was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved as ...

: ''Haþuwolafr'', meaning "battle-wulf") who was one of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

's most famous legendary sea-kings. His champions had to submit to harsh rules. When Half had spent 18 years of free-booting, he returned to

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Municipa ...

, where Half's stepfather Asmund had ruled in his stead. Asmund invited Halfr and half of his warband to a banquet and swore Halfr 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 Sölve was a sea-king who conquered Sweden by burning the Swedish king Östen to death inside his hall. The ''Heimskringla'' relates that he was the son of Högne of Nærøy, and that he had his home in Jutland (however, according to the older ...

of Njardey and they avenged Half and the slain warriors. Then they appointed Half's son Hjor to be the king of Hordaland. It is known for its great diversity in content, ranging from

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, rangin ...

heroic poetry An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

. Some of the poetry is of considerable age suggesting a long time of oral transmission prior to its being put to paper. One of his champions is also mentioned in ''

Hyndluljóð ''Hyndluljóð'' (Old Norse: 'The Lay of Hyndla') is an Old Norse poem often considered a part of the '' Poetic Edda''. It is preserved in its entirety only in '' Flateyjarbók'', but some stanzas are also quoted in the ''Prose Edda'', where th ...

'' (''Instein'').

Notes

External links

The saga in English translation by Tunstall, at NorthvegrThe saga in English translation by Tunstall, at Northvegr
14th-century literature Legendary sagas {{saga-stub