Ulf Thorgilsson, commonly known as Ulf Jarl or Earl Ulf, was a Danish

jarl Jarl was a rank of the nobility in Scandinavia during the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages. The institution evolved over time and varied by region. In Old Norse, it meant "chieftain", specifically one appointed to rule a territory in a king's stea ...

Skåne Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

and regent of

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. Ulf was the son of

Thorgil Sprakling Thorgils Sprakalegg (also called Thorgil, Torkel, Torgils, Thrugils, Sprakling or Sprakalägg) was a Danish nobleman whose children were active in the politics of Denmark and England in the early 11th century and who was grandfather of kings of bot ...

and the father of King

Sweyn II of Denmark Sweyn II ( – 28 April 1076), also known as Sweyn Estridsson (, ) and Sweyn Ulfsson, was King of Denmark from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, and the grandson of Sweyn Forkbeard through ...

and thus the progenitor of the

House of Estridsen The House of Estridsen was a dynasty that provided the List of Danish monarchs, kings of Denmark from 1047 to 1412. The dynasty is named after its ancestor Estrid Svendsdatter. The dynasty is sometimes called the ''Ulfinger'', after Estrid's husba ...

, which would rule Denmark from 1047 to 1375, which was also sometimes, specially in Swedish sources, referred to as the Ulfinger dynasty to honor him.

Biography

Ulf Jarl was the son of Danish chieftain Thorgils Sprakalägg. In the 18th century, Danish historian Jacob Langebek proposed that Styrbjörn Starke and Tyra Haraldsdotter were the parents of Thorkel Sprakalegg.Searle, W. G. (1899
Anglo-Saxon Bishops, Kings, and Nobles: The Succession of the Bishops and the Pedigrees of the Kings and Nobles
(London: Cambridge University Press. p. 355). Therefore, this would make Ulf Jarl a descendant of

Olof (II) Björnsson Olov (or Olof) is a Swedish form of Olav/Olaf, meaning "ancestor's descendant". A common short form of the name is ''Olle''. The name may refer to: * Olle Åberg (1925–2013), Swedish middle-distance runner * Olle Åhlund (1920–1996), Swed ...

of the

House of Munsö The House of Munsö (), also called the House of Björn Ironside (Swedish: ), the House of Uppsala (Swedish: ) or simply the Old dynasty (Swedish: ), is the earliest reliably attested royal dynasty of Sweden, ruling during the Viking Age. None of ...

and through Tyra a descendant of

Harald Bluetooth Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson (; , died c. 985/86) was a king of Denmark and Norway. The son of King Gorm the Old and Thyra Dannebod, Harald ruled as king of Denmark from c. 958 – c. 986, introduced Christianization of Denmark, Christianity to D ...

of the

House of Knýtlinga The Denmark, Danish House of Knýtlinga (English language, English: "House of Cnut's Descendants") was a ruling royal house in Middle Ages, Middle Age Scandinavia and Kingdom of England, England. Its most famous king was Cnut the Great, who gave ...

. His brother Eilaf was an earl of King

Cnut the Great Cnut ( ; ; – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rul ...

and his sister

Gytha Thorkelsdóttir Gytha Thorkelsdóttir ( 997 – c. 1069), also called Githa, was a Danish noblewoman. She was the wife of Godwin, Earl of Wessex, and the mother of King Harold Godwinson and Edith of Wessex, the latter of whom was the queen consort of King Edwa ...

married

Godwin, Earl of Wessex Godwin of Wessex (; died 15 April 1053) was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman who became one of the most powerful earls in England under the Danish king Cnut the Great (King of England from 1016 to 1035) and his successors. Cnut made Godwin the first ...

. In 1016, he participated in Cnut the Great's invasion of England. He participated in the conquest of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

as one of Cnut's most trusted men. From c. 1024 he was appointed the Jarl of Denmark and King Cnut's appointee as regent of Denmark. In the absence of King Cnut, he ruled as the foster-father and guardian of Cnut's son

Harthacnut Harthacnut (; "Tough-knot"; – 8 June 1042), traditionally Hardicanute, sometimes referred to as Canute III, was King of Denmark from 1035 to 1042 and King of England from 1040 to 1042. Harthacnut was the son of King Cnut the Great (wh ...

. In 1015–16, he married Cnut's sister,

Estrid Svendsdatter Estrid Svendsdatter of Denmark (also known as ''Estrith'' or ''Astrith''; 990/997 – 1057/1073) was a Danish princess and titular queen, a Russian princess and, possibly, duchess of Normandy by marriage. She was the daughter of Sweyn Forkbeard a ...

of Denmark, by whom he had sons,

Svein Svein is a Norwegian masculine given name. Notable people with the given name include: Rulers * Sweyn Haakonsson (died c. 1016), in Norwegian Svein Håkonsson, an earl and co-ruler of Norway from 1000 to c. 1015 * Svein Knutsson (c. 1016–1035) ...

, who later became the king of Denmark, and

Beorn Beorn is a character created by J. R. R. Tolkien, and part of his Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in ''The Hobbit'' as a " skin-changer", a man who could assume the form of a great black bear. His descendants or kinsmen, a group of Men kn ...

(Bjørn), who would become an Earl in England. Chronicler

Adam of Bremen Adam of Bremen (; ; before 1050 – 12 October 1081/1085) was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. Adam is most famous for his chronicle '' Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum'' ('' ...

also gives Ulf a son, Åsbjørn, but does not explicitly name him as son of Estrith, as he does with Svein and Beorn. There may have also been a daughter - ''Harald Hardrådes saga'', part of ''

Heimskringla () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland. While authorship of ''Heimskringla'' is nowhere attributed, some scholars assume it is written by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (117 ...

'' by

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...

gives an account of Åsmund, son of Svein's sister, yet he is likely the same Åsmund named as son of Beorn in ''

Morkinskinna ''Morkinskinna'' is an Old Norse kings' saga, relating the history of Norwegian kings from approximately 1025 to 1157. The saga was written in Iceland around 1220, and has been preserved in a manuscript from around 1275. The name ''Morkinskinn ...

''. P. A. Munch (1855), ''Det Norske Folks Historie'', vol. 5, no. 5, p. 287 In 1026, Swedish King

Anund Jakob Anund Jacob, also Jakob or James (Old Norse: ''Ǫnundr Jakob''; c. 25 July 1008/10 - c. 1050), was King of Sweden from 1022 until around 1050. He is believed to have been born on 25 July, in either 1008 or 1010 as ''Jakob'', the son of King Olof ...

and Norwegian King Olaf II took advantage of King Cnut's absence and launched an attack on the Danish in the Baltic Sea. Ulf convinced the freemen to elect

king, since they were discontented at Cnut's absenteeism. This was a ruse on Ulf's part since his role as Harthacnut's guardian would make him the ruler of Denmark. When Cnut learnt what had happened, he returned to Denmark and fought naval engagement against the Swedish and Norwegian forces at the

Battle of the Helgeå A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

. The victory left Cnut as the dominant leader in Scandinavia. The ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...

'', which instead places the battle a year earlier in 1025, names the leaders of the Swedes as Ulf and Eglaf, usually identified with Ulf Jarl and his brother Eilaf. Saxo likewise would have Ulf fighting Cnut at Helgeå. However '' Saga of Olaf the Holy'' in the ''

'' gives an account in which while Cnut lost the land battle, he was the overall victor when Ulf helped him win the accompanying sea battle. One possible explanation for this conflict of sources is that Ulf fought with the Swedes against Cnut in a 1025 battle not recounted by the saga because Olaf did not take part, but Ulf switched sides before the battle at Helgeå. If Eilaf fought against Cnut, he was forgiven as he was retained as Earl in England until Cnut's death, and then fled, suggesting he was closely linked to the king. Any rapprochement with Ulf was short-lived. At a banquet in

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 53,354 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

, the two brothers-in-law were playing

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

and started arguing with each other. The next day, the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

of 1026, Cnut had one of his

housecarl A housecarl (; ) was a non- servile manservant or household bodyguard in medieval Northern Europe. The institution originated amongst the Norsemen of Scandinavia, and was brought to Anglo-Saxon England by the Danish conquest in the 11th centur ...

s kill Earl Ulf in , the predecessor of

Roskilde Cathedral Roskilde Cathedral (), in the city of Roskilde on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark, is a cathedral of the Lutheranism, Lutheran Church of Denmark. The cathedral is one of the most important churches in D ...

.Havhingsten fra Glendalough: The battle of the throne of England
/ref>

References

Other sources

*Lawson, M. K. (1995) ''Cnut: The Danes in England in the Early Eleventh Century'' (Addison-Wesley Longman Ltd)

Biography

References

Other sources

Related reading