Gautrekr was a

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

ary

Geatish king Geatish kings (; ), ruling over the provinces of Götaland (Gautland/Geatland), appear in several sources for early Swedish history. Today, most of them are not considered historical. This list follows the generally accepted identification bet ...

who appears in several sources, such as ''

Gautreks saga ''Gautreks saga'' (''Gautrek's Saga'') is a Scandinavian legendary saga put to text towards the end of the 13th century which survives only in much later manuscripts. It seems to have been intended as a compilation of traditional stories, often hu ...

'', '' Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar'', ''

Bósa saga ok Herrauðs ''Bósa saga ok Herrauds'' or ''Saga of Bósi and Herraud'' is a legendary saga, relating the fantastic adventures of the two companions Herrauðr, Herraud (Old Norse language, Old Norse ''Herrauðr'') and Bósi. It is first attested in three ma ...

'', ''

Ynglinga saga ''Ynglinga saga'' ( ) is a Kings' sagas, Kings' saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelanders, Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It is the first section of his ''Heimskringla''. It was first translated into Engl ...

'', ''

Nafnaþulur ''Nafnaþulur'' (Old Norse: ) is a subsection of the ''Prose Edda'', the last part of the ''Skáldskaparmál''. It is a listing in verse of names that may be used in poetry for various items, such as gods A deity or god is a supernatural bei ...

'' (part of the ''

Prose Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' () or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often considered to have been to some exten ...

'') and '' Af Upplendinga konungum''. He appears in different temporal settings, and he could represent different kings named Gautrekr, as the name simply means "Geatish ruler". In the various settings, he also has different offspring. However, all settings present him as the son of a

Gaut is an early Germanic name, from a Proto-Germanic ''gautaz'', which represents a mythical ancestor or national god in the origin myth of the Geats. Etymology ''Gautaz'' may be connected to the name of the Swedish river Göta älv at the city ...

or Gauti, and in one of the later settings, his father Gaut gave his name to

Götaland Götaland (; also '' Gothia'', ''Gothland'', ''Gothenland'' or ''Gautland'') is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises ten provinces. Geographically it is located in the south of Sweden, bounded to the north by Svealand, with the deep wo ...

(Geatland). In ''Nafnaþulur'', he is mentioned as one of the sea-kings, after his father Gauti.

Early setting

In the early setting, Gautrekr is the contemporary of legendary characters such as

Starkad ''Starkad'' ( or ; Latin: ''Starcaterus''; in the Late Middle Ages also ''Starkodder''; Danish language, modern Danish: ''Stærkodder'')The article ''Starkad'' in ''Nationalencyklopedin''. was either an eight-armed giant or the human grandson of ...

and the Swedish kings Erik and Alrik. ''

'' tells that Gautrekr was born out of the meeting between Gauti, the king of

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Vä ...

, and Snotra who was the most intelligent of a family of backwoods skinflints. Her family committed suicide for having lost too much food supporting Gauti as their guest. Snotra took the child Gautrek to Gauti's court and King Gauti, years later on his deathbed, made Gautrek his heir. Gautrekr married Álfhildr, the daughter of king Harald of

Wendland The Wendland () is a region in Germany on the borders of the present states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. Its heart is the Hanoverian Wendland in the county of Lüchow-Dannenberg in Lower Saxony. ...

. When she died, Gautrekr went somewhat out of his mind, ignored all matters of state, and spent all his time on Álfhildr's burial mound, flying his hawk. Through trickery and the advice of Neri, one of Gautrekr's earls, a man named Ref gained the hand of Gautrek's daughter Helga. He also gained the earldom that Neri held from King Gautrekr. If ''Gautreks saga'' tells that Gautrekr had the daughter Helga, '' Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar'' adds two sons, Ketill and Hrólfr Gautreksson. They both succeeded Gautrekr and Hrólfr spent many years pillaging in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

until he finally kidnapped the Scandinavian princess and made her his wife.

Gautrekr the Mild

In the late setting, Gautrekr the Mild is the father of

Algaut Algaut (or ''Algöt'') was a Geatish king who ruled West Götaland according to the ''Heimskringla''. Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice a ...

r, the last

, in Scandinavian legends. Both '' Af Upplendinga konungum'' and ''

'' describe him as the son of

, after whom

(Geatland) took its name. ''Af Upplendinga konungum'' tells that Gautrekr was married to Alof, the daughter of Olaf the Clear-Sighted, the king of

Närke Närke () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Svealand in south central Sweden. It is bordered by Västmanland to the north, Södermanland to the east, Östergötland to the southeast, Västergötland to the sou ...

. Both sources tell that Gautrekr had a son named

r whose daughter Gauthildr married the pre-Swedish king

Ingjald Ingjald illråde or Ingjaldr hinn illráði (''Ingold Illruler'' or ''Illready'') was a semi-legendary Swedish king of the House of Ynglings, son and successor of King Anund, and the father and predecessor of King Olof Trätälja. As with many ...

Ill-ruler. The ''

'' then continues by telling how the pre-Swedish king invited Algautr and several other petty kings to a banquet at

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

only to be burnt to death inside the hall where they had the banquet. Ingjald then proceeded to conquer the kingdoms of the dead kings.

Gautrekr the Generous

In ''

'', Gautrekr the Generous is shortly mentioned as the son of Gauti, the son of

Odin Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...

. It adds that his brother Ring was the king of

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

and the father of

Herrauðr Herrauðr, ''Herraud'', ''Herröðr'', ''Herruðr'', ''Herrud'', ''Herothus'' or ''Heroth'' is a legendary earl of Götaland or king of Sweden, who appears in several medieval legends, in particular those relating to Ragnar Lodbrok (e.g. ''Tale of ...

. This Herrauðr is the same as the Geatish earl who gave his daughter Þóra Town-Hart to

Ragnar Lodbrok Ragnar Lodbrok (Old Norse: ''Ragnarr loðbrók'', ), according to legends, was a Viking hero and a Legendary Kings of Sweden, Swedish and Legendary kings of Denmark, Danish king.Lindworm The lindworm (''worm'' meaning snake, see germanic dragon), also spelled lindwyrm or lindwurm, is a mythical creature in Northern, Western and Central European folklore that traditionally has the shape of a giant serpent monster which lives de ...

in a number of other sagas.

References

{{reflist Legendary kings of the Geats