Gizur, Gizurr or Gissur was a

King of the Geats 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 ...

. He appears in '' The Battle of the Goths and Huns'', which is included in the '' Hervarar saga'' and in editions of the ''

Poetic Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems in alliterative verse. It is distinct from the closely related ''Prose Edda'', although both works are seminal to the study of Old Norse ...

''. Gizur was the foster-father of

Heidrek Heidrek or Heiðrekr (Old Norse: ) is one of the main characters in the cycle about the magic sword Tyrfing. He appears in the '' Hervarar saga'', and probably also in ''Widsith'',line 115, as ''Heathoric'' together with his sons Angantyr (''Incge ...

, who made a coup-d'état in

Reidgotaland Reidgotaland, Reidgothland, Reidgotland, Hreidgotaland or Hreiðgotaland was a land mentioned in Germanic heroic legend (mentioned in the Scandinavian sagas as well as the Anglo-Saxon Widsith) usually interpreted as the land of the Goths. Etymo ...

, the land of the

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

(see

Oium Oium was a name for Scythia, or a fertile part of it, roughly in modern Ukraine, where the Goths, under a legendary King Filimer, settled after leaving Gothiscandza, according to the ''Getica'' by Jordanes, written around 551. It is general ...

and the

Chernyakhov culture The Chernyakhov culture, Cherniakhiv culture or Sântana de Mureș—Chernyakhov culture was an archaeological culture that flourished between the 2nd and 5th centuries CE in a wide area of Eastern Europe, specifically in what is now Ukraine, Ro ...

). Following the death of Heidrek by the hand of his slaves, his son

Angantyr Angantyr was the name of three male characters from the same line in Norse mythology, and who appear in '' Hervarar saga'', ''Gesta Danorum'', and Faroese ballads. The last generation named Angantyr also appears to be mentioned as ''Incgentheo ...

, who was the new king of the Goths, avenged him and held a great banquet in his memory. The aged Gizur, Heidrek's foster father, was among the kings who arrived at the Goth capital Arheimar on the Dniepr (''Danpar'') and participated in the banquet. Then Heidrek's illegitimate son

Hlöd Hlöd or Hlod was the illegitimate son of Heidrek, the king of the Geats, in Norse mythology. He appears in the ''Hervarar saga'' and probably also as ''Hlith'' in ''Widsith'', line 115, together with his father Heidrek, Heiðrekr (''Heathoric'') ...

, who had been raised by his maternal grandfather Humli and had grown up among the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

, conspired with his grandfather to claim his share of the inheritance, which included half of all Heidrek's property. Angantyr offered a great many riches and a third of the Goth kingdom, but before Hlöd could answer, Gizur reminded Angantyr that Hlöd was only a bastard son of a bondmaid and did not deserve such riches. This offended Humli and caused an invasion of the Hunnish Horde, for which all males of 12 years or older were enlisted, effectively emptying the land of the Huns of all its fighting men (approximately 350,000 men), and prospects looked grim. At first a battle took place in the land of the Goths near Mirkwood, where there was a fortress under the command of Hervör, Angantyr's sister. In the battle Hervör was killed and her armies were defeated. After Angantyr heard of the defeat, Gizur rode out as a

herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen ...

to the Huns, and when he saw them at a distance he called out and summoned them to another battle "on the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

heath below the Hills of Ash". Gizur supported Angantyr and helped him fight the Horde, presumably with his own Geatish forces. Since he helped the Goths,

mockingly called the king the ''Grýtingaliði'', an

Ostrogoth The Ostrogoths () were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Western Roman Empire, drawing upon the large Gothic populatio ...

(''Greutungi'') warrior and "Angantyr's man":

References

{{Tyrfing Legendary kings of the Geats Tyrfing cycle Year of death unknown