Hygd, introduced in line 1925 of the poem ''

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ) is an Old English poetry, Old English poem, an Epic poetry, epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translat ...

'', is married to of

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Hygelac Hygelac (; ; ; or ''Hugilaicus''; died 516 or 521) was a king of the Geats according to the poem ''Beowulf''. It is Hygelac's presence in the poem which has allowed scholars to tentatively date the setting of the poem as well as to infer tha ...

of Geatland. She is the daughter of Hæreth. After

defeats

Grendel Grendel is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem ''Beowulf'' (700–1000 AD). He is one of the poem's three antagonists (along with his mother and the dragon), all aligned in opposition against the protagonist Beowulf. He is referred to as b ...

and

Grendel's mother Grendel's mother () is one of three antagonists in the anonymous Old English poem ''Beowulf'' (c. 700–1000 AD), the other two being Grendel and the dragon. Each antagonist reflects different negative aspects of both the hero Beowulf and the h ...

, he and his men returned to their native country, where they are received by Hygelac and Hygd. Hygd is beautiful, wise, courteous, and attentive. She pours mead in the drinking horns of the warriors thus fulfilling (in the same vein as Wealhþeow, the queen 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 ...

) the important role of ''hostess'' and cup-bearer in the poem. The poet juxtaposes this virtue with the vice of Queen Modþryð (who appears in line 1932). Beowulf gives her three horses and a magnificent

torc A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large rigid or stiff neck ring in metal, made either as a single piece or from strands twisted together. The great majority are open at the front, although some have hook and ring closures and a few hav ...

(the ''Brosing'', i.e. Brisingamen, the necklace of the goddess

Freyja In Norse mythology, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a char ...

) that he received from Wealhþeow. Hygd shows her wisdom and love for the

Geatish The Geats ( ; ; ; ), sometimes called ''Geats#Goths, Goths'', were a large North Germanic peoples, North Germanic tribe who inhabited ("land of the Geats") in modern southern Sweden from antiquity until the Late Middle Ages. They are one of ...

people when her husband falls in the raid in

Frisia Frisia () is a Cross-border region, cross-border Cultural area, cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. Wider definitions of "Frisia" ...

against the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

. Instead of securing the throne for her own offspring, she offers it to

as she considers her son

Heardred Heardred (Proto-Norse *''Harðurāðaz''), died c. 530, is the son of Hygelac, king of the Geats, and his queen Hygd, in ''Beowulf''. After Hygelac's death, in Frisia, Hygd wants to make Hygelac's nephew Beowulf, king of Geatland, as she fears th ...

to be too inexperienced to defend Geatland against the

Swedes Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...

. Beowulf, however, talks in favour of young Heardred and convinces her to proclaim him

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 ...

instead. Two Swedish princes,

Eadgils Eadgils, ''Adils'', ''Aðils'', ''Adillus'', ''Aðísl at Uppsölum'', ''Athisl'', ''Athislus'' or ''Adhel'' was a semi-legendary king of Sweden, who is estimated to have lived during the 6th century. ''Beowulf'' and Old Norse sources present ...

and

Eanmund Eanmund was a Swedish prince of the Scylfing dynasty, whose existence is alleged in ''Beowulf''.''Beowulf'', lines 2612-2615. Life according to ''Beowulf'' Unlike his relatives, Eanmund is only mentioned in Beowulf. Eanmund was the son of Ohth ...

, arrive and ask for protection as their uncle

Onela Onela was, according to ''Beowulf'', a Swedish king, the son of Ongentheow and the brother of Ohthere. He usurped the Swedish throne, but was killed by his nephew Eadgils, who won by hiring foreign assistance. In Scandinavian sagas a Norwegi ...

had usurped the Swedish throne. Heardred graciously offers them his protection, which leads to a Swedish invasion in which Heardred is slain. The Swedish warrior

Weohstan Weohstan, Wēohstān or Wīhstān (Proto-Norse *'' Wīha stainaz'', meaning "sacred stone", and ''Wǣstēn'') is a legendary character who appears in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem ''Beowulf'', and scholars have pointed out that he also appears to b ...

kills Eanmund, and Beowulf can no longer refuse Hygd's offer of kingship.

References

Characters in Beowulf English heroic legends Geats {{lit-char-stub

Further reading

References