Eysteinn Beli: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|8th-century king of Sweden}}

'''Östen Beli''', '''Eystein Bele''' or '''Östen Illråda''' (ill-ruler) was a son of [[Harald Hildetand]]. [[Ragnar Lodbrok made him a subordinate king of [[Sweden]] towards the end of the 8th century. He is said to have been very wise, but also very evil. He had a daughter, Ingeborg, and was succeded by [[Björn Ironside]], one of Ragnar Lodbrok's sons.

'''Eysteinn Beli''' or ''Eysteinn hinn illráði'', [[Swedish language|Swedish]]: ''Östen Illråde'' (ill-ruler) or ''Östen Beli'', was a semi-legendary king of Sweden who would have ruled in the late 8th century.

==''Krákumál''==

According to ''[[Krákumál]]'' (stanza 7), he fell at [[Ulleråker]] south of [[Uppsala]].

{|

|

:Hjuggu vér með hjörvi.

:Hátt grenjuðu rottar,

:áðr en á Ullarakri

:Eysteinn konungr felli.

:Gengum gulli fáðir

:grundar vals af bröndum

:— rækyndill smaug rauðar

:rítr — at hjálma móti.

:Svíra virtr ór sárum

:sveif of hjarna kleifar.<ref name=kraka>[https://skaldic.abdn.ac.uk/m.php?p=text&i=1020 ''Krákumál'' at Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages.]</ref>

|

:We hewed with the sword.

:Swords roared loudly

:before King Eysteinn fell

:at Ullarakr.

:We proceeded to a meeting of helmets [BATTLE],

:decked with gold from the flames

:of the landing place of the falcon [ARM > GOLD RINGS];

:the corpse-candle [SWORD] penetrated red shields.

:The wort of the neck [BLOOD] flowed from wounds

:over the cliffs of the brain [SHOULDERS].<ref name=kraka/>

|}

==Ragnarssona þáttr==

The apparently oldest version, ''[[Ragnarssona þáttr]]'', relates that Ragnar Lodbrok's sons had left [[Sweden]] and conquered [[Zealand (Denmark)|Zealand]], [[Reidgotaland]] (here [[Jutland]]), [[Gotland]], [[Öland]] and all the minor islands. [[Ivar the Boneless]], the leader, then settled at [[Lejre]] with his brothers.

Ragnar was jealous with his sons' successes, and set Eysteinn as the jarl of [[Sweden]], telling him to protect Sweden from his sons. He then went east across the [[Baltic Sea]] to pillage and to show his own skills.

Ragnar's sons Eric and Agnar then sailed into Lake [[Mälaren]] and sent a message to king Eysteinn that they wanted him to submit to Ragnar's sons, and Eric said that he wanted Eysteinn's daughter Borghild as wife. Eysteinn said that he first wanted to consult the Swedish chieftains. The chieftains said no to the offer, and ordered an attack on the rebellious sons. A battle ensued and Eric and Agnar were overwhelmed by the Swedish forces, whereupon Agnar died and Eric was taken prisoner.

Eysteinn offered Eric as much of [[Uppsala öd]] as he wanted, and Borghild, in [[wergild]] for Agnar. Eric proclaimed that after such a defeat he wanted nothing but to choose the day of his own death. Eric asked to be impaled on spears that raised him above the dead and his wish was granted.

In [[Zealand (Denmark)|Zealand]], his mother [[Aslaug]] and his brothers [[Björn Ironside]] and [[Hvitserk]], who had been playing [[tafl]], become upset and sail to Sweden with a large army. Aslaug, calling herself Randalin rides with cavalry across the land.

The battle ended with Eysteinn's death. When Ragnar died, Björn Ironside became the king of Sweden.

==''Ragnar Lodbrok's saga''==

''[[Ragnar Lodbrok's saga]]'' tells that Eysteinn was the king of Sweden and a good friend of [[Ragnar Lodbrok]]. Eysteinn had the most beautiful daughter named Ingeborg. He was also a devout pagan and there were so many [[blót]]s at [[Gamla Uppsala|Uppsala]] that no other place had ever been its equal. The Swedes worshiped a [[Cattle in religion|holy cow]] named Sibilja, and when the Swedes were attacked by enemies, they had the cow walk in front of the battle formation. The cow's magic was so great that when she began to bellow, the enemies began to fight between themselves.

When Ragnar Lodbrok was visiting Eysteinn at Uppsala, Eysteinn suggested that Ragnar marry Ingeborg and have her as wife instead of the pauper [[Aslaug]] (Kraka). Ragnar consequently betrothed himself to Ingeborg. Eventually, Aslaug found out from three small birds, and told Ragnar that she was no pauper. She was the daughter of [[Sigurd]] and [[Brynhild]]. As Ragnar understood that Kraka was of better descent than that of Ingeborg, he decided not to go back to Sweden and wed Eysteinn's daughter.

Eysteinn was upset with Ragnar's change of plans and declared that their friendship was no more. This was interesting news to Ragnar's sons Eric and Agnar who decided to go to Sweden and pillage, as their father would not mind anymore.

Eysteinn sent the [[Bidding stick#Scandinavia|fiery cross]] in all directions and assembled the Swedish [[leidang]]. They also made Sibilja join the army, but they had to [[blót]] considerably to make her obey. When they had arrived at the ___location where Eric and Agnar were camped, Eysteinn ordered one third of the Swedish army to attack Eric and Ragnar's men, while the others would attack from all directions after the battle had begun. This was done and Sibilja began to bellow. Eric and Agnar's warriors began to fight between themselves and eventually Agnar died and Eric was taken captive. Eric was offered both peace and Ingeborg but Eric wanted the Swedes to stick spears into the ground and throw him on top of them so that he would die.

When Aslaug heard the news of Eric and Agnar's death, she cried blood, and asked Ragnar's sons to avenge their dead brothers. [[Ivar the Boneless]] was afraid of the magic that ruled in Sweden, but when his little brother, the only three year old [[Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye]] wanted to attack Eysteinn, the brothers changed their minds.

Sigurd's foster-father assembled five longships for him. [[Hvitserk]] and [[Björn Ironside]] mustered fourteen, while Aslaug and Ivar the Boneless marshalled ten ships each. Ivar would not allow his mother Aslaug to go by sea, but she could join the army of riders that would go across land. She accepted and changed her name to Randalin.

When the armies met in battle, Ivar told everyone to make such a din that the bellowing from Sibilja could not be heard. This was of no use, however, and so Ivar shot two arrows in each of Sibilja's eyes. However, the cow could not be stopped. Then Ivar asked his men to throw him on top of the cow. Ivar made himself so heavy as he landed on the cow, that she was crushed.

The Swedish leidang was beaten and Eysteinn fell. Ragnar's sons commanded that their brother had been avenged and that the Swedes should be spared pillaging.

==''Hervarar saga''==

The ''[[Hervarar saga]]'' tells that Eysteinn Beli was the son of [[Harald Wartooth]]. ''Hervarar saga'' made Harald Wartooth the king of Sweden and [[Sigurd Hring]] the king of Denmark, while other sources have it the other way round. It tells that Eysteinn inherited Sweden from his father Harald Wartooth and ruled it until he was killed by the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok, as told in ''Ragnar Lodbrok's saga''. When Ragnar died, [[Björn Ironside]] became the king of Sweden.

==''Gesta Danorum''==

The ''[[Gesta Danorum]]'' (book 9) by [[Saxo Grammaticus]] also mentions Eysteinn, but only in passing. It says that Ragnar Lodbrok's son Agnar learnt that his brother Eric had been slain by Osten, the king of Sweden. He wished to avenge his brother but died in the battle.

==''Skáldatal''==

''[[Skáldatal]]'' says that Eysteinn Beli was the patron of many [[skald]]s, including [[Bragi inn gamli]], Grundi prúði, [[Erpr lútandi]], Kálfr þrænzki, Refr ryzki, Ormr oframi, two named Ölvaldi, Ávaldi, Fleinn skáld and Rögnvaldr skáld.

==References==

{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}

{{s-reg | leg }}

{{s-bef | before = [[Ragnar Lodbrok]] }}

{{s-ttl | title = [[Semi-legendary kings of Sweden|King of Sweden]] }}

{{s-aft | after = [[Björn Ironside]] }}

{{s-end}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eysteinn Beli}}

[[Category:Semi-legendary kings of Sweden]]

[[Category:8th-century monarchs in Europe]]

[[Category:House of Munsö]]