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Hermuthruda, Hermutrude (Old English: Eormenthryth) was a figure in Scandinavian romance.

The chief authority for the legend of Hermuthruda is the Danish chronicle Gesta Danorum by Saxo Grammaticus. Described as "the wild queen of Scotland", she became the wife of Wihtlaeg or Vigletus and is described as a Wicked Queen type of character such as found in a variety of fiction.

In the chronicle, Amlethus is sent to court Hermuthruda by the King of England. However the queen had a reputation for killing all suitors, Saxo saying "in the cruelty of her arrogance she had always loathed her wooers, and inflicted upon them the supreme punishment, so that out of many there was not one but paid for his boldness with his head". Hermuthruda takes a liking to Amlethus after stealing his shield and learning of his past. The couple are married until a battle with Wihtlaeg, before which Hermuthruda promises Amlethus her undying love for him, and that she will never marry another. After Wihtlaeg is victorious, Hermuthruda switches sides and immediately marries him in a display of inconsistency that leads to her becoming the "ancestress of Offa".

The family tree of legendary Kings of the Danes, according to the Gesta Danorum (Books I to VII)

Kings of the Danes are in bold and marked with an asterisk (*). Kings of the Swedes are marked with a dagger (†).

Humble
KEY
AngulDan*GrythaMarriage or coupling
Parent and child
The AnglesHumble*Lother*King of the SaxonsInheritance by other or unclear means
Sigtryg, King of the Swedes†Skiold*AlfhildSumble, King
of the Finns
GróaGram*†SigneHenry, King
of the Saxons		Hakon, King
of the Nitherians
Swipdag*†Guthorm*
Hadding*Ragnhild
Asmund†Gunhild
Guthorm
HenryUffe†Hunding†ThorhildUlfhildUbbe
Scot
Ragnar†SwanhwidHandwan
Thorwald
Frode*
Hothbrodd†Halfdan*RoSkat
Thora
Helge*Ro*
Athisl†Urse
King GewarRolf*† KrageRuteBjarkeSkuldeHiartuar†*
Hother†*NannaHerlekGerit
Rorik*Gerwendil
King of BritainGeruthaHorwendilFeng
AmlethHermutrude, Queen of ScotlandWiglek*
Wermund*Frowin, governor of Sleswik
Uffe*, aka Olaf the GentleKetWig
Dan*
Hugleik*
Frode* the Vigorous
Dan*
KrakaRagnarBrakFridleif* the Swift
Gotar, King of NorwayHun, King of the HunsWestmarKollGotwar
RollerErik†Gunwar the FairAlfhildFrode*HanundGrep11 other brothers (two named Grep)
Hythin, King of TellemarkAlfEyfuraArngrimGrubbHiarn*Amund, King of Norway
Halfdan†12 sons, including AngantyAneJurithaFridleif*FrogerthaFrok
Hanef, King of SaxonySwerting, King of SaxonyOlafFrode*
Siward†Unnamed sonsIngeld*HelgaHelgeAsa
FrodeFridleifIngeldOlaf*Karl, governor of Gothland
UlfhildFrode*Hather, a chiefHarald*Signe
ErikThorhildHalfdan*† BiargrammHarald
Asmund
Kings of Norway

Name spellings are derived from Oliver Elton's 1905 translation, The First Nine Books of the Danish History of Saxo Grammaticus, via Wikisource.

See also

References

  1. Sir Israel Gollancz (1898). Hamlet in Iceland: being the Icelandic romantic Ambales saga, p. 36. AMS Press. ISBN 978-0-404-56502-2. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  2. Jean Gabbert Harrell (31 January 2008). Profundity: A Universal Value. Penn State Press. pp. 146–. ISBN 978-0-271-02840-8. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  3. ^ Antonio Ballesteros González; Lucía Mora González (2001). Popular Texts in English: New Perspectives. Univ de Castilla La Mancha. pp. 30–. ISBN 978-84-8427-126-0. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  4. ^ Chambers, R. W., Beowulf, p. 39, Cambridge University Press, 1959.
  5. Gesta Danorum, Book IV (ed. Holder, Alfred., p. 102).
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