Elfhere Scylding “Beowulf”, King of Geatland (526 – 620)

Post author By Steven Wood Collins
Post date May 2, 2022
31 Comments on Elfhere Scylding “Beowulf”, King of Geatland (526 – 620)

The first folio of the heroic epic poem Beowulf, written primarily in the West Saxon dialect of Old English. Part of the Cotton MS Vitellius A XV manuscript currently located within the British Library.

Beowulf battles his nemesis, the dragon, shown in a 1908 illustration by J. R. Skelton

Wiglaf is the single warrior to return and witness Beowulf’s death. Illustration by J. R. Skelton, 1908

Finds from Gamla Uppsala‘s western mound, left, excavated in 1874, support Beowulf and the sagas.

Skalunda Barrow in Västergötland, Sweden. Beowulf’s burial site.

The British Chronicles, Volume 1 by David Hughes (2007)

The British Chronicles, Volume 2 by David Hughes (2007)

The “real-life” Beowulf (born Elfhere Scylding, King of Geatland) reigned as King of England for a couple of months in 541 before his permanent expulsion from England by a coalition of native Briton kings. Havelok the Dane, his grandson, returned to rule the island nation (560 – 565) on a friendly basis after marrying heiress Goldborough, the 2nd great-granddaughter of Icel of Angel, 1st Iclingas King of Mercia (455 – 501).

Hereward the Wake’s life (1040 – 1072) bears a striking similarity to the heroic mention of the Heoroweard character portrayed in the epic Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf as well as his role as a heroic figure in other legends of the Scylding dynasty. He’s briefly portrayed as the son of Hroðgar Halfdansson (526 – 620), the Scylding King of Denmark. Hereward was the English primogenitor of the House of Howard and the Howard Dukes of Norfolk, the Premier Dukes and Earls of the Realm

Other Beowulf characters in the pantheon of Germanic historic fame during the “Beowulf” (400 to 600) era include:

Finn, a Frisian lord whose tale picks up where the Finnsburg Fragment ends. The agnatic ancestor of Redbad “The Pagan”, 9th King of Friesland (670 – 719) Fab Pedigree

Hengest – a Danish lord who attacked the Frisians to avenge Hnæf, Hengest Wihtgilsson von Sachsen, 1st Jute King of Kent (414 – 488)

Hroðgar – king of the Danes; married to Wealhþeow. Hroðgar Halfdansson (526 – 620) King of Denmark

Merewing – a Frankish king, Merovech Meroving, grandfather of Clovis I Meroving (466 – 511) 1st King of Franks, 1st Christian Ruler of Gaul

Offa of Angel, a king of the Angles who also appears in the Norse tradition. The agnatic forebear of Icel of Angel, 1st Iclingas King of Mercia (455 – 501)

In his book The Origins of Beowulf: and the Pre-Viking Kingdom of East Anglia, Dr. Sam Newton argues the poem was written in East Anglia during the 8th century. Angles began settling in East Anglia in large numbers during the 5th century and significantly displaced the indigenous inhabitants shortly thereafter. My own speculation is that it was likely written by Isle of Ely monks (Hereward the Wake took sanctuary there at the invitation of the occupying Danes) during the 8th century, who chose the robustly heroic Beowulf to aggrandize the Angles and their Germanic race. speculatively, as part of a propaganda agenda to legitimize their conquest of the indigenous peoples, they were ultimately displaced in that part of England.

So, the poem is more akin thematically to Geoffrey of Monmouth‘s pseudo-historical chronicle The History of the Kings of Britain, whereby the tale, including the life and times of Arthwyr Pendragon (480 – 537) King of Camelot, represents an attempt by the author to tailor a chronologically disparate cast of medieval heroic characters into what’s essentially a propaganda story designed to establish the English monarch at the time as quintessentially empowered to rule over their realm. Ironically, however, my own recent genealogical research somewhat favors Geoffrey’s account (more to be said later).

Skjöldr, the first Scylding of the legendary royal house of Denmark, was Beowulf’s agnatic forebear. He was the son of Sigge “Odin” Fridulfsson of Asgard (50 BC – 30 AD) 1st King of Scandinavia. His mother Frigg (Frigida) was a legendary direct descendant of Coilus Coel I (80 – 170), the first King of Britons, who were mainly of ancient Welsh descent.

By Steven Wood Collins

I spent most of my life unaware of my ancestral heritage. Sure, I knew of the personal history of my more immediate relatives; but beyond that, I never had any inkling as to my ancestral heritage. Then one day many years ago my sister said to me, “I sometimes wonder about our family background.” And so my quest to discover our genealogical roots commenced.

I started building my family tree with the very basic relationships, going back in time from my grandparents, one ancestor at a time. That initial effort proved to be the hardest part of the pursuit, mainly due to my lack of expertise as a novice genealogical researcher. As I gained familiarity with the databases and how to efficiently mine them, my progress gained ever-increasing momentum. Today, The Patricians! tree (Ancestry.com) contains nearly 120,000 individuals, stretching over 135 generations, 5,800 of which are my direct ancestors in a genealogical sense.

During this trek back in time, I encountered fascinating figures in both history and obscurity. This blog contains many stories about their genealogical relationship to me (and many of you). By far and away, as a student of history, the historically obscure individuals are of particular interest to me. I cite Baron “Blue Beard” Montmorency-Laval de Rais (1405 – 1440) as an example of a historically maligned personage whose real contribution to history, as both a playwright and hero of France, has yet to be properly recognized. Another example is Earl Edward de Vere (1550 – 1604), who’s yet to gain widespread recognition as the actual author of the body of literary work wrongly ascribed to William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616).

My life-long interest in international economics and finance continues unabated. I primarily demonstrate this professional involvement as a contributor to the Long Room, the members-only international finance professionals' forum hosted by the Financial Times of London.

I'm an avid recreational scuba diver who enjoys traveling to exotic dive sites. My love of the sea and marine life gives me an unbounded appreciation and support of “green” issues, especially those devoted to the conservation of endangered species and coral reefs.

He continually posts results of his personal genealogical research to his Goodreads Authors Blog. Entitled The Patricians - The Ancestral Heritage of Steven Wood Collins, the work represents thousand of hours of his research efforts and related commentary.

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