The Beginning
The Viking era has brought us many captivating sagas and tales. Sadly, we don’t have access to all of them, as many still lay undiscovered and hopefully discovered later on by the scholars that explore Viking history.
However, there exists legendary folklore like Frithiof’s Saga that survived from the days where the Viking lived to this present moment, and for a good reason. The Frithiof’s Saga is not just your common folklore told by the campfire, or as a bedtime story. It has become so popular that many artists and composers based their work on what can only be described as an epic tale of love. The events took place in Norway, sometime during the eighth century. Historical sources claim that it is a continuation of another great saga, The Saga of Thorstein Vikingsson.
The Twist
Unfortunately, the king died in a war, so did Frithiof’s father, Thorstein. Soon after that, Helgi and Halfdan took over as kings. They received a request from Frithiof to marry their sister. But the two brothers were so jealous of his reputation and abilities that they decided against it. They even took Ingeborg to a sacred place in which no one dared to hurt another, nor was allowed for a man and woman to have intercourse. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop Frithiof from visiting Ingeborg and spending time with her.
Knowing this, the two brothers sent Frithiof on a trip to the island of Orkney where he was told to take tribute. During that time, the two brothers invaded Frithiof’s homestead and burned it to the ground. They also married Ingeborg to King Ring. King Ring who was old was the ruler of Ringerike. When Frithiof got back with the tribute, he found out what happened. In moments of rage and despair, he burned down the sacred temple to the ground. The two brother kings banished him from the kingdom. And so, he decided to live as a Viking.
The Resolution
During his exile, Frithiof’s reputation as a great warrior and sea-fighter reached new heights. He also possessed a massive fortune. Three years later, he went to King Ring in order to see Ingeborg. During his stay there he won over the old king with his nobility and decency. As a result, the very old king promised his wife to him after his death. In return, Frithiof promises to raise their children as his own. After the king’s death, Frithiof finally gets to marry Ingeborg. Next, he raises an army and goes to war with Ingeborg’s brothers. During the fighting, he kills one of them, and the other one is turned into a vassal.
While giving a short summary of such an epic tale is almost criminal, we hope this piqued your interest to read it in full, as well as spark a desire to further learn about Viking history and folklore. The story of Frithiof and his Saga, are the Viking equivalent of Romeo and Juliet. These two endured everything, fought for their love and at the end got the chance to live together. According to some scholars, the Frithiof’s saga has been translated 22 times into German, 22 times into English, and at least once in every European language.
