Halfdan

Halfdan (Old Norse: Halfdan, Old English: Healfdene, Medieval Latin: Haldānus, Proto-Norse: *Halbadaniz, "half Dane") was a late 5th and early 6th century legendary Danish king of the Scylding (Skjöldung) lineage, the son of king named Fróði in many accounts, noted mainly as the father to the two kings who succeeded him in the rule of Denmark, kings named Hroðgar and Halga in the Old English poem Beowulf and named Hróar and Helgi in Old Norse accounts.

Various accounts

According to the Chronicon Lethrense and Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum (Book 2), Halfdan had two brothers named Ro and Skat who also sought the throne. Both were killed by Halfdan. Saxo adds that his brothers' supporters were hanged and that Halfdan continued to reign with great cruelty, but that he reigned long and died peaceably in extreme old age.

The Ynglinga saga gives Halfdan (in this work also son of a king named Fróði) a brother named Fridleif and says both were great warriors but that Halfdan was the better of the two. This might have been a lead-in to a feud between the brothers if Snorri had been dealing with Danish matters rather than Swedish matters.

Halfdan (floruit 782–807)

Halfdan (floruit 782–807) was a leading person among the Danes and the first known Scandinavian to enter Frankish service. Onomastics links him to the Danish royal family since the name "Halfdan" was commonly employed both historically (as attested by the Annales Fuldenses under the year 873) and in the legendary royal lineage.

Halfdan was the envoy sent by King Sigfred to the court of the Frankish emperor Charlemagne in 782, as recorded in the Frankish chronicle Annales regni Francorum. An anonymous Saxon poet praising Charlemagne in Latin epic verse mentions Halfdan's commendation to the emperor in the year 807:

Although the Saxon poet wrote much later in the century, his poem is generally based on trustworthy sources like the Annales regni Francorum and this section is probably derived from a now lost earlier source. There is no record of Halfdan after 807 and he probably died not long thereafter, possibly already old at the time. A conversion to Christianity on Halfdan's part is not recorded, nor is a gift of land or a fief, but his son Hemming did convert and was probably ruling Frisia in 837. It is possible that this Frisian fief had been inherited form his father. If the identification of Hemming as a son of Halfdan is correct, then Halfdan was also the father of Anulo, Harald Klak and Reginfrid, all of whom were, for brief periods, co-rulers of Denmark.

Halfdan (name)

Halfdan ("half Dane") is an Old Norse masculine given name. In Beowulf it is spelled Healfdene, and in Latin sources Haldan. It may refer to:

Mythical figures:

People: