Hrothgar

Hrothgar (Old English: Hroðgar; Old Norse: Hróarr) was a legendary Danish king living in the early 6th century.

Hrothgar appears in the Anglo-Saxon epics Beowulf and Widsith, in Norse sagas and poems, and in medieval Danish chronicles. In both Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian tradition, Hrothgar is a Scylding, the son of Halfdan, the brother of Halga, and the uncle of Hrólfr Kraki. Moreover, in both traditions, the mentioned characters were the contemporaries of the Swedish king Eadgils; and both traditions also mention a feud with men named Fróði and Ingeld. The consensus view is that Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian traditions describe the same person.

Names

Hrothgar, also rendered Hrōðgār, is an Old English form attested in Beowulf and Widsith, the earliest sources to mention the character. In non-English sources, the name appears in more or less corresponding Old Icelandic, Old Danish, and Latinized versions. He appears as Hróarr, Hroar, etc., in sagas and poetry, and as Ro or Roe in the Danish Latin chronicles. The form Hrōðgār is thought to have derived from the proto-Norse *Hrōþigaizaz "famous spear", i.e. Roger. However, the corresponding Old Norse name Hróarr and its variations are not derived from *Hrōþigaizaz, but from the very close names *Hrōþiwarjaz "famous defender" or *Hrōþiharjaz "famous warrior". These two names, both appearing as Hróarr in Scandinavia, did not have any corresponding Old English form, and so Hrōðgār was their closest equivalent.