2. Sveinn tjúguskegg Haraldsson (r. 986-1014)

Sveinn tjúguskegg ‘Fork-beard’, son of Haraldr blátǫnn Gormsson, reigned over Denmark and enjoyed intermittent control over south-east Norway. With his stepson, the Swedish king Óláfr Eiríksson, and his son-in-law Eiríkr jarl Hákonarson of Norway, he won a decisive victory against Óláfr Tryggvason at Svǫlðr c. 1000. He made large-scale raids on England for two decades from the early 990s onwards, exacting massive Danegeld payments. He was formally accepted as ruler of England in 1013, reigning briefly until his death in 1014 (see further Lund 1993). See Theodoricus (MHN 23-4; McDougall and McDougall 1998, 18); HN (MHN 117-21; Kunin and Phelpstead 2001, 21-4); Ágr (ÍF 29, 22-4; Ágr 2008, 20-1); Fsk (ÍF 29, 124-5, 146-53, 163, 166; Finlay 2004, 96-8, 115-21, 130, 132); Hkr (ÍF 26, 272-4, 302, 340-3, 349-54, 357, 359, 370-2, ÍF 27, 13-14; Hollander 1964a, 174-5, 195, 224-6, 228-36, 244, 251); Knýtl (ÍF 35, 96-9). Sveinn also figures in the ASC and the works of Adam of Bremen and Thietmar of Merseburg. Skáldatal (SnE 1848-87, III, 258, 267, 282) names only Óttarr svarti (Ótt) as a skald of Sveinn.

Events documented in poetry: Sveinn deceived by Sigvaldi jarl (Stefnir Lv 1; OSnorr Lv); the battle of Svǫlðr c. 1000 (see Biography of Óláfr Tryggvason); military exploits in England (Þjsk Sveindr); Sveinn’s death (ÞKolb Eirdr 10). Sveinn himself is credited with a stanza about Þorleifr jarlsskáld’s revenge against Hákon jarl (Svtjúg Lv).

References

1. Bibliography
2. SnE 1848-87 = Snorri Sturluson. 1848-87. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar: Edda Snorronis Sturlaei. Ed. Jón Sigurðsson et al. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Legatum Arnamagnaeanum. Rpt. Osnabrück: Zeller, 1966.
3. Ágr = [Anonymous] Ágrip af Nóregs konunga sögum.
4. MHN = Storm, Gustav, ed. 1880. Monumenta historica Norvegiæ: Latinske kildeskrifter til Norges historie i middelalderen. Kristiania (Oslo): Brøgger. Rpt. 1973. Oslo: Aas & Wahl.
5. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
6. ÍF 35 = Danakonunga sǫgur. Ed. Bjarni Guðnason. 1982.
7. ASC [Anglo-Saxon Chronicle] = Plummer, Charles and John Earle, eds. 1892-9. Two of the Saxon Chronicles Parallel. 2 vols. Oxford: Clarendon. Rpt. 1952.
8. Finlay, Alison, trans. 2004. Fagrskinna: A Catalogue of the Kings of Norway. Leiden: Brill.
9. HN = Historia Norwegiæ. In MHN 69-124.
10. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
11. McDougall, David and Ian McDougall, trans. 1998. Theodoricus monachus. Historia de antiquitate regum norwagiensium: An Account of the Ancient History of the Norwegian Kings. Viking Society for Northern Research Text Series 11. University College, London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
12. Theodoricus = Theodrici monachi historia de antiquitate regum Norwagiensium. In MHN 1-68.
13. Ágr 2008 = Driscoll, Matthew J., ed. and trans. 2008. Ágrip af Nóregskonungasǫgum: A Twelfth-Century Synoptic History of the Kings of Norway. 2nd edn. Viking Society for Northern Research Text Series 10. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
14. Lund, Niels. 1993. ‘Sven Haraldsson (Forkbeard)’. In MedS, 627.
15. Kunin, Devra, trans., and Carl Phelpstead, ed., introd. and notes. 2001. A History of Norway and the Passion and Miracles of the Blessed Óláfr. Viking Society for Northern Research Text Series 13. London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
16. Hollander, Lee M., trans. 1964a. Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway by Snorri Sturluson. Austin: The American-Scandinavian Foundation. Rpt. 1991 (rpt. cited in SkP II).
17. Internal references
18. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Heimskringla’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=4> (accessed 22 November 2024)
19. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Knýtlinga saga’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=19> (accessed 22 November 2024)
20. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Fagrskinna’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=56> (accessed 22 November 2024)
21. Diana Whaley 2012, ‘(Biography of) Óláfr Tryggvason’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 383.
22. Matthew Townend 2017, ‘(Biography of) Óttarr svarti’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 335.
23. Kate Heslop 2012, ‘ Þorleifr jarlsskáld Rauðfeldarson, Drápa about Sveinn tjúguskegg’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 373. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1449> (accessed 22 November 2024)
24. Diana Whaley 2012, ‘ Oddr Snorrason, Lausavísa’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 891. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=2945> (accessed 22 November 2024)
25. Matthew Townend 2012, ‘ Sveinn tjúguskegg Haraldsson, Lausavísa’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 379. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3060> (accessed 22 November 2024)
26. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2012, ‘Stefnir Þorgilsson, Lausavísur 1’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 448.
27. Jayne Carroll (ed.) 2012, ‘Þórðr Kolbeinsson, Eiríksdrápa 10’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 503.
28. Not published: do not cite ()