Summary
The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki - Full Summary + Family Tree
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This is a full summary of "The saga of King Heiðrek the Wise" as translated by Jesse L. Byock. It also contains a link to a full family tree.
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The Saga of King Hrolf KrakiChapter 1
King Halfdan is mild-mannered, but his brother king Frodi is harsh & greedy. Nearby Halfdan lives the
sorcerer Vifil and his dogs Hopp and Ho.
One day, Frodi, envious that his brother rules all of Denmark, attacks and hills Halfdan. Halfdan’s
sons Helgi and Hroar are sheltered with Vifil by their foster-father Regin. Regin, once the boys are
safe, has no choice but to swear loyalty to Frodi. 1 Frodi tries but no one can find the 2 princes.
Sorcerers say they are nearby, so they go and search on an island they haven’t searched yet.
Chapter 2
Vifil, who lives on the island as a shepherd, wakes up with ✨ bad vibes ✨ so he warns the boys to
stay hidden. The king’s men search, can't find anything and return home. Frodi sends them back and
they search again in vein. The next day, the king goes himself. Vifil agrees a signal with the boys: if he
calls his dogs, they have to hide. The king seizes Vifil, who gives the sign. He is released later and
once the king leaves he sends the boys to Jarl Seavil, their brother-in-law. 2
Chapter 3
This happens when Hroar is 12 and Helgi is 10. They now call themselves Ham and Hrani. They keep
their true identity secret from their BIL, and people mock them for always keeping their hoods on
their heads.3 They stay there for 3 years. King Frodi starts to think Saevil might be hiding the boys
and he invites him to a feast. The boys volunteer to go along because Saevil wants to take a lot of
people to show his power. He doesn’t allow them to come, but Helgi and Hroar follow him secretly
anyway. When they are riding, their hoods are blown off and their sister recognises them.
Saevil asks the boys to go home and pretends to be angry at them so he doesn’t expose them. The
two princes follow them anyway.
In Frodi’s hall, the boys are very rambunctious. Their sister warns them but to no avail. Frodi asks a
sorceress about the princes, and she reveals they are present.4 When she doesn’t want to divine any
further, Frodi forces her to, and she predicts the princes will kill him. The boys hear her final
prophecy and flee into the woods. When the king orders his men to chase them, Regin extinguishes
all of the lights and in the chaos the boys get away. The sorceress follows them and gives them
advice. Regin pours everyone so much alcohol that they fall into a drunken stupor. He then finds the
boys in the woods, but doesn’t say anything as to not break his vow of loyalty. He does say that he’d
burn down this grove if he would want to seek vengeance. The boys prepare to set fire to the hall,
1
Bc he wants to keep his wife and children safe.
2
You can find the full family tree here.
3
So their faces aren’t visible, but people think it’s because they have scurvy.
4
All underlined text is said in verse.
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