by Hrólf. According to Hrólf Kraki's saga, Skuld inherited the kingdom but was killed by the Geatish king Thorir Houndsfoot and by Yrsa's men. The kingdom then passed into the hands of Hrólf's daughters. According to Saxo, it is Höðr, Aðils' brother who became the king of both Denmark and Sweden. In the Chronicon Lethrense, it is Haki, son of Hamund, who became the king of Denmark, but the other sources who mention him place him centuries earlier. Comments The Danish scholar Axel Olrik (1903) has proposed a solution to why the sources vary. According to Beowulf, Adils gains the Swedish throne aided by the Geats. In Heoroweard's case, he is a pretender who gains the Danish throne aided by the Swedes. This is why Heoroweard is easily made jarl of Swedes, as in Saxo's patriotic tradition Swedish rulers are frequently appointed and dethroned. In order to make this possible, Saxo, or his tradition, had to make Adils defeated by the Danes and losing his kingdom. In Arngrímur's Icelandic tradition, which had a more clear conception of the Swedish line of kings, Heoroweard could not be made ruler of Sweden, and so he was named as the ruler of a kingdom on the fringe of Sweden, Öland, a kingdom which was known to be independent, but whose line of kings was no longer known. In Arngrímur and the Chronicon Lethrense, Heoroweard is the son-in-law of Adils, married to his daughter Skuld, whereas Hrólf Kraki's saga makes him the son-in-law of Helgi (according to Olrik, he could not be married to his own cousin). The account shows that Heoroweard had close connection with Adils and Olrik suggests that the real reason behind Hrólfs voyage to Uppsala was Adils' support of Heoroweard. However, according to Snorri, Hrólf died during the Swedish king Östen's reign. If both Snorri and Olrik are right, the Swedish king who supported Hereoweard when attacking and killing Hrólf may not have been Adils, but Östen. See also Origins for Beowulf and Hrólf Kraki for more on the historical background of these characters. References Nerman, B. Det svenska rikets uppkomst. Stockholm, 1925. Olrik, (1903) Danmarks heltedigtning I, p. 39ff. Legendary Norsemen English heroic legends Characters in Beowulf