two further erotic encounters between Bósi and two maidens with riddling dialogues). Herraud regains Hleid and Bósi abducts King Harek's daughter Edda. Both Smid and Busla show their magical prowess. When King Harek of Bjarmaland attacks in the form of a giant boar, a giant bitch (apparently Busla) opposes him. Both fall into the sea and are never heard of again. Epilogue Herraud becomes king of East Götaland as heir to his father while Bósi becomes king of Bjarmaland by his marriage to Edda. By one of his other erotic encounters Bósi becomes the father of Svidi the Bold, the father of Vilmund the Absentminded. Meanwhile, Herraud and Hleid become the parents of a daughter, that same famous Þóra Town-Hart (Þóra Borgarhjörtr) who kept a serpent in her bower and only he who could slay it could gain her hand in marriage. The eventual slayer and husband is the famous Ragnar Lódbrok. The tale explains at the end that this serpent had sprung from the vulture's egg which Herraud and Bósi had obtained in their quest. Other references to Herraud This tale of Ragnar and the serpent also appears in Ragnars saga loðbrókar and Þáttr af Ragnars sonum, though in the former Herraud appears as Jarl Herrud (Herruðr) of Gautland and in the latter as Herraud, Jarl of West Götaland. But Herraud's father is also called Hring in this version. A variant with two serpents instead of one appears in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum (Book 9) where Herraud appears as Herothus King of Sweden. None of these accounts explain the origin of the serpent or serpents and it would seem that the story of Herraud and Bósi was in part invented as a prequel to fill that gap. Alternate forms of names Herraud: Herrauðr; Herrud (Herruðr); Herothus, Anglicized as Heroth, Herodd. Bósi: Anglicized as Bosi. Influences The saga influenced Sigrgarðs saga frœkna. Bibliography and external links English translations: The Saga Of Bosi and Herraud in English translation by George L. Hardman with Facing Old Norse Text "Bosi and Herraud" in Two Viking Romances. Trans. Pálsson, Hermann and Edwards, Paul (1995). Harmondsworth, England: Penguin. . "Bosi and Herraud" in Seven Viking Romances. Trans. Pálsson, Hermann and Edwards, Paul (1985). Harmondsworth, England: Penguin. . Chapter 12, "A Wedding Feast", is included in Shire of Vanished Wood: Mac Taggart, Talbot. "Weddings in the Viking Age". "Bosi and Herraud" in Gautrek's Saga and other