victories, and they were more beneficial to Denmark than any force on land would have been. Among the warriors were Bue, Ulf, Karlsevne and Sigvald. Styrbjörn wanted revenge and asked Harald for help to take the throne of Sweden. Harald wanted to help Styrbjörn and to this end he sailed to Halland, but was informed that the German emperor Otto had attacked Jutland, and Harald was more eager to defend his own country than to attack another one. When Harald had driven away the Germans, Styrbjörn had already rashly departed with his own force for Sweden, where he fell. Alleged descendants In the 18th century, Danish historian Jacob Langebek proposed that Styrbjörn and Tyra were the parents of Thorkel Sprakalegg, who was father of Ulf the Earl and of Gytha Thorkelsdóttir, wife of Godwin, Earl of Wessex, and thus grandfather of kings Sweyn II of Denmark and Harold Godwinson of England. The earliest known source which says anything about the father of Thorkell Sprakalegg was the chronicle of John of Worcester, who says that 'Spraclingus' was son of 'Urso', (Latin for bear) which would be Bjorn. Both Saxo Grammaticus and Gesta Antecessorum Comitis Gualdevi derive Thorkel from the mating of a bear with a noblewoman, Saxo relating that they produced a son named for his father (i.e. named Bjorn), who was in turn father of 'Thrugillus, called Sprageleg', while the Gesta tells a similar story but turns the Urso, father of 'Spratlingus' (sic) in John of Worcester's pedigree into the actual bear involved. Langebek suggested that Saxo's tale of a 'Wild' Björn, father of Thorkel, was an allegorical reference to Styrbjörn. Otto Brenner, in his accounting of the descendants of Gorm the Old, rejects Thorkill as son of Styrbjörn and Thyra. Notes References Henrikson, Alf: Stora mytologiska uppslagsboken. Jómsvíkíngasaga ok Knytlínga 1828 edition Thunberg, Carl L. (2012): Slaget på Fyrisvallarna i ny tolkning (The Battle of Fýrisvellir in a New Interpretation) (with the tale of Styrbjörn) Cultural Paternity in the Flateyjarbók Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar by Elizabeth Ashman Rowe (this scholar has got Eric's agreement with Odin slightly wrong. Eric did not promise 10 years to Odin, he promised to belong to Odin after 10 years) 980s deaths Jomsvikings People whose existence is disputed Semi-legendary kings of Sweden Styrbjorn 0970 Year of birth unknown 10th-century Vikings