Björn at Haugi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Björn at Haugi ("Björn at the Barrow"), Björn på Håga, Björn II or Bern was according to Hervarar saga a Swedish king and the son of Erik Björnsson who ruled together with his brother Anund Uppsale. Björn was called at Haugi as his hall was at Håga (Haug meaning "Barrow" and named after a large barrow in the area, see image) near Uppsala. His brother Anund Uppsale had his hall at Gamla Uppsala, which was the religious centre.

The historical existence of Björn and Anund is confirmed by Rimbert. He relates of a king Björn, the brother of Anund (Anoundus), who succeeded a king Erik (as in Hervarar saga) who asked the Frankish emperor Louis the Pious to send Christian missionaries to Sweden. The emperor responded in 829 by sending Ansgar. Björn received Ansgar at his court on the island of Adelsö and gave him permission to found a Christian congregation in Birka [1].

In his Edda Snorri Sturluson quotes many stanzas attributed to Bragi Boddason, a court poet who served several kings, especially King Björn at Hauge (see Bragi and Hervarar saga). This Bragi was reckoned as the first skaldic poet, and was certainly the earliest skaldic poet then remembered by name whose verse survived in memory. For Björn, Bragi composed Ragnarsdrápa about Björn's ancestor Ragnar Lodbrok (see the Britannica of 1911, [2]). In Skáldatal, Snorri mentions a second skald beside Bragi: Erpr lútandi.

The existence of the two brothers, Björn and Anund, is not only supported by Rimbert, but also by Adam of Bremen who relates that Björn and Anund preceded Olaf. However, Hervarar saga only mentions Erik Anundsson, who was the father of Björn (III) Eriksson (the father of Eric the Victorious and Olof (II) Björnsson) (see Diarchy).

Landnámabók says that Björn had a son named Þórðr knappr, who was one of the first settlers in Iceland [3][4].