Hadding is mentioned in various connections in the ancient legends. At first the name seems to have been used to designate an entire royal house or royal family. Thus we read in the genealogies of princes of the olden time that Madding, son of Raum, king of Haddingjadal (Hallingdal), had a son by the name of Hadding; his son in turn was called Hadding; his son again bore the name of Hogni the Red; and after him came three Haddings in succession: in the retinue of one of these appears Helgi Haddingjaskati.l It is not difficult to understand how the name Haddingr might come to be applied to a man of noble birth: haddr signifies “long and fair hair,” and among several of the Germanic royal houses (particularly among the Franks) it was customary to permit the hair to grow long, while the commonalty wore the hair short. Concerning one of these Haddings Saxo tells the following story, which no doubt has a Norse origin:
King Gram of Denmark had been killed by the Norwegian king Svipdag, who thereupon brought both Denmark and Sweden under his sway. King Gram left two sons, Guttorm and Hadding; their foster father fled with the boys to Sweden, where he entrusted them to the care of the Giants Vagnhofdi and Haflidi. Guttorm afterward let himself be persuaded by Svipdag to become his vassal king in Denmark. Hadding meanwhile, under the care of Vagnhofdi and his daughter Hardgreip, had grown up to be a youth of uncommon parts and skilled in the use of all manner of weapons; refusing to listen to any overtures of peace, he bent all his thoughts toward avenging his father. Hardgreip, loving him, prayed him to become her husband, and he yielded to her entreaties. When not long afterward he set forth in search of adventure, she went with him dressed as a man and kept watch over his safety with the utmost zeal. One night they found lodging in the house of a husbandman who had just died and who was still lying there in his shroud. Hardgreip declared her intention of summoning the dead man back to life for a space in order that he might foretell their future; she accordingly scratched magic runes on a chip of wood and got Hadding to lay it beneath the tongue of the corpse. The dead man, waking to life, foretold that she who had dared to disturb his repose was to suffer the punishment of falling into the power of unearthly beings. The next night they spent in a leafy lodge which they had raised over their heads in the midst of a forest. In the course of the night they were awakened by an immense hand fumbling about in the lodge. Hardgreip, who was able to make herself large or small at will, summoned her entire Giant strength, seized upon the hand, and held it fast until Hadding succeeded in striking it off. From the wound flowed forth a liquor more like venom than like blood. Hardgreip, having in this way played the traitor to her own kindred, was promptly punished in a most pitiable manner by being torn limb from limb by Giantesses.
Hadding now found himself alone. Presently he met an old one-eyed man (Odin), who persuaded him to enter into sworn brotherhood with the Viking Liser. Hadding and Liser then joined forces in making war against Loker, king of Kurland, but were defeated and put to flight. Once more Hadding met the old man, who placed him on his own horse, led him to his own house, and there refreshed him with a strengthening draught. He foretold that his guest would be taken prisoner by Loker and be cast before a wild beast which it was Loker’s custom to permit to tear his captives asunder; yet if he would bravely grapple with the beast he would be able to conquer and kill it; whereupon he was to eat the heart of the beast and thus grow far stronger than he was before; during the night the old man would then cause a deep sleep to fall upon the watchmen so that Hadding might make his escape unseen. He now set Hadding again upon the horse, wrapped a cloak of his own about him, and led him once more to the place where he had found him. In the course of the journey Hadding, peering through the folds of the cloak, saw with astonishment that the horse was trotting over the surface of the sea.
All happened as the old man had foretold. Hadding was taken prisoner by Loker and thrown before the wild beast; but he slew it, ate its heart, and made his escape. Afterward he undertook many expeditions to the east. On one of these he fell in with Svipdag near Gotland, attacked him, and killed him. He now hurried to Denmark, where he ascended the throne as Gram’s heir. But Asmund, son of Svipdag, mustered an army against Hadding for the purpose of avenging his father’s death. A fierce battle ensued between them. Asmund’s son Henrik was the first to fall. Hereat Asmund became so enraged that he slung his shield on his back, rushed into the very midst of Hadding’s ranks, and struck down men on every hand. Hadding now called upon his foster father Vagnhofdi for aid. On Vagnhofdi’s coming promptly to his support, Hadding succeeded in thrusting Asmund through the body with a hooked spear; but in the struggle he himself received a wound in the foot that lamed him for the rest of his life. Asmund’s body was burned at Uppsala; his wife Gunnhild killed herself and was laid with him on the pyre.
Asmund’s son Uffi now came forward to take vengeance for the death of his father and gave Hadding no respite whatever. Hadding bore arms against his new enemy in warfare lasting through five full years, in the course of which his army suffered such hardship that at length they were constrained to slaughter and eat their own horses; finally they even resorted to the eating of human flesh. Defeated in one of these battles, Hadding was driven to seek refuge in Helsingland. During his sojourn there a wild beast one day attacked him as he was bathing at the seaside; he slew it, but while he was carrying the carcass back to the camp as booty, he met a woman on the way who told him that he had slain one of the gods, who had assumed the guise of the animal, and that therefore misfortune would dog his steps until he had done penance for his sacrilege. Even as she had foretold it came to pass. He set sail for home, but a storm scattered his ships. Wherever he sought shelter, destruction fell upon the house. At last he had no other recourse than to offer up a solemn sacrifice of black animals to Frey; not till then did the curse lose its force. Thus he became the first to offer such a sacrifice, called the “Sacrifice of Frey.”
Some time later, rumor told that a hideous Giant was attempting to force himself into the favor of the fair Norwegian princess Ragnhild. Hadding determined to defeat that purpose. Hastening to Norway, he slew the Giant but was himself severely wounded in the fray. Ragnhild herself healed him; but in order to be able to recognize him later, she inserted a ring into one of the wounds on his foot before it had closed. Soon the time came for her to wed. From her father she received permission to make her choice among a number of youths, one of whom was Hadding; but before she made her choice she insisted on feeling of their feet. In this way she identified Hadding and chose him for her husband. During Hadding’s sojourn at that place a remarkable adventure befell him. One day, as he was sitting at meat, a woman rose up through the floor with her arms full of green herbs. On Hadding’s expressing a desire to learn where such green herbs were to be had in the dead of winter, she wrapped her cloak about him, and together they sank down to the nether world. After wandering for a while through dense mists they came to a sunny meadow where they found the herbs in full growth. Before long they came to a river in which all kinds of weapons were floating; a bridge spanned the stream. On the other side they saw two hosts in combat; these were warriors who had fallen in battle and who now after death were continuing the heroic actions of life. Their farther progress was stayed by an insurmountable wall. The woman, when she found that she could not climb over the barrier, wrung the head off a cock and threw his body over the wall, whereupon he at once came to life and began to crow. When Hadding had returned from this journey to the nether world, he went to Denmark, taking his queen with him.
In the meantime Uffi had published a proclamation that he would give his daughter in marriage to the man who should kill Hadding. This promise tempted Tuning, lord of Bjarmiland, to undertake the combat. Hadding sailed forth to meet him. On the coast of Norway, as he passed close by a headland, he saw an old man standing there and making signs with his cloak to indicate that he wished to be taken on board. Hadding took him into the ship; and by way of recompense the old man taught him a novel method of disposing troops for battle in the shape of a wedge. When battle was joined, the old man drew his bow and with it shot ten arrows at one time, each arrow bringing down its man. The men of Bjarmiland, being skilled in magic, raised a terrific shower of rain that beat into the eyes of Hadding’s soldiery; but the aged man, who was none other than Nikar or Odin,1 dispersed the storm, and Hadding won the victory. The old man then went on his way, with the prophecy that Hadding was not to fall at the hands of his enemies but that he was to take his own life.
Hadding at length succeeded in defeating and slaying Uffi. He buried his enemy with great pomp beneath a cairn and made Uffi’s brother Hunding a vassal king in Sweden, wishing through magnanimity to gain the good will of those whom he had conquered. For a long time he now lived in peace and quiet among the mountains in the house of his wife; but at last, having grown tired of inaction, he sang lays, like those which Njord sang to Skadi, expressing his weariness of the mountains and of the howling of the wolves. Ragnhild made her response, as did Skadi before her, declaring that the sea and the clamor of the gulls were no less distasteful to her. But soon the call of battle came to him once more. A lawless man named Tosti, who had made himself master of Jutland, began the conflict. Hadding suffered defeat but saved himself by flight in a boat after having bored holes in the other vessels lying along the shore. Tosti made an attempt to overtake him but was compelled to abandon the pursuit when water began pouring into his ship. He nevertheless got hold of another. seaworthy ship, and soon was on the point of closing with Hadding; but Hadding had outdistanced his pursuer so far that he could safely overturn his own boat and save himself by swimming. Tosti, believing him to be drowned, put his vessel about. Meanwhile Hadding hastily summoned men to his aid; and while Tosti was busied with the booty, Hadding attacked him and put him to flight. Tosti fled to Bretland, made common cause with the Viking Kolli, and launched a new attack against Hadding, but was killed by him in single combat.
Not long thereafter Hadding’s wife Ragnhild died; but after her death she appeared before him and warned him to beware of their daughter Utfhild. Ulfhild was married to a man named Guttorm, and him she sought to induce to betray Hadding. Guttorm let himself be prevailed upon, and it was agreed that a retainer at a signal from him was to murder the king. Hadding, however, was warned anew in a dream, and in the nick of time the would-be traitor was struck down. Meanwhile the rumor had spread abroad that Hadding had been killed, and so Hunding in Sweden made ready a great funeral feast in his honor. A large quantity of mead was brewed and poured into a huge vat. As Hunding was about to see that all was as it should be, he stumbled into the vat and was drowned. When the news reached Hadding, he could think of only one fitting means of returning the honor Hunding had meant to show him; Hadding accordingly hanged himself in the sight of all the people.
King Gram of Denmark had been killed by the Norwegian king Svipdag, who thereupon brought both Denmark and Sweden under his sway. King Gram left two sons, Guttorm and Hadding; their foster father fled with the boys to Sweden, where he entrusted them to the care of the Giants Vagnhofdi and Haflidi. Guttorm afterward let himself be persuaded by Svipdag to become his vassal king in Denmark. Hadding meanwhile, under the care of Vagnhofdi and his daughter Hardgreip, had grown up to be a youth of uncommon parts and skilled in the use of all manner of weapons; refusing to listen to any overtures of peace, he bent all his thoughts toward avenging his father. Hardgreip, loving him, prayed him to become her husband, and he yielded to her entreaties. When not long afterward he set forth in search of adventure, she went with him dressed as a man and kept watch over his safety with the utmost zeal. One night they found lodging in the house of a husbandman who had just died and who was still lying there in his shroud. Hardgreip declared her intention of summoning the dead man back to life for a space in order that he might foretell their future; she accordingly scratched magic runes on a chip of wood and got Hadding to lay it beneath the tongue of the corpse. The dead man, waking to life, foretold that she who had dared to disturb his repose was to suffer the punishment of falling into the power of unearthly beings. The next night they spent in a leafy lodge which they had raised over their heads in the midst of a forest. In the course of the night they were awakened by an immense hand fumbling about in the lodge. Hardgreip, who was able to make herself large or small at will, summoned her entire Giant strength, seized upon the hand, and held it fast until Hadding succeeded in striking it off. From the wound flowed forth a liquor more like venom than like blood. Hardgreip, having in this way played the traitor to her own kindred, was promptly punished in a most pitiable manner by being torn limb from limb by Giantesses.
Hadding now found himself alone. Presently he met an old one-eyed man (Odin), who persuaded him to enter into sworn brotherhood with the Viking Liser. Hadding and Liser then joined forces in making war against Loker, king of Kurland, but were defeated and put to flight. Once more Hadding met the old man, who placed him on his own horse, led him to his own house, and there refreshed him with a strengthening draught. He foretold that his guest would be taken prisoner by Loker and be cast before a wild beast which it was Loker’s custom to permit to tear his captives asunder; yet if he would bravely grapple with the beast he would be able to conquer and kill it; whereupon he was to eat the heart of the beast and thus grow far stronger than he was before; during the night the old man would then cause a deep sleep to fall upon the watchmen so that Hadding might make his escape unseen. He now set Hadding again upon the horse, wrapped a cloak of his own about him, and led him once more to the place where he had found him. In the course of the journey Hadding, peering through the folds of the cloak, saw with astonishment that the horse was trotting over the surface of the sea.
All happened as the old man had foretold. Hadding was taken prisoner by Loker and thrown before the wild beast; but he slew it, ate its heart, and made his escape. Afterward he undertook many expeditions to the east. On one of these he fell in with Svipdag near Gotland, attacked him, and killed him. He now hurried to Denmark, where he ascended the throne as Gram’s heir. But Asmund, son of Svipdag, mustered an army against Hadding for the purpose of avenging his father’s death. A fierce battle ensued between them. Asmund’s son Henrik was the first to fall. Hereat Asmund became so enraged that he slung his shield on his back, rushed into the very midst of Hadding’s ranks, and struck down men on every hand. Hadding now called upon his foster father Vagnhofdi for aid. On Vagnhofdi’s coming promptly to his support, Hadding succeeded in thrusting Asmund through the body with a hooked spear; but in the struggle he himself received a wound in the foot that lamed him for the rest of his life. Asmund’s body was burned at Uppsala; his wife Gunnhild killed herself and was laid with him on the pyre.
Asmund’s son Uffi now came forward to take vengeance for the death of his father and gave Hadding no respite whatever. Hadding bore arms against his new enemy in warfare lasting through five full years, in the course of which his army suffered such hardship that at length they were constrained to slaughter and eat their own horses; finally they even resorted to the eating of human flesh. Defeated in one of these battles, Hadding was driven to seek refuge in Helsingland. During his sojourn there a wild beast one day attacked him as he was bathing at the seaside; he slew it, but while he was carrying the carcass back to the camp as booty, he met a woman on the way who told him that he had slain one of the gods, who had assumed the guise of the animal, and that therefore misfortune would dog his steps until he had done penance for his sacrilege. Even as she had foretold it came to pass. He set sail for home, but a storm scattered his ships. Wherever he sought shelter, destruction fell upon the house. At last he had no other recourse than to offer up a solemn sacrifice of black animals to Frey; not till then did the curse lose its force. Thus he became the first to offer such a sacrifice, called the “Sacrifice of Frey.”
Some time later, rumor told that a hideous Giant was attempting to force himself into the favor of the fair Norwegian princess Ragnhild. Hadding determined to defeat that purpose. Hastening to Norway, he slew the Giant but was himself severely wounded in the fray. Ragnhild herself healed him; but in order to be able to recognize him later, she inserted a ring into one of the wounds on his foot before it had closed. Soon the time came for her to wed. From her father she received permission to make her choice among a number of youths, one of whom was Hadding; but before she made her choice she insisted on feeling of their feet. In this way she identified Hadding and chose him for her husband. During Hadding’s sojourn at that place a remarkable adventure befell him. One day, as he was sitting at meat, a woman rose up through the floor with her arms full of green herbs. On Hadding’s expressing a desire to learn where such green herbs were to be had in the dead of winter, she wrapped her cloak about him, and together they sank down to the nether world. After wandering for a while through dense mists they came to a sunny meadow where they found the herbs in full growth. Before long they came to a river in which all kinds of weapons were floating; a bridge spanned the stream. On the other side they saw two hosts in combat; these were warriors who had fallen in battle and who now after death were continuing the heroic actions of life. Their farther progress was stayed by an insurmountable wall. The woman, when she found that she could not climb over the barrier, wrung the head off a cock and threw his body over the wall, whereupon he at once came to life and began to crow. When Hadding had returned from this journey to the nether world, he went to Denmark, taking his queen with him.
In the meantime Uffi had published a proclamation that he would give his daughter in marriage to the man who should kill Hadding. This promise tempted Tuning, lord of Bjarmiland, to undertake the combat. Hadding sailed forth to meet him. On the coast of Norway, as he passed close by a headland, he saw an old man standing there and making signs with his cloak to indicate that he wished to be taken on board. Hadding took him into the ship; and by way of recompense the old man taught him a novel method of disposing troops for battle in the shape of a wedge. When battle was joined, the old man drew his bow and with it shot ten arrows at one time, each arrow bringing down its man. The men of Bjarmiland, being skilled in magic, raised a terrific shower of rain that beat into the eyes of Hadding’s soldiery; but the aged man, who was none other than Nikar or Odin,1 dispersed the storm, and Hadding won the victory. The old man then went on his way, with the prophecy that Hadding was not to fall at the hands of his enemies but that he was to take his own life.
Hadding at length succeeded in defeating and slaying Uffi. He buried his enemy with great pomp beneath a cairn and made Uffi’s brother Hunding a vassal king in Sweden, wishing through magnanimity to gain the good will of those whom he had conquered. For a long time he now lived in peace and quiet among the mountains in the house of his wife; but at last, having grown tired of inaction, he sang lays, like those which Njord sang to Skadi, expressing his weariness of the mountains and of the howling of the wolves. Ragnhild made her response, as did Skadi before her, declaring that the sea and the clamor of the gulls were no less distasteful to her. But soon the call of battle came to him once more. A lawless man named Tosti, who had made himself master of Jutland, began the conflict. Hadding suffered defeat but saved himself by flight in a boat after having bored holes in the other vessels lying along the shore. Tosti made an attempt to overtake him but was compelled to abandon the pursuit when water began pouring into his ship. He nevertheless got hold of another. seaworthy ship, and soon was on the point of closing with Hadding; but Hadding had outdistanced his pursuer so far that he could safely overturn his own boat and save himself by swimming. Tosti, believing him to be drowned, put his vessel about. Meanwhile Hadding hastily summoned men to his aid; and while Tosti was busied with the booty, Hadding attacked him and put him to flight. Tosti fled to Bretland, made common cause with the Viking Kolli, and launched a new attack against Hadding, but was killed by him in single combat.
Not long thereafter Hadding’s wife Ragnhild died; but after her death she appeared before him and warned him to beware of their daughter Utfhild. Ulfhild was married to a man named Guttorm, and him she sought to induce to betray Hadding. Guttorm let himself be prevailed upon, and it was agreed that a retainer at a signal from him was to murder the king. Hadding, however, was warned anew in a dream, and in the nick of time the would-be traitor was struck down. Meanwhile the rumor had spread abroad that Hadding had been killed, and so Hunding in Sweden made ready a great funeral feast in his honor. A large quantity of mead was brewed and poured into a huge vat. As Hunding was about to see that all was as it should be, he stumbled into the vat and was drowned. When the news reached Hadding, he could think of only one fitting means of returning the honor Hunding had meant to show him; Hadding accordingly hanged himself in the sight of all the people.
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