View source for Eysteinn

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{short description|Semi-legendary Swedish king}}
[[File:Eystein of the Swea Region grave 2009 (3).jpg|thumb|250px| ''Östens hög'' (Eysteinn tumulus) at Östanbro, in [[Västerås kommun]]]]
'''Eysteinn''' (Swedish: '''Östen'''; died ca 600) was a semi-legendary king of Sweden, the son of [[Eadgils]]. He was the father of [[Ingvar]]. The Eysteinn tumulus ''(Östens hög)'' in [[Västerås]] near Östanbro has been linked to King Eysteinn by some popular historians.
Eysteinn ruled Sweden at the time when [[Hrólf Kraki]] died in [[Lejre]].<ref>[[Snorri Sturluson]]</ref> It was a troubled time when many [[Sea-King|sea kings]] ravaged Swedish shores. One of those kings was named [[Sölve]] and he was from [[Jutland]] (but according to ''[[Historia Norvegiæ|Historia Norwegiae]]'' he was [[Geatish]], see below). At this time Sölve was pillaging in the [[Baltic Sea]]. He arrived in Lofond (probably the island of [[Lovön]] or the [[Lagunda Hundred]]), where Eysteinn was at a feast. Sölve and his men surrounded the house and set it on fire burning everyone inside to death. Then Sölve arrived at Sigtuna ([[Old Sigtuna]]) and ordered the Swedes to accept him as king. The Swedes refused and gathered an army that fought against Sölve and his men, but they lost after eleven days. The Swedes had to accept him as king until they rebelled and killed him.{{fact|date=April 2021}}
== Ynglingatal ==
Stanza from [[Þjóðólfr of Hvinir]]'s ''[[Ynglingatal]]'':
{|
|
:Veit ek Eysteins
:enda fólginn
:lokins lífs
:á Lofundi;
:ok sikling
:með Svíum kváðu
:Jótska menn
:inni brenna.
:Ok bitsótt
:í brandnói
:hlíðar þangs
:á hilmi rann,
:þá er timbrfastr
:toptar nökkvi,
:flotna fullr
:um fylki brann.[http://www.heimskringla.no/original/heimskringla/ynglingasaga.php] {{Webarchive|url=http://web.archive.bibalex.org/web/20051231070651/http://www.heimskringla.no/original/heimskringla/ynglingasaga.php |date=31 December 2005 }}
|
:For a long time none could tell
:How Eystein died{{spaced ndash}}but now I know
:That at Lofond the hero fell;
:The branch of Odin was laid low,
:Was burnt by Solve's Jutland men.
:The raging tree-devourer fire
:Rushed on the monarch in its ire;
:First fell the castle timbers, then
:The roof-beams{{spaced ndash}}Eystein's funeral pyre.[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/heim/02ynglga.htm]
|
|}
The ''[[Historia Norwegiæ]]'' presents a Latin summary of ''Ynglingatal'', older than Snorri's quotation (continuing after [[Eadgils]], called ''Adils or Athisl''):
{|
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Hic [Adils vel Athisl] genuit Eustein, quem Gautones in domo quadam obtrusum cum suis vivum incenderunt. Hujus filius Ynguar [...].<ref>Storm, Gustav (editor) (1880). ''Monumenta historica Norwegiæ: Latinske kildeskrifter til Norges historie i middelalderen'', Monumenta Historica Norwegiae (Kristiania: Brøgger), p. 101.</ref>
|
He [Adils] became sire to Øystein, whom the Götar thrust into a house and incinerated alive there with his men. His son Yngvar, [...]<ref>Ekrem, Inger (editor), Lars Boje Mortensen (editor) and Peter Fisher (translator) (2003). ''Historia Norwegie''. Museum Tusculanum Press. {{ISBN|87-7289-813-5}}, p. 79.</ref>
|
|}
''[[Thorsteins saga Víkingssonar]]'' makes Eysteinn the father of [[Anund]] and grandfather of [[Ingjald]] and consequently skips Ingvar's generation. It adds a second son to Eysteinn named Olaf, who was the king of [[Fjordane]] in [[Norway]].
== See also ==
*[[Historia Norvegiae|Historia Norwegiae]]
*[[Thorsteins saga Víkingssonar]]
*[[Ynglinga saga]] (part of the [[Heimskringla]])
*[[Ynglingatal]]
== Notes ==
{{reflist}}
== Sources ==
* {{cite book
| last     = Nerman
| first    = B.
| title    = Det Svenska Rikets Uppkomst
| url      = {{google books
| plainurl = y
| id       = yEqdmgEACAAJ
}}|year=1925|publisher=Generalstab }}
{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Yngling|House of Yngling]] || || }}
{{succession box
| title = [[Legendary king of Sweden]]
| years =
| before = [[Eadgils|Adils]]
| after = [[Sölve]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Norse mythology}}
[[Category:600 deaths]]
[[Category:6th-century monarchs in Europe]]
[[Category:People whose existence is disputed]]
[[Category:Semi-legendary kings of Sweden]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]