Rodulf

Who is Rodulf?

Rodulf was a Germanic chieftain or petty king of the Migration Period, who briefly appears in Roman sources. Although it is not conclusive that the sets of accounts actually refers to the same king, he is always principally notable for his connection to the Ostrogothic king and ruler of Italy, Theodoric the Great.

Rodulf, a Scandinavian-Gaut generally held to be described as king of one or more tribes in Scandza, is mentioned in the Getica of Jordanes to have spurned and left his former kingdom to seek the sanctuary of Theodoric the Great in Ravenna, probably around 500. In other sources, a king of the Heruli tribe appears as an adopted "son in arms" of Theodoric. The Heruli king, in this context called Rodulf, died in battle against the Lombards around 508 after he had become an ally to Theodoric. Due to the similarity of the circumstances, it has been suggested that the various accounts describes the same individual, although this remains a disputed issue among historians.

Another debated issue is whether Rodulf could be the background for certain aspects of later heroic poetry, possibly including the Norse saga character Hrólfr Kraki.