Yrsa

Who is Yrsa?

Yrsa, Yrse, Yrs or Urse was a tragic heroine of Scandinavian legend.

She appears in several versions relating to her husband, the Swedish king Eadgils, and/or to her father and rapist/lover/husband Halga and their son Hroðulf. The consensus view is that the people surrounding Yrsa are the same people as those found in Beowulf, and the common claim in Beowulf studies that Hroðulf probably was the son of Halga is taken from the Yrsa tradition. Several translators and scholars have emended her name from a corrupt line in the manuscript of Beowulf, although this is guesswork.

In the Ynglinga saga, Snorri Sturluson describes her personality as follows:

Yrsa was not one of the slave girls, and it was soon observed that she was intelligent, spoke well, and in all respects was well behaved. All people thought well of her, and particularly the king; and at last it came to so far that the king celebrated his wedding with her, and Yrsa became queen of Svithiod, and was considered an excellent woman.