Hrothgar ( ; ) was a semi-legendary Danish king living around the early sixth century AD.
Hrothgar appears in the Anglo-Saxon epics Beowulf and Widsith, in Norse sagas and poems, and in medieval Danish chronicles. In both Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian tradition, Hrothgar is a Scylding, the son of Halfdan, the brother of Halga, and the uncle of Hrólfr Kraki. Moreover, in both traditions, the mentioned characters were the contemporaries of the Swedish king Eadgils; and both traditions also mention a feud with men named Fróði and Ingeld. The consensus view is that Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian traditions describe the same person.
Names
Hrothgar, also rendered Hrōðgār, is an Old English form attested in Beowulf and Widsith, the earliest sources to mention the character. In non-English sources, the name appears in more or less corresponding Old Icelandic, Old Danish, and Latinized versions. He appears as Hróarr, Hroar, etc., in sagas and poetry, and as Ro or Roe in the Danish Latin chronicles. The form Hrōðgār is thought to have derived from the proto-Norse *Hrōþigaizaz "famous spear", i.e. Roger. The corresponding Old Norse name Hróarr and its variations are derived from *Hrōþigaizaz, and from the very close names *Hrōþiwarjaz "famous defender" or *Hrōþiharjaz "famous warrior".
Anglo-Saxon poems
Hrothgar appears in two Anglo-Saxon poems, Beowulf and Widsith. Beowulf gives the fuller account of Hrothgar and how the Geatish hero Beowulf visited him to free his people from the trollish creature Grendel. Widsith only mentions Hrothgar, Heorot, his nephew Hroðulf and their enemy Ingeld, but can complete Beowulf in some cases where Beowulf does not give enough information. This is notably the case concerning the ending of his feud with Ingeld.
Beowulf
In the epic poem Beowulf, Hrothgar is mentioned as the builder of the great hall Heorot and ruler of Denmark, when the Geatish hero Beowulf arrives to defeat the monster Grendel.
When Hrothgar is introduced in Beowulf, it is explained that he was the second of four children of King Healfdene: he had an older brother, Heorogar, who was king before him; a younger brother Halga; and a sister, who was married to the king of Sweden. The sister is not named in the manuscript and most scholars agree this is a scribal error, but suggested names are Signy and Yrsa. Friderich Kluge (1896) accordingly suggested that the line be restored as hyrde ic þ [Sigeneow wæs Sæw]elan cwen, rendering the Norse names in Old English forms. However, the only certain Swedish (Scylfing) royal name ending in -ela that has come down to us is Onela, and according to the rules of alliteration, this means that the queen's name must have begun with a vowel. Sophus Bugge consequently identified her with the Swedish queen Yrsa. He thus suggested the line should be emended to read hyrde ic þ[æt Ȳrse wæs On]elan cwen. Most 20th-century translators followed this suggestion. However, in Norse tradition, Yrsa was the daughter and lover/rape victim of Hrothgar's younger brother Halga, and the mother of Halga's son Hroðulf, and most modern translators simply leave the line as it is.
The poem further tells that Hrothgar was "slain in war" and so his kinsmen eagerly followed him. He is both honest and generous: "He broke no oaths, dealt out rings, treasures at his table". When Beowulf leads his men to Denmark, he speaks of Hrothgar to both a coast-guard and to Hrothgar's herald: he calls Hrothgar a "famed king", "famed warrior", and "protector of the Scyldings" (the ruling clan), and describes him as "old and good." The poet emphasizes that the Danes "did not find fault" with Hrothgar, "for that was a good King". When Beowulf defeats Grendel, Hrothgar rewards Beowulf and his men with great treasures, showing his gratitude and open-handedness. The poet says that Hrothgar is so generous that "no man could fault him, who wished to speak the truth."
Hrothgar was married to a woman named Wealhþeow, who was a Helming, probably defining her as a relative of Helm, the ruler of the Wulfings. When Hrothgar welcomes Beowulf, he recalls his friendship with Beowulf's family. He met Beowulf's father Ecgþeow "when I first ruled the Danes" after the death of Heorogar; he laments Heorogar's fall ("He was better than I!") and recalls how he settled Ecgþeow's blood feud with the Wulfings. Hrothgar thanks God for Beowulf's arrival and victory over Grendel, and swears to love Beowulf like a son.