Editing Alf and Alfhild

{{Short description|Legends in Norse mythology}}
[[Image:On Viking Expeditions of Highborn Maids Olaus Magnus.jpg|thumb|"'''On Viking Expeditions of Highborn Maids''': Two female warriors, of royal family according to the crowns on their heads, are participating in a sea battle." From [[Olaus Magnus]]' [[A Description of the Northern Peoples]] from 1555.]]
[[Image:On Alf the Defender of Chastity Olaus Magnus.jpg|thumb|"'''On Alf, the Defender of Chastity''': Alf, a suitor to the princess Alvilda kills two serpents who are guarding her chastity. To vex them he wears a bloody hide over his armour." From [[Olaus Magnus]]' ''[[A Description of the Northern Peoples]]'', 1555.]]

According to the ''[[Gesta Danorum]]'', '''Alfhild''',{{efn|Latinized as {{Lang|la|Alvilda}}}} daughter of the [[Geats|Geatish]] king [[Sywardus|Siward]], was a [[shieldmaiden]] who had her own fleet of [[longship]]s with crews of young female pirates and raided along the coasts of the Baltic Sea.

As a young princess, Alfhild's chamber was guarded by a lizard and a snake, which scared away unworthy suitors. A [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danish]] prince named '''Alf''', also of Geatish descent, came to [[Götaland|Geatland]] and defeated the animal guards. But Alfhild, advised by her mother, fled from Alf dressed as a man, and she became a shield maiden.

Alf and his [[Scania]]n comrade, Borgar, together with their Danish sea-warriors, searched for and eventually found Alfhild and her fleet by the coast of southern Finland. After some deadly fighting aboard the ships, Alfhild's helmet was knocked off, and she was recognised. Alf and Borgar ordered their men to stop fighting, and Alf embraced Alfhild, happy to finally have found her. She then decided to lay off her warrior clothes and follow Alf to Denmark, where they got married.

Some years later, in a war fought against a revolting Danish clan, Alf and his brothers and their father king [[Sigar]] were killed. Only Alf's and Alfhild's daughter Gurid had survived of the royal family. After being queen for a while, Gurid married one of Borgar's sons, [[Halfdan]], and they had a son named Harald, who became the new king of Denmark.

==Context==
According to the details in the saga, this would have taken place in the 5th century.

The account in [[Saxo Grammaticus]]' Gesta Danorum<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mcllibrary.org/DanishHistory/book7.html|title=The Danish History: Book Seven|website=mcllibrary.org|access-date=November 12, 2018|archive-date=August 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805131005/http://omacl.org/DanishHistory/book7.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> is the original story of Alf and Alfhild, based on one of the old folktales or songs he gathered for his work.

==In popular culture==
There are some variations to the story in later popular culture. (Other spellings: ''Alwilda, Alvilda, Alvild, Alvilde, Alfhilda, Avilda, Alvida, Altilda, Ælfhild'').<!--Awilda is a typo that got widespread on the internet that spread via wikipedia due to a single use of this misspelling in the Gutenberg ebook of The Pirates Own Book-->

During the 1800s, Alfhild/Alwilda was a popular subject for [[scrimshaw]] carved by members of whaling crews.<ref>[http://www.mdhs.org/about/images/Fall08.pdf Maryland Historical Society News, p. 8]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Here, under the name of Alvida, she's figuring in a modern Dutch musical.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tekstenmuziek.nl/jm/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724170707/http://www.tekstenmuziek.nl/jm/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=31|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 July 2011|title=Tekst en Muziek - Kindermusicals - Alvida de schone piraat|date=24 July 2011}}</ref>

The story about Alf And Alfhild has also been made into Italian operas.

Italian poet [[Torquato Tasso]] writes his most famous tragedy on her story, called ''[[Il re Torrismondo]]'', where Alvida is promised in marriage to the king of Sweden, Germondo, but falls in love with Torrismondo, so she decides to commit suicide in order not to choose between love and honor.

In 1686, ''"L'Amazzone Corsara, ovvero L'Alvilda, regina de Goti",'' by [[Carlo Pallavicino]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0sKiAAAAIAAJ&dq=Alvilda&pg=PA174|title=A New Chronology of Venetian Opera and Related Genres, 1660-1760|first=Eleanor|last=Selfridge-Field|date=18 August 2018|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=9780804744379|via=Google Books}}</ref>

In 1731, ''"Alvilda regina de' Goti",'' by [[List of operas by Antonio Vivaldi|Antonio Vivaldi]].

==See also==
* [[Yngwin]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External sources==
* [http://www2.kb.dk/elib/lit//dan/saxo/lat/or.dsr/7/6/index.htm Gesta Danorum in Latin]
* [http://smn.dsl.dk/index.php?teksterid=7&side=sider&litteraturbeskrivelse=true&haandskriftid=-1&trykid=-1&tekstid=-1 Another version of Gesta Danorum (in Danish)]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=b5R7W-Fnq2sC&q=alwilda&pg=PA2 The Pirates Own Book: Authentic Narratives of the Most Celebrated Sea Robbers, by Charles Ellms, Marine Research Society]

{{Pirates}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alf And Alfhild}}
[[Category:Kings in Norse mythology and legends]]
[[Category:Legendary Norsemen]]
[[Category:Geats]]
[[Category:Danish pirates]]
[[Category:Danish female pirates]]
[[Category:Medieval legends]]
[[Category:Maritime folklore]]
[[Category:Legendary Danish people]]