Sywardus
Ancient king in Götaland (twelfth-century)
title: "Sywardus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["legendary-kings-of-the-geats"] description: "Ancient king in Götaland (twelfth-century)" topic_path: "general/legendary-kings-of-the-geats" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sywardus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Ancient king in Götaland (twelfth-century) ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/On_Alf_the_Defender_of_Chastity_Olaus_Magnus.jpg" caption="''Alf killing the two serpents who were guarding Siward's daughter.'' From [[Olaus Magnus]]' [[A Description of the Northern Peoples]] from 1555."] ::
In the twelfth-century Danish history Gesta Danorum (The Deeds of the Danes), Siward, (Sywardus), was an ancient king in Götaland, who had a daughter named Alfhild, who became a legendary Viking pirate.
To protect his daughter from unworthy suitors, Siward had her chamber guarded by a lizard and a snake. He also said that if any man tried to enter it, and failed, his head was to be taken off and impaled on a stake.
When Alf, a Danish prince, managed to defeat the animal guards, Siward told him that he would only accept "that man for his daughter's husband, of whom she made a free and decided choice". At first, Alfhild said no and ran away from home, but, after some adventures with her Viking fleet, she met Alf in a sea combat, and, after losing the battle, decided to marry him.
Siward also had two sons, Wemund and Osten.
In popular culture
The name Synardus seems to be a medieval or modern invention. In the original Latin text of Gesta Danorum, it is rendered Siwardus and Sywardus. In Danish, it is Sivard.
References
External sources
References
- Ellms, Charles. (1993). "The Pirates Own Book: Authentic Narratives of the Most Celebrated Sea Robbers". Marine Research Society.
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