Facts and Fancy in Jómsvíkinga saga

Leszek P. Słupecki
(Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology)

The Jómsvíkingar as described in Jómsvíkinga saga (and other Old Norse texts) are
among the most popular heroes of Old Icelandic literature, renowned for their bravery
and life in a male society organized according to the strict rules of the warriors’ law
(Jómsvíkingalög). However, the picturesque vision of the Viking past in Jómsvíkinga
saga is undoubtedly a literary creation of the late twelfth century, as has been proved
convincingly by scholars, primarily by L. Wiebull, whatever Viking enthusiasts might
have wished for. Beyond doubt, the Jómsvíkingar never existed in reality.
But in my opinion the scepticism of the researchers has gone a bit too far. To
believe that the saga was created almost ex nihilo is as absurd as to believe in the real
existence of Jómsvíkingar. The aim of my paper will be to discover how the story
about the Jómsvíkingar was invented and what sort of reality is reflected in it.
The investigation of questions concerning Scandinavian Jómsborg and Slavic
Wolin has a long history.1 It has sometimes been influenced by current fashions in
philology and historiography, sometimes by political factors.2 For many complicated
reasons, the Vikings on Southern shores of the Baltic sea never existed, so far as
Polish historiography after the Second World war was concerned. In reality they were
there, but obviously not in such numbers or with so much influence as the Old Rus,
who played such an important role further East. To sum up: some Vikings lived on the
southern shores of Baltic, but they were not the Jómsvíkingar of the saga.
Jómsvíkinga saga3 is an early and excellent example of the saga genre. The
stories concerning the Jómsvíkingar are additionally spread across almost the whole
Old-Norse saga literature in a broad sense, beginning from Oddr Snorrason, through
Fagrskinna, Heimskringla, Knytlinga saga, Færeyinga saga, Brennu-Njáls saga4 until
the Greatest saga of Óláfr Tryggvason5. Apart from that another medieval ‘saga’
develops, starting from Adam of Bremen’s Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae
Pontificum, namely a legend about the famous and marvellous Slavic town of Vineta6.
Is this merely a case of Genius loci? Or were there some facts that formed the
foundation for future legends? But from the time when Jómsvíkingar are supposed to
have lived we have no trace of their name and existence. So, it is still true, as Jan de
Vries (1957, 260) stated many years ago, that: ‘Jómsvíkinga saga ist ein Beispiel dafür
wie Geschichte in Sage umgewandelt werden kann’.7 But there must have been some
facts at the beginning.
1. There is no doubt that the Scandinavian Jóm and the Slavic Wolin are two
names for the same place, but Wolin is first recorded a century earlier, as the name of a
Slavic tribe. In 967 Widukind of Corvey mentioned the German adventurer Wichman,
who ... egitque cum Sclavis qui dicuntur Vuloini and fought against the Polish ruler
Mieszko I8. In the account of Ibrahim ibn Yaqub, written at almost the same time, the
Arab voyager describes a great Weletian town (no name is mentioned) with a large
port situated on the shore of the Ocean (i.e. the Baltic Sea), which probably refers to
Wolin. Ibrahim stresses that the Weletians were in permanent conflict with Mieszko I9
for domination of the Oder estuary, which was very important for Mieszko I and the
Polanians (the future Poles) because of the existence of trading ports there, of which
the most important was Wolin.10 The next reliable information concerning the Slavic
town of Wolin appears at Easter 1007, when the German King (and future Emperor
and Saint) Henry II met in Regensburg envoys from the pagan Lutitians and from ‘the
great city of Wolin (Livilni)’, and concluded an alliance against the Polish King
Boleslaw Chrobry with these two rather separate powers (Thietmar of Merseburg, VI,
33).
If the Jómsvíkingar lived in the Oder estuary, it can only have been during the
period between 967 and 1007. Clear traces of the presence of Scandinavians in the
second half of the tenth century and first half of the eleventh have been found in that
region, but the question is what kind of presence it was. The saga portrays the
Jómsvíkingar as a great power playing their own political game between the Polish
and Danish kingdoms. It doos not seem credible that the band of Jómsvíkingar could
have played such a role, involved in conflicts with kings and manipulating such
personalities as Haraldr Gormsson, Sveinn Haraldsson and Boleslaw the Great. We
know from more reliable sources like Adam of Bremen that during the revolt of his
own son Sveinn Forkbeard, King Haraldr Gormsson vulneratus ex acie fugiens
ascensa navi elapsus est ad civitatem Sclavorum, quae Iumne dicitur, and that he died
there from his wounds.11 In a similar way, Ágrip af sögu Danakonunga states that in
the battle with his own son varð Haraldr konungr sár ok flýði til Jómsborgar í
Vinðland (Agrip af sogu Danakonunga (IF 35, 1982), 328). Another source, the
Encomium Emmae Reginae, states independently of Adam of Bremen that Haraldr,
defeated by his son and wounded in a battle, was forced to flee to the Slavs.12 This
could mean that he fled to the Obodrits,13 who were usually closely allied with the
Danes, but in that case why should Adam of Bremen, whose account was written
before the development of any picturesque Jómsvíking-stories, have mentioned
Wolin? If Haraldr came to Wolin, he clearly went there looking for help, or at least
was sure that it would be a safe place for him. Adam of Bremen’s words, that he found
support there contra spem quia [the inhabitants of Wolin] pagani errant, fits well, in
my opinion, with the efforts of later times to make Haraldr into a quasi-saint. If so, we
can assume that Wolin (Jumne) was on good terms with Haraldr. Talking about
Haraldr’s escape to the Slavs, Sven Aggesen states that he was the founder of the
town.14 But for Adam of Bremen and Agrip af sogu Danakonunga (and perhaps the
author of the Encomium Emmae), it was not the Jómsvíkingar who ruled in Jumne, but
the Slavs. For Saxo Grammaticus, too, Haraldr was only a conqueror of the
magnificent Slavic town of Iulin (Wolin), which he handed over to Styrbjörn.15 Even
in Jómsvíkinga saga the Slavic character of the Oder estuary is clearly expressed when
the saga states that the band of Jómsvíkingar dwelt in king Burisleif’s land and were in
his service.
In my opinion if anybody was playing their own game in the Oder estuary at
that time, it was possibly the Slavic tribe and town of Wolin. The question asked in
Niels Lund’s paper, of how one might explain Haraldr’s escape to a town that was
‘dangerously close to the Poles’, who at that time were on very good terms with
Germany, rests on what may be a false assumption.16 In fact we do not know if Wolin
was between 967 and 1007 close to the Poles. Possibly the situation was quite the
opposite (G. Labuda 2002, 126-135). Taking a different assumption, Wolin, as an ally
of the anti-German Polabians and enemy of Mieszko I (Germany’s ally), may have
been a very appealing place for Haraldr. This would fit in well with the probable net of
alliances round the Baltic Sea at that time. Poland was obviously allied to Sweden, as
we can see from the marriage of a Polish princess to the Swedish King - her original
name was probably Swietoslawa (G. Labuda 2002, 133-134). But the same lady later
married a Danish King Sveinn (Thietmar of Merseburg VII, 39)! So because of the
lack of sources we should be very careful in interpreting the puzzle of dynamic and
sometimes changing trans-Baltic alliances! If we agree that Wolin may have been an
independent factor in the Baltic Sea politics of that time, it seems possible that the
town could have employed some Scandinavians as mercenary warriors. In fact it
seems that Wichman, a German adventurer and mercenary warrior-champion of very
high pedigree (the emperor’s exiled cousin), had already played the role of foreign
military advisor among the Wolinians, probably with his own (rather small) retinue.
Wichman died in battle in 967 during the war against Mieszko I. Later on some
Vikings may have followed him in the service of Wolin. To support this supposition
about the presence of foreign warriors in Wolin with archaeological evidence is not
easy, as the whole body of Scandinavian weaponry found there is big enough to arm
only two or three Vikings. The town of Wolin may after 967 have acknowledged
Polish supremacy to some extent, and it eventually paid tribute until the year 1007.
But the first bishopric for Pomerania was founded in the year 1000 in Kolobrzeg, not
in Wolin, and it may indicate that at the turn of the tenth century the town had never
been under direct Polish rule.17
2. Turning to the Skaldic poetry, one can see that none of the skalds18 who
according to sagas were present at the battle of Hjörungavágr19 (or at least, those who
praise Hákon jarl for his victory) make any mention of the Jómsvíkingar or of Jóm!
Some skalds contribute almost nothing to the problem.20 However, Vigfús Víga-
Glúmsson does mention the fight against Danish warriors and their ships: þar gingum
vér … í böð … til knarrar … danskra drengja (Skj B1, 115). In Tindr Hallkelsson’s
Hákonardrápa (st. 4) the Vikings whom later sagas interpret as Jómsvíkingar are
described as Slavs, and the Norwegian warriors fought against Wends, wounding
them with swords: Verðbjóðr hugins ferðar … vann … sverðs eggja spor á Vinða
sinni. In st. 6 of the same poem the Danes are also finally mentioned (Skj B1, 136-
138). It seems from these references that the expedition against Hakon Jarl was a joint
Danish-Slavic raid.
Þórleifr Rauðfeldarson, althought giving no names, praises Hákon jarl for
sending nine mighty chieftains to Óðinn (þú hefr öðlinga Óðni… níu senda) (Skj B1,
132), and this could be the original nucleus of the picturesque scene of the execution
of captured Jómsvíkingar in Jómsvíkinga saga. Þórleifr’s words could mean that the
nine chieftains (Óðinn’s number!) died in the battle and in that way went to Óðinn, but
he might equally well mean that the same nine were executed or rather offered to
Óðinn after the battle. Whichever was the case, the verb senda stresses the ritual
context of the event.
Another battle with legendary connections to the Jómsvíkingar is described in
Styrbjarnar þáttr.21 A stanza by Þorvaldr Hjaltason speaks of the battle at Fyrisvellir,
(Skj B1, 111, cf. G. Labuda, ‘Saga o Styrbjörnie…’, 300-301 and passim), and some
runic inscriptions also mention a battle fought near Uppsala.22 But in the sources that
are actually older than Styrbjarnar þáttr there is no mention of Jóm, Jómsborg,
Jómsvíkingar or Wolin (G.Labuda, ‘Saga o Styrbjörnie…’ 285). The battle at
Fyrisvellir, if does not belong to heroic mythology, was also fought between Danes
and Swedes.
3. One possible method of solving the puzzle of the origin of the Jómsvíkingar
might lie in the names of the main actors and the places mentioned in the story. The
skalds quoted here do not know Jómsvíkingar as a collective name or Jóm as a place-
name, but Tindr Hallkelson does mention the names of some men who were later
interpreted as leaders of the Jómsvíkingar: Búi (Hákonardrápa 2 and 10) and Sigvaldi
(Hákonardrápa 2). Sigvaldi is perhaps the same person as the Sewald mentioned by
Thietmar (VII, 38 and 42; cf Labuda 2002, 133). In the twelfth century Búi became the
hero of Þorkell Gíslason’s Búadrápa (Skj B1, 536-538), which is preserved only in the
Greatest Saga of Olafr Tryggvason (Ólafur Halldorsson 2000, 23, 76; Hermann
Pálsson, R.Simek 1987, 49). On the other hand Vagn is mentioned by Vigfús Viga-
Glúmsson (Skj B1, 115).
The early skalds do not know Pálna-Tóki, a very important character in the
saga-story. Lauritz Weibull (1911, 183) even argued that in Jómsvíkinga saga King
Haraldr has been replaced by Pálna-Tóki. Pálna-Tóki may originally have been the
same person as Danish chieftain Toke. In one version of Jómsvíkinga saga (AM 510)
he appears at the very beginning of the saga as maðr er nefndr Tóki (ed. C. af
Petersens, Lund 1879, 3; cf. S. Larsen 1927, 34). A certain Tóki dux Winlandensis is
mentioned by Adam of Bremen (II, 49, schol.35/37/: 1961, 288). As long ago as 1931,
Józef Widajewicz argued (see his p.85) that terra Winlandensis here is not Wolin nor
any land of the Wends (and absolutely not America!) but a part of Jutland, namely
Vendsysel. A person bearing the name Toke was supposedly linked to the Danish
royal dynasty.23 On the Gunderup rune stone (North Jutland), which was originally
located on or beside a burial mound, this Tóki appears as a person who erected the
stone and burial mound for his mother Tova and step-father Abe.24 In the etymology of
the name Pálna–Tóki, Tóki is possibly the same as Þorkell.25 The word Pálna could be
compared with Old Norse pallr - German hacke, or pallr - German bank,26 but it could
be eventually derived from Polna, if it could mean Polish or rather Polanian.27 If so,
the name Pálna-Tóki might mean ‘Þorkell who is connected in some way to Poland’,
and his by-name in the saga could perhaps be interpreted as a trace of his connections
to Poland, in the legend or in reality.
The characters from Jómsvíkinga saga could have also their prototypes in real
history. Looking to the Slavic side we should mention especially Burisleifr
Vinðakonungr, who is obviously in a way the same person as Polish King Boleslaw
the Great. The problem is that Boleslaw began to rule Poland in 992, when the
‘legendary activity’ of the Jómsvíkingar was already coming to an end. But Burisleifr
as a saga-hero may have been substituted in the story for his father Mieszko - it was a
common mistake of central-European Latin sources to confuse Mieszko I and his son
Boleslaw the Great. Burisleifr the saga hero might also reflect another Polish ruler,
Boleslaw Krzywousty (died 1138), who in historical reality gained control over Wolin
in the 1120’s, precisely in the period when the world of the Jómsvíkingar was being
re-created into the story told in the saga.28 The only problem with this theory is that the
form of the name which sounded to Norse speakers like Burisleifr is different from
Boleslaw and fits much better with Borzyslaw, a name which was also very well
known and attested in Pomeranian written sources from the thirteenth century
onwards.29
When we turn to the Scandinavian side, another important person involved in
the affairs of the Jómsvíkingar appears, namely Óláfr Tryggvason. The Historia
Norwegie provides a very interesting detail, stating that Óláfr Tryggvason had his
winter quarters in Iomne, where his army grew, ‘his fleet was swelled by an influx of
Norwegians, Danes, Gotar and Wends, who flocked to join him at his winter quarters
in Jómsborg, the strongest of Wendish towns’.30 This idea of how a Viking expedition
was usually composed and the nations from which it was derived seems to be genuine.
4. The name Jóm is first used by Arnórr Jarlaskáld in his two poems praising King
Magnús and mentioning his victory over Slavs (including their town Jóm) in 1043.31 It
is necessary to stress that in Hrynhenda and Magnúsdrápa Arnórr describes Magnús’s
campaign against the Wends,32 not only against Jóm-Wolin. Magnús (Hrynhenda 11)
‘carried the war-shield (…) to the land of Wends’ (til Venda grundar), causing ‘grief
for the Wends’ (valdið Venda sorg). Because as Arnórr said in Hrynhenda 12:
King, you fared through the evil tribe with flame;
Fated then was death to men;
Crusher of thieves, you kindled a towering
Blaze of fire south at Jóm [sunr at Jómi].
No wise dared they halls defend,
The heathen host in the broad stronghold;
[heiðit folk í virki breiðu]
royal one, you wrought in the townsmen,
by bright flame, terror-struck hearts.
In Magnúsdrapa (8) the same victory is described as follows:
Then worked the king a weapon-
Blizzard, which Wends remember,
The ruler singed not a few
Wrong-doers’ corpses at Jóm (at Jómi).
A body swift-roasted the bloody
Wolf dragged from the embers;
Darted on unbaptised brows
The most ravenous death of the hall.
It is absolutely clear here that Magnús’s enemies in Jóm were Wends, not Vikings. So
S.H. Cross’s supposition (Cross 1930, 118) that Magnús’s raid destroyed the
Scandinavian colony in Jóm is based on a misunderstanding of the evidence of the
source. Arnórr mentions a Slavic Jóm, not Scandinavian Jómsvíkingar.
The name Jóm, Jumne, Jóms-borg is possibly not of either Scandinavian or
Slavic origin. The best etymology for it is the one proposed by Gerard Labuda, who
compared Jumne with Finish juoma, Estonian Jóm and Latvian juma.33 According to
Elias Lönnrot’s Dictionary Finnish juoma means ‘djupaste stället i vikar’34, so a place
of some importance for sailors. Although a noun jama (‘a hole’) exists in the Polish
language and appears in the name of the Pomeranian lake Jamno, the pronunciation of
the name Jóm seems to point to Finnish origin.
5. The other way of explaining the literary creation of the Jómsvíkingar involves
archaeology. The sagas show the Jómsvíkingar as an active factor during the reign of
Haraldr Gormsson and the first years to that of Sveinn Haraldsson. The battles of
Fyrisvellir (ca. 985) and Hjörungavágr (ca. 995) bring the legendary activity of the
Jómsvíkingar to an end. In Jómsvíkinga saga Jómsborg is described just like a late
‘idealborg’ and the Jómsvíkingar like a mediaeval ‘krigareideal’, as has already been
noticed by Lauritz Weibull (1911, 192-193). What eventually has to be recognized as
reliable (in a way) in the saga-tradition about the Jómsvíkingar is their law – the
Jómsvíkingalög. According to the saga they lived in a fortress which was at the same
time a purely military camp, not a city, castle or burgh with many social functions. The
description of the fortress includes a lot of fantasy but it is possible to imagine it as
something like the Danish circular forts.
The law that regulated the life of the Jómsvíkingar in the camp and during
expeditions (see Jómsvíkinga saga, ed. N.F.Blake, London 1962, 17-18) does not look
totally invented, even if the rules for acceptance of new members, age limits, the duty
to stay in the place and the rules for discipline were formulated late and include
legendary motifs. As far as I know there are only two other sources concerning similar
laws. One, mentioned in Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka ch. 5 (ed. H.Seelow, Reykjavík
1981, 177-178), looks like the Jómsvíkingalög, and Jan de Vries (Altnordische
Literaturgeschichte 2, Berlin 1942, 452) suggested that Hálfs saga borrowed it from
Jómsvíkinga saga. Saxo Grammaticus’ code of laws for warriors at war35 is a rather
different case and may reflect another, original tradition. It was, however, a Danish
tradition, like the law ascribed to the Jómsvíkingar. Maybe all these laws reflect
(though they do not record) the rules that were laid down for the military group which
helped the Danish king Haraldr Gormsson to unify the country and keep control over
the land from circular forts. As regards the problem of the royal guard which is typical
of Slavic and (possibly) Danish rulers of the tenth and eleventh centuries, I shall here
refer only to my previously published paper.36 The statement in Knytlinga saga ch. 1
that the Jómsvíkingar were paid by the king is worth attention here. An echo of the
existence of such groups of warriors may have influenced the later legendary tradition.
If the law of the Jómsvíkingar reflects to some extent the existence of warriors
inhabiting Danish circular forts, this could explain why the Danes who fought against
Hákon Jarl at Hjörungavágr were identified with the Jómsvíkingar. We know two
circular forts from Jutland. One is Aggersborg, the largest of the whole group and
situated on the northern periphery of the Jutland peninsula, at the nearest point to
Norway. This fort could have served as a camp for warriors ready to assert the Danish
control over Norway which is claimed by Haraldr Gormsson’s inscription on the
Jelling stone. The activity of the Jómsvíkingar in Norway looks strange when we think
about Wolin as the starting point of the expedition. But if in the place of the
Jómsvíkingar we put Danish warriors living in every circular fort (including
Aggersborg) this starting point will be shifted much closer to Norway. The Danish
army had been sometimes supported by Slav allies, as the skalds who describe the
battle at Hjörungavágr already record. Later analogies include the Slavic Lutitians who
supported Scandinavians in England in 1069 according to Ordericus Vitalis.37 So the
legend about the brave Jómsvíkingar may include a memory of a special group within
the Danish army and their allied Slavic troops. The memory of the circular forts may
be reflected there and exaggerated in the picture of Jómsborg.
Finally it should be noticed that the time of the legendary activity of the
Jómsvíkingar (the second half of the tenth century) fits well with the period to which
most of the archaeological finds of Scandinavian provenance from Wolin belong. This
period covers the years from ca. 950, to ca. 1050, and for that time strong
Scandinavian presence (but not domination!) in Wolin is attested.38 This question is
investigated in detail in Blażej Stanisławski’s paper.

Conclusion

For Jan de Vries, the battle at Hjörungavágr was a historical fact.39 But it seems to
follow from the evidence of the skaldic poetry that it was a victory over a Danish-
Slavic fleet. So why did the literature make the invented Jómsvíkingar the main actors
in the event?
Maybe this was because of a memory that Slavic troops from Jóm-Wolin had
participated in the battle, and had become involved in the raid because of the
connections between the Wends and the Danish kings. Maybe it was remembered that
in this town of Wolin, which was a very important port of trade from the beginning of
tenth century up to King Magnús’s raid in 1043, the Scandinavians were living among
other nations. The foreigners there included warriors, as is proved by the case of
German champion warrior Wichman. The presence of some Vikings, although not
attested by contemporary written sources, also seems possible. Additionally in the
twelfth century, when the saga was probably created, Poland, under the energetic rule
of Boleslaw Krzywousty, was again involved in Baltic Sea politics and for some time
enjoyed authority over the whole of Pomerania, including Wolin (and formally even
the isle of Rügen).
The conclusion of this investigation is thus that although it is obviously
invented, the story of the Jómsvíkingar was partly built on some true basic facts. These
include the strong presence of Scandinavians in Wolin (still remembered at the time
when the saga was written); some Wendish connections to the Danish Kings; the
presence of Wends in Danish overseas expeditions; and the interests of Polish rulers in
influencing the Oder estuary. The motif of the Jómsvíkingalög and Jómsborg may also
reflect a memory of the existence of Danish elite troops at the time of the building of
Danish state under Haraldr Gormsson’s rule. The flavour of authenticity was
reinforced by the use of authentic names, and the facts were mixed with plenty of
imagination and set in a beautiful literary framework.

1
J. Stenstrup, Normanerne 3, København 1882, 449; J.Stenstrup, Venderne og de
Danske for Valdemar den Stores tid, København 1900, 36-37 and passim; L.Weibul, Kritiska
undersökningar i nordens historia omkring år 1000, Lund, 1911; S.Larsen, ‘Jomsborg, dens
Beliggenhed og historie’, in: Aarboger for nordisk oldkyndighed og historie 17, 1927, 1-138;
S.H.Cross, ‘Scandinavian-Polish relations in the late tenth century’, in: Studies in honour of
Hermann Collitz, Baltimore, 1930, 114-140. Polish literature is collected in: L.P.Słupecki,
‘Jómsvíkingalög, Jómsvíkings, Jomsborg/Wolin and Danish Circular Strongholds’, in: The
Neighbours of Poland in the tenth Century, P.Urbańczyk ed., Warsaw 2000, 58, footnote 58
and in G. Labuda, Mieszko I, Wrocław, Warszawa, Kraków 2002, 262-263; cf. also:
W.Filipowiak, H.Gundlach, Wolin-Vineta. Die tatsächlische Legende vom Untergang und
Aufstieg der Stadt, Rostock, 1992; W.Filipowiak Wolin-Jomsborg. En vikingatids handelsby i
Polen, Roskilde, 1991.
2
The overcritical positivism in studies of the Old-Icelandic sagas in Scandinavia (and
after the Second World War also in Germany) fits well into the period of anti-German phobia
in Polish research (for which the Second World War was of course a very good reason!).
Unfortunately some Polish scholars seemed to identify modern German imperialism with
everything linked to the Old Germanic world, including Norsemen and Vikings, and for some
time most of them did not like to see any Vikings on the Southern shores of the Baltic Sea.
3
The five Norse versions of the saga are different from each other and from the Latin
translation by Arngrímur Jónsson A useful edition of the short version of the saga is:
Jómsvíkinga saga. The Saga of the Jómsvíkingar, ed. N.F. Blake, London 1962 (Nelson’s
Icelandic Texts, 3). G. Storm, ‘Om Redaktionerne af Jómsvíkinga saga’, Arkiv för nordisk
filologi 1, 1883, 235-248; J. de Vries, Altnordische Literaturgeschichte 3, Berlin 1967, 259;
Ólafur Halldórsson, ‘Jómsvíkinga saga’, in: Medieval Scandinavia. An Encyclopedia, New
York, London 1993, 343-344; R.Simek, Hermann Palsson, Lexikon der Altnordischen
Literatur, Stuttgart 1987, 198-199; J. Megaard, ‘Studier i Jómsvíkinga saga stemma’, Arkiv
för nordisk filologi 115, 2000, 125-182.
4
The Jómsvíkingar appear in the tradition of konungasögur in: Oddr, Olafssaga 18, 34,
46, 66: Odd Snorrason, Saga Olafs Tryggvasonar, ed. Finnur Jonssón, Kobenhavn 1932, 60-
62, 109-112, 143, 198; Fagrskinna 19-21: ed. Bjarni Einarsson, IF 29, Reykjavik 1985, 121-
130: Heimskringla, Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar 34-35, 38-42: IF 26, 1941, 272-286; Knytlinga
saga 1, 5, 8 (IF 35, 1982, 93, 97, 101); Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar hinn mikla (see Ólafur
Halldorsson 2000).
5
This problem has recently been analysed by Ólafur Halldorsson, Danish Kings and the
Jómsvíkingar in the Greatest Saga of Olafr Tryggvason, London, 2000.
6
R. Kiersnowski, 1950; W. Filipowiak, Gundlach, 1992.
7
Jan de Vries, Altnordische Literaturgeschichte, vol.2, Berlin 1942, 187. In a similar
way Lee M. Hollander said: ‘this saga furnishes an instructive example of how historical fact
is transmitted into legend’. L.M. Hollander, The saga of the Jómsvíkingar, Austin 1990, 14.
8
Widukind, III, 69: Widukindi rerum gestarum Saxonicarum libri tres, SRGerm. in. us.
schol., G. Waitz ed., Hanoverae 1882, 82. Cf. R. Kiersnowski, 1950, 33-36; H. Łowmiański,
Początki Polski, vol.5, Warszawa, 1973, 513-517. Widukind also mentions, rather obscurely,
some links between Wichman and King Haraldr Gormsson (Widukind, III, 64: 1882, 80). The
Slavic Wolinians of Widukind’s account are surely not Jómsvíkingar (J. Widajewicz,
‘Najdawniejszy piastowski podbój Pomorza’, Slavioa Occidentalis 10 (1931), 57-63).
9
Ibrahim, describing the ‘tribe called Waltabah’, said: ‘They lived in dense marshy
forests to the west and a little to the north of the country of the Mashaqqah. They have a big
city which stands on the coast of the Surrounding Sea. The city has twelve gates and a haven
for which the shore with firm ground is used. They make war on the Mashaqquah and are
very powerful. They have no king and do not obey anybody but are governed by their old
people.’ (‘Ibrahim ibn Ya’qub at-Tarttshi’s account of the Slavs’, trans. D. Mishin, Annual of
Medieval Studies at the CEU, Budapest, 1996, 189; cf. G. Labuda, ‘Wolinianie – plemię
pomorskie czy wieleckie?’ in: Studia nad Etnogenezą Słowian, vol. 2, G. Labuda, S.
Tabaczyński eds, Wrocław, 1988, 70.
10
The Poles were apparently only partly successful in these wars (G. Labuda 2002, 126)
and the first bishopric for Pomerania was established in year 1000 in Kołobrzeg, not in Wolin
(Thietmar of Merseburg IV, 46, Kronika Thietmara, ed. M.Z. Jedlicki, Poznań, 1953). Soon
after the war between Polish King Boleslaw the Great and the German King Henry II began in
1002, the Poles lost control over Pomerania and Reinbern, the first bishop of Kołobrzeg had
been sent to Kiev with Boleslaw’s daughter as her chaplain (Thietmar of Merseburg VII, 72)
11
Adam of Bremen, II, 27-28: Adami Bremensis Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae
Pontificum, in: Quellen des 9. und 11. Jahrhundersts zur Geschichte des Hamburgischen
Kirche und des Reiches, ed. W. Trillmich, Darmastad, 1961, 260-262. There are similar
accounts in the Chronicon Roskildense and in Annals from Lund. L. Weibull (1911, 187)
argued that both these sources follow Adam. In Chronicon Roskildense (6) we read: Haraldus
(…) fugiens uenit in Scaluiam ibique exul obijt (Scriptores Minores Historiae Danicae Medii
Aevi, vol.1, ed. M.C. Gertz, Kjøbenhavn 1917-1918, 19).
12
Father and son congrediuntur in proelio in quo vulneratus pater ad Sclavos fugit, et
non multo post ibi obit (Cnutonis Gesta sive Encomium Emmae Regine auctore monacho
sancti Bertini, ed. G.H. Pertz, MGH SS, vol. 19, Hannoverae 1866, 512; cf. G. Labuda, 1964,
130.
13
Niels Lund, ‘Harald Bluetooth – a Saint very nearly made by Adam of Bremen’, in:
J.Jesch, The Scandinavians from the Vendel Period to the Tenth Century, Woodbridge, 2002,
303-315.
14
Haraldr fled from Denmark and ad Sclaviam usque profugus commeavit, ibique pace
impetrata primus urbem fundasse dicitur, quae nunc Hynnisburgh nuncupatur (Suenonis
Aggonis Gesta regum Danorum, MGH Scriptores, vol.29, 32; cf. L. Weibull 1911, 180; G.
Labuda 1964, 185. Fagrskinna (ch. 19: Fagrskinna – Noregs Konunga Tal, ed. Bjarni
Einarsson, IF 29, Reykjavik 1985, 121) and Knytlinga saga (ch.1: Knytlinga saga. The
History of the Kings of Denmark, trans. Hermann Pálsson, P. Edwards, Odense, 1986, 23) also
ascribe the foundation of Jómsborg to Haraldr.
15
Saxo Grammaticus, X, 2, 1: Saxonis Gesta Danorum, ed. J. Olrik, H. Raeder, Hauniae,
1931, 271. On Styrbjörn as a legendary leader of the Jómsvíkingar see G. Labuda, ‘Saga o
Styrbjörnie, jarlu Jomsborga’, Slavia Antiqua 4 (1954), 283-332; cf. G. Labuda, 1964, 191-
221.
16
N. Lund, ‘Harald Bluetooth...’, p.310.
17
See footnote 10.
18
Vigfús Víga-Glúmsson (Skj B1, 115); Eilífr Guðrúnarson (Skj B1, 139); Þórleifr
jarlaskáld Rauðfeldarson (Skj B1, 132); Hallfrøðr Óttarsson vandræðaskáld (Skj B1, 147-148);
Tindr Hallkelsson (Skj B1, 136-138).
19
According to the Jómsvíkinga saga (30), four Icelandic skalds fought at Hjörungavágr.
20
From Eilífr Guðrúnarson’s poem for Hákon only some praise of the Jarl survives.
Hallfrøðr vandræðaskáld includes the description of fighting that is proper for every battle,
and a mention of sea-warriors.
21
Styrbjarnar þáttr, see Flateyjarbók. En samling af norske konge-sagaer, Kristiania,
1862, 70-73; cf. G. Labuda, ‘Saga o Styrbjörnie, jarlu Jomsborga’, Slavia Antiqua 4 (1953),
283-332.
22
L. Jacobsen, E. Moltke (eds.), Danmarks Runeindskrifter, København, 1942, 332-334,
347-350; cf. G. Labuda ‘Saga o Styrbjörnie…’, 302.
23
W. Duczko, ‘Kungar, thegnar, Tegnebyar, juveler och silverskatter. Om danske
inflytande i Sverige under senvikingatid’, Tor 27/2 (1995), 630.
24
(SideA:) tuki:raisti:stini:thąisi:auk:kathi:kub(l):thausi:aftaba:mak:sin:thaikin:kuthan:
auk:/ (Side B:) :tufu;muthur:siną:thau:lika:bathi:i:thaum:hauki:/abi:uni:tuka:fiaR:sins:aft:sik:
(‘Toke rejste disse stene (?) og gjorde disse kumler efter sin ‘mag’ (stedfader) Abe (Ebbe), en
velbyrdig thegn, og (efter) sin moder Tove. De ligger begge i denne høj. – Abe (Ebbe) ‘undte’
Toke sid gods efter sig (indsatte ham som arving). Danmarks Runinskrifter 143, Gunderup-
St.1: Danmarks Runeinskrifter, ed. L. Jacobsen, E. Moltke, Text, Kobenhavn, 1942, 179-180.
25
J. de Vries, Altnordisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, Leiden 1962, 594, after E.
Brate, E. Wessen, Södermanlands Runinskrifter, vol.1, Stockholm, 1924-1936, 220 (Sveriges
Runinskrifter 3) explaining the name Toke on the Saby stone (Sö. 252).
26
The explanation ‘Tóki the Archer’ (with quotation mark!) in R. Cleasby, Gudbrand
Vigfusson, An Icelandic_English Dictionary, Oxford, 1975, 475, is not convincing.
27
I owe this interpretation to the friendly suggestion of Wladyslaw Duczko.
28
This was already noticed by S.H. Cross in 1930, 139-140.
29
Słownik Staropolskich Nazw Osobowych, ed. W. Taszycki, vol. 1, Wrocław, Warszawa,
Kraków, 1965, 231-232.
30
augmentabat enim eius classem Norwegens ac Dani, Gautones et Sclaui, qui cum illo
ciuitate Iomne, que est firmissima inter Sclauie urbes, hyemales frequentabat sedes (Historia
Norwegie XVII, 12, ed. I. Ekrem, L.B. Mortensen, trans. P. Fischer, Copenhagen, 2003, 92) .
31
See the old standard edition in Skj B1, 306-315.
32
All quotations from Arnórr jarlaskáld are from D.Whaley, The Poetry of Arnórr
jarlaskáld. An edition and study, London, 1998. Magnús’s raid is also mentioned by
Theodoricus Monachus, Historia de antiquitate regum Norwagiensium 24 (ed. and trans. D.
and I. McDougall, London, 1998, 37, 96-97).
33
G. Labuda 1964, 188-189; For the relation between many forms of the place-name
Jóm-Jumne-Vineta, see G. Labuda 1964, 184-190 and R. Kiersnowski 1950, 5-27, where the
older literature is covered.
34
E. Lönnrot, Suomalais-Ruotsilainen Sanakiria (Finskt-Svenskt Lexikon), vol.1,
Helsingfors, 1874, 388-389.
35
Saxo Grammaticus V, 5, 1-2; Saxonis Gesta Danorum, ed. J. Olrik, H. Raeder,
Hauniae 1931, 127-128.
36
I have already argued this in another paper (L.P. Słupecki, ‘Jómsvíkingalog…’ 49-59).
37
Ordericus Vitalis, Historia Ecclesiastica, IV, year 1069: excerpts in: MGH Scriptores,
ed. G.H. Pertz, vol.20, Hannoverae, 1868.
38
This question will be reconsidered in detail in Blażej Stanisławski’s paper; cf. also W.
Duczko, ‘Obecność skandynawska na Pomorzu i słowiańska w Skandynawii we wczesnym
średniowieczu’, in: Salsa Cholbergensis. Kołobrzeg w średniowieczu, ed. L. Leciejewicz and
M.Rębkowski, Kołobrzeg, 2000, 23-44.
39
Jan de Vries, Altnordische Literaturgeschichte, vol.2, Berlin 1942, 186; cf L. Weibull
(1911), 186.