The True Story of Fjölnir The Brotherless | The Northman

A lot of you may know Fjolnir from the film The Northmen, in this video I will be presenting the account of Saxo Grammaticus in his chronicle called The Gesta Denorum or The Deeds of the Danes. In the account Fjolnir the brotherless's name was really Feng and in this tale he is depicted as a villain who was guilty of kinslaying among many other crimes. The Gesta Denorum was written in the year 1208 and Saxo's sources were no doubt tales and songs that have been passed down through generations, so take it as you will. Nevertheless, this is a story of betrayal, revenge and bloodshed, so let's delve into the story. Horwendil and Feng were brothers, their father was Gerwendil and he was the governor of the jutes, in time the two brothers were appointed as co-kings to defend Jutland. Horwendil held the monarchy for three years and was the chief ruler, then to enhance his glory, reputation and name, he devoted himself to raiding. Koller the king of Norway had heard of the warrior-king Horwendil and wished to slay him, as if he did, his name would be sung of for generations. While Horwendil was raiding and building his reputation, his brother Feng was governing the lands of Jutland. Koller the king of Norway and Horwendil came upon an island lying in the middle of the sea, it was here that the two kings came face to face. This moment had been a long time coming, as Horwendil had passed three years in valiant deeds of war. The young Horwendil challenged Koller to fight in a duel, thus it came about that the two men contended against each other on the battlefield. Horwendil was the bolder and more daring of the two, he flung aside his shield grasped his sword with both hands, furious attack did he make upon the king of Norway, whose shield he split. Horwendil would fight aggressively and Koller had no chance, he was eventually struck down and killed. Horwendil would honour the sea king with a stately burial and he erected a great grave mound so that his memory may endure forever. So with this, Horwendil has showed his might as a warrior and reaver, but he also showed that he was a man of honour, willing to respect his enemies in death. Even after this, Horwendil achieved many triumphs and the king gave him gifts of the spoils of battle, thus he became a hero to the kingdom. King Rorik exalted Horwendil with honours and made him the king of Jutland, he even gave him his daughter, the princess Gerrutha to be his wife. Horwendil married Gerrutha, the daughter of Rorik and she bore him a son, who they named Amleth. Horwendil's good fortune hurt his brother Feng, who was overcome with jealousy and behold when the chance came to murder him, his bloody hand sated the deadly passion of his soul. Then he took the wife of his brother he had butchered, combining unnatural murder with incest. Feng veiled the monstrosity of his deed with such cunning, he made up a lie to excuse his crime so he wouldn't be condemned by the people and the kinslaying was known throughout the land to have been an act of righteousness. Here we can see that even though Horwendil did amazing things, after one's death, they are soon forgotten. Feng then took his slain brother's wife as his own, with this we also see that Horwendil was the dominant of the brothers in terms of his rule, reputation and might in battle. None of that mattered, his legacy was destroyed, his wife taken into the arms of his own brother. All of his life's work was undone by a jealous plot, by the man who he thought was closest to him. Amleth would witness this all and in order to stay alive, he chose to pretend he had lost his wits. This cunning plan would conceal his intelligence, but also would ensure his safety. Every day, he remained in his mother's house, utterly useless and unclean. He would fling himself on the ground, in the foul and filthy dirt, in some sort of grotesque madness. You would not have thought him a man at all, and in a mad fit of destiny, you would have thought that he had turned into an imbecile. The strategy of Amleth was this. It is better to choose the garb of dullness than that of sense, and to borrow some protection from a show of utter frenzy. Yet the passion to avenge my father still burns in my heart. But I am watching the chances, I await the fitting hour. There is a place for all things. Against so merciless and dark spirit must be used the deeper devices of the mind. Here, we see that Amleth has a plan. To everyone, it seems like there is not much going on in his head, but really, there is. To everyone else, he seems like a fool and an imbecile, but in reality, he is cunning. Nevertheless, Amleth would live in complete misery. Amleth, however, didn't want to come across as a liar, so he would speak in riddles, with most people thinking they were the ramblings of a madman, but in reality, he was probably the most cunning and intelligent man in the kingdom. Amleth's Uncle Feng was uncertain about his nephew's mental state, so he would test him. First, he would tempt him with a woman who was sent to seduce him, the logic being that any sane man would not be able to resist the charm of a beautiful woman. Amleth, however, would outwit his uncle by sleeping with the woman and getting her to fall in love with him, thus she kept their secret. Everyone still believed him to be a madman, unworthy of the throne. Feng and his council would come up with another plot to try to get Amleth to fault her, to prove he was of sound mind. The plan was to get Amleth alone with his mother, for if Amleth had any wits at all, he wouldn't hesitate to speak plainly in front of the woman who bore him. His Uncle Feng would conceal one of his men in part of the room to hear what was being said. Amleth would then be shut up with his mother in a room, and Amleth would lie down in a pile of straw. Amleth knew that eavesdroppers would be overhearing everything he would be saying, so he resorted to his usual imbecile ways. He would beat his arms together to mimic the flapping of wings. He would jump up and down on a pile of straw, and Amleth felt a lump under his feet. The simpleton was gone, and the serious Amleth came out. He drew his sword and drove it into the spot where he felt the lump of straw. He then dragged out one of his uncle's men who was hiding, and slew him. He then cut his body up, seethed it in boiling water, and flung it through the mouth of an open sewer for the swine to eat. Feng would then come up with another plan to deport Amleth to England with two escorts carrying a letter with instructions for the King of the Britons to execute Amleth. While the escorts were busy, Amleth found the letter and changed it, shifting the instructions for his companions to be executed instead of him. He would then forge Feng's signature at the bottom of the letter. While Amleth was in Britain, he would gain favour with the King of the Britons, and once he was there, he showed him his true wisdom. The King was so impressed with Amleth that he gave him his daughter to wife. He then hanged Amleth's two companions. Amleth would spend a whole year with his new wife in his new kingdom, but he eventually wanted to return to his own lands to fulfil his destiny and avenge his father. His uncle's schemes to kill him hadn't worked, and had even favoured Amleth, making him grow bolder each time he was tested. Amleth would sail across the sea and would once again reach Jutland. He exchanged his clothes for some new rags to appear as he did before. Once again he rolled in the mud and made sure he was covered in filth in order to not arouse suspicion. Appearing as mad and as dirty as ever, he entered the banquet room of his uncle. All men present there looked as if they had seen a ghost, for the banquet was to celebrate the death of Amleth. Amleth would join the cup-bearers to lift the mood in the room. He displayed his sword, and drew it several times for no reason, pricking his fingers till they drewed blood. He still appeared as simple and as dim-witted as ever. Bystanders didn't want him to hurt himself, so they nailed his sword to its scabbard to stop him hurting himself. He then made sure the lords in the hall had their fill of drink, so they were completely drunk and defenceless. After this, he would set fire to the hall. The flames would consume everything and everyone. As the lords were burning alive, Amleth went into the chamber of his uncle Feng, who had not been present at the feast. He found Feng sleeping, and took his sword that was next to the bed, and placed his nailed sword there in its place. He then woke up his uncle, and told him the nobles were all perishing in the flames, and that Amleth was here, to exact vengeance that was long overdue of his father's murder. Feng quickly went for his sword, but couldn't draw it, due to it really being Amleth's which was hammered to the scabbard. Amleth then cut his uncle down with his own sword. Thus, his father Horwendil was avenged, and his blood feud was complete. Feng's story is that of a man who was a lesser to his brother. His brother's name attracted the attention of kings, and was spoke of with respect. Full of rage, hate and jealousy, he came up with a plan to kill his brother, and take his lands. The lesson of this tale is to always watch those who are closest to you, for they are the ones who are most likely to betray you. So what do you think of the life of Fen the Kinslayer? He didn't accomplish much of note like his brother Horwendil, even though his brother's life was taken much earlier. Was Feng's story in the Northmen similar to his story in Saxo's account in the Gesta Dnorum? Let me know your thoughts in the comment sections down below. I hope you all enjoyed the video, if you did make sure to like and subscribe, and I'll see you all soon for another history profile.