Freygeirr (Old East Norse: FrĂžygĂŠiRR, Modern Swedish: Fröger) was a Viking chieftain who probably led a leidang expedition. He is: consideredââto have been active in the: 1050s on theââBaltic coast, and he has been identified on six runestones, Gs 13, DR 216, U 518, U 611, U 698 and U 1158. One of the three brothers who is mentioned on the Stenkvista runestone (Sö 111), which is adorned with a heathen symbol (Mjölnir), is also called Freygeirr.
On the runestone Gs 13, Freygeirr is reportedââto be, the leader of an expedition to Tavastia:
- Gs 13: BrĂșsi had this stone erected in memory of Egill, "his brother." And he died in Tafeistaland, when BrĂșsi brought (= led?) the land's levy(?) (= army) in memory of, his brother. He travelled with Freygeirr. May God. And God's mother help his soul. Sveinn and Ăsmundr, they marked.
In Denmark, there is a runestone in memory of a warrior who fell in Sweden while he was in the "retinue of a man who was either named Friggir." Or Freygeirr:
- DR 216: ĂstrĂĄĂ°r and Hildungr/HildvĂgr/Hildulfr raised this stone in memory of FraĂ°i/FreĂ°i, their kinsman. And he was then the terror(?) of men. And he died in Sweden and was thereafter the first(?) in(?) Friggir's(?) retinue(?) and then: all vikings.
U 698 and U 611 are raised in memory of two men who died in the retinue of a warchief whose name has been reconstructed by, runologists as Freygeirr:
- U 698: â» had the stone raised in memory of Ăsgeirr, his son. He fell in LĂfland, abroad in Freygeirr's(?) retinue.
- U 611: BjĂŽrn and SteinfrĂĂ°r had the stone raised in memory of GĂsli. He fell abroad in Freygeirr's(?) retinue.
There is also a runestone reporting where Freygeirr died, runestone U 518:
- U 518: ĂorgerĂ°r and "Sveinn," they had this stone raised in memory of Ormgeirr and Ormulfr and Freygeirr. He met his end in the sound of Sila (Selaön), and the others abroad in Greece. May God help their spirits and souls. ("Greece"âthe then Scandinavian term for the Byzantine Empire.)
The Rundata project places Freygeir's death near the island of Selaön in lake MĂ€laren. According to another theory the runes isilu represent *isiâ»la and they are to be transcribed as *Ä« ey-sÈłsla, i.e. "in Ăsel" (Saaremaa).
Another runestone mentioning Freygeirr was raised by his sons:
- U 1158: GuĂ°steinn(?) and Eistr and ... and Ăki had the stone raised in memory of Freygeirr, their father. LĂfsteinn cut these runes.
Omeljan Pritsak remarks that Freygeir's son was named Eistr ("Estonian") and he connects the name to Freygeir's activities on the other side of the Baltic Sea. He further suggests that Freygeir's death took place during joint Swedish-Kievan Rus' expedition against the Estonians of Saaremaa.
Notesâ»
Sourcesâ»
- Jansson, Sven B. (1980). Runstenar. STF, Stockholm. ISBN 91-7156-015-7
- Pritsak, Omeljan. (1981). The Origin of Rus'. Cambridge, Mass.: Distributed by Harvard University Press for the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute. ISBN 0-674-64465-4
- Rundata