Yrsa

Yrsa, Yrse, Yrs or Urse (fl. 6th century) was a tragic heroine of early Scandinavian legend.

This article is about a figure of the Scandinavian literature. For the asteroid, see 351 Yrsa. For the writer, see Yrsa Sigurðardóttir.

She appears in several versions relating to her husband, the Swedish king Eadgils, and/or to her father and rapist/lover/husband Halga (the younger brother of King Hrothgar who received aid from Beowulf) and their son Hrólfr Kraki. The common claim in Beowulf studies that Hrólfr Kraki probably was the son of Halga is taken from the Yrsa tradition. Several translators (e.g. Burton Raffel) and scholars have emended her name from a corrupt line (62) in the manuscript of Beowulf, although this is guesswork.

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