History has always shown that great warriors always follow King. An example is that of King Arthur, a legendary King whose battles were won by his warriors while he took the glory. The story of King Hrolf Kraki takes a similar narration. King Hrolf Kraki’s Saga is a narration that focuses on King Hrolf and his champions. King Hrolf, a great leader, had twelve champions that fought by his side, and in most cases, he sent these warriors to go to battles and wars for him. The names of these warriors were great as they concurred their enemies with ease. Despite their achievements, these warriors followed King Hrolf. The champions followed King Hrolf for his personality, trust, Compassion, hope, and stability.
King Hrolf’s Champions followed him because of his personality. Unlike the Kings from where these heroes came from who were unkind and inhuman, King Hrolf was generous and a wise individual. King Hrolf's character attracted these great warriors who came from different backgrounds and became his followers. The good deeds of King Hrolf made these heroes forsake their Kings and opt to follow Hrolf. Svipdag, one of King Hrolf's champions, was from Sweden. Byock, 1998mention that, at his early age Svipdag wanted to serve under the King Adils of Sweden. However, Svipdag was advised by his father not to help King Adils because he was a cruel, ungenerous and unjust. Despite the hostility that existed between King Hrolf and King Adils of Sweden, King Hrolf accepted Svipdag and his brothers into his palace, and they became his warriors.
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King Hrolf was a just person and thus created trust in people who came to his Hleidargard palace. Hrolf champions followed him for his ability to demonstrate integrity. King Hrolf was consistent with his behaviours and was able to keep his trust among the people of his kingdom. Besides being a young King, Hrolf character, particularly on how he treated his subjects. Hott, a young man who wanted to become one of King Hrolf’s champions but was despised by other champions because of his small size. Hott would be beaten with bones by other champions while eating. Bodvar who had come to the palace to become a champion took Hott, cleaned and they became friends. Returning to the palace, Bodvar made Hott sit next to him at the table. One of the champions threw a bone to Hott, but Bodvar caught it mid-air and threw it back. The bone killed the champion who had thrown the bone first, and when King Hrolf heard of the incident, he said the warrior who had thrown the bone at Hott was at fault. Bodvar and Hott became King Hrolf’s warriors ( Byock, 1998) .
The champions were able to follow King Hrolf because he was a compassionate person. Despite being the King, Hrolf was able to show his companion to the people of his Kingdom and his warriors. Hrolf was caring and a friend to the people of his Kingdom. King Hrolf shared his love with his champions as he rewarded them well after each battle.
King Hrolf believed in his abilities as a king as he was a good fighter. As human people from other Kingdoms, especially the Kings and Queens believed in sorcery and other unnatural means to protect their Kingdoms. However, King Hrolf was different and believed in his capabilities as a king and as a leader of his pack of warriors. It is because of confidence that his warriors followed and believed in him. Most of his champions were indeed mighty, but they still followed and respected King Hrolf. According to Byock (1998) , King Hrolf only worshipped the old gods and that he and his champions only believed on their might and main.
The champions followed on King Hrolf for stability reasons. Each of these champions came from different backgrounds in search of something that they always wanted to have. People are always on the lookout for peace, security, support, and strength. King Hrolf guaranteed these securities to the people of his Kingdom and also to his warriors. For example, Svipdag wanted security as he told his father that he wanted to more than just a farmer. Svipdag, therefore, left home to go and serve King Hrolf, who had brought peace to his kingdom. Hleidargard, Hrolf capital enjoyed peace and prosperity after the incident of King Adils, and he and his warriors enjoyed stability ( Byock, 1998) . Some of the warriors wanted to be more than what their fathers were.
King Hrolf offered hope to his Kingdom. Besides coming from a treacherous family, King Hrolf was a good person and thus attracted people who wanted to do good into his Kingdom. The good nature of the King was key to attracting people from other kingdoms into his. Some of the warriors wanted to serve a king who was not into evil practices which had caused continuous destructions to their kingdoms.
Each of these champions came from their different backgrounds where some had opportunities to become warriors, kings, and so forth. However, each of these warriors decided to be part of King Hrolf's army, and they all fought for him with zeal. The truth is that each of these individuals wanted to serve under a person who would treat them with love. Therefore, King Hrolf was followed by these warriors because of his personality as he was able to show love and compassion to his people. The narration says that his just and generous nature attracted some of the greatest warriors from neighbouring kingdoms to come and serve under him.
References
Byock, J. L. (Ed.). (1998). The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki . Penguin UK.
