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Published: September 15th 2022
When originally scheduling my visit to Scotland in 2020, the R/T cost to Edinburgh was 60,000 frequent flyer miles. When I sough to book in 2022, the cost was 100,000, with 70,000 for the return flight. I considered taking the train from Edinburgh to Manchester, where a return flight was 33,000 miles. But then I thought outside the box. I have viking ancestors buried in the mounds at Uppsala, just north of Stockholm, so since I was in Europe (i.e., the neighborhood) I checked on what the cost would be to fly from Edinburgh to Stockholm (Arlanda airport) to Colorado Springs...only 47,000 miles vs 70,000 from Edinburgh or 33,000 (plus train) via Manchester! So, I added one day in Uppsala to my itinerary!
In conjunction with my ancestral visitation to Devon in 2019, as recounted in my blog at
Solving a Mystery In My Devon Ancestry, I discovered my ancient viking ancestry from the "Heimskrinla or the Sagas of the Kings of Norway" written by Snorri Sturlason in about 1225 AD. The Yngling Saga took me back to King Fjolnir of Uppsala who was born in 240 AD. About half way up this branch, I found King Halfdan "The Mild" of Vestfold and Romerike (742-800)(34th ggf)
who was born and died in Borre, Norway. The hilarious Norwegian TV show "The Norsemen" was filmed at the Viking village at Borre. If you haven't watched this show you must do so now!
In tracing my ancestors from Sir Archibald (Gilleasbaig) Campbell, 2nd Lord of Lochawe and Aoife Ó Duibhne, Heiress of Lochow (28th ggps) through Princess Marion Guðrøðsdóttir of Man; to the Earls of Orkney I arrived at that same king. I am a descendant of his two sons. I believe that the tree is accurate to the point. I'm not sure when it becomes legend or myth. However, in subsequent research I was able to confirm at least one generation earlier in the tree; King Halfdan "The Mild" was the son of King Eyestein Halfdanson who also had a daughter Geva Eyssteinsdottir, who married Widukind "The Great," Duke of Saxony. As she was an aunt, and therefore not in my pedigree, I didn't follow her descendants.
In previous blogs I listed some of my other discoveries. I found I am related to Saint/King Olav II of Norway (32nd ggf), whose pilgrim trail I walked in 2017 (see blog at
My St. Olavsleden Pilgrimage). King Olav II was married
to Queen Astrid, daughter of King Olof III "the Treasurer" Eriksson of Sweden (27th ggf), the son of King Eric "the Victorious" of Sweden (28th ggf), all from Uppsala, Sweden. Again, we see the situation where one branch is much shorter between ancestors than the other branch.
I then learned that I am related to King Olav II's half brother King Harald III "Hardrata" Sigurdsson of Norway (31st ggf). I just finished reading "The Last Viking" by Don Hollway that recounts the amazing life of King Harald Hardrada, who was wounded while fighting by the side of Saint/King Olav II at the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030. He escaped east, eventually arriving in Novgorod, Rus, where he was under the protection of his cousin Prince Yaroslav "The Wise" Vladimirovich of Kiev (26th ggf), who was married to another daughter of King Olof III "the Treasurer" of Sweden. Harald Hardrada then moved to Constantinople where he commanded the Varangian Guard, which protected the Byzantine Emperor. After serving there for 15 years (including escorting the Empress to Jerusalem), he returned to Norway to reclaim his throne. After fighting the Danish kings to a stalemate he turned his attention to England, attacking
Northumbria. He died at Stamford Bridge fighting King Harold II Godwinsson of England (29th ggf). King Harold II would die a month later fighting William "The Conqueror" (26th ggf) at the Battle of Hastings.
Through his connection to Novgorod, I learned that I am related to the Swedish viking Prince Rurik "The Troublemaker" of Ladoga (29th ggf), also a Varangian chieftain, whose great grandson was was Prince Yaroslav "The Wise". Prince Rurik founded Kievian Rus, what would become Russia and Ukraine, and was progenitor of the Rurikid Dynasty, which ended with Ivan the Terrible.
It has taken me several years of research to discover the many links between the royalty/aristocracy of Europe!
So, it seems that all my ancestry paths lead to Uppsala.
4 Sep 2022, Sunday. Chris, Tiffany, and Abigail dropped me off at the airport. As I was going to the end of the long line, an agent asked those with priority boarding to follow her. So I went from the back to the front. The agent saw that I was having trouble with my knee and arranged for disabled assistance in Brussels and Arlanda Airport in Sweden. It looked like it would be
a good day!
My flight left Edinburgh at 12:30 PM and arrived in Brussels at 3:10 PM. Someone was waiting with a wheel chair. However, they could only take me so far, and promised that another assistant would be with me shortly. As I only had 1 hour and 5 minutes between flights I became increasingly worried when no one showed up. I started walking and soon met an another assistant (not the one who was supposed to meet me), who also could only take me a short distance. He called someone to delay my plane. The I was transferred to a cart which raced me through immigration and to the gate; arriving at 4:23 PM for a 4:30 flight. I had no time to buy some Belgian chocolates. The plane was a Canadair jet with its own steep stairs. I was able to climb to the top step, but could feel my legs beginning to collapse, like my first night in Scotland. Two ground crew held my legs while the stewardess tried to pull me onto the plane. I told her that I would probably pull her off the plane. She called for the captain to pull me aboard. The stewardess changed my seat to Business Class, a row behind First Class. During the flight she gave out boxes of chocolate to the first class passengers and to me. Every time she passed me she would give me more chocolates! She told me that she couldn't eat the chocolates as she was on a diet. (Note. I lost 5 pounds on the trip) Arriving at Stockholm's Arlanda Airport at 6:30 PM I was met by two assistants and a wheel chair. They took me and my luggage to the Radisson Blu airport hotel. It turned out there were two Radisson Blu airport hotels, and I was at the wrong one. Rather than trying to find the free shuttle to that hotel and given that the cold temperature, I caught a taxi...and not knowing the exchange rate, this was the only time I was ripped off on my trip. I checked into the Radisson Blu Arlanda airport hotel for the next two nights and had Swedish reindeer meatballs for dinner...better than IKEA!
5 Sep 2022, Monday. Trains leave the airport for Uppsala every 30 minutes, and the trip only takes 15 minutes. There I had three choices, walk the St. Eriksleden pilgrim path to the Viking mounds at Gamla Uppsala (6 km or about 90 minutes), take the #2 bus, or take a taxi. Time was a factor as I also wanted to visit Stockholm. I decided to take a taxi. Arriving at the Gamla Uppsala Museum when it opened at 10 AM I browsed the gift shop and bought some gifts for the grand children before walking around the mounds. Not all my viking ancestors were buried here as many died in distant battles. From the Heimskrinla I was able to identify those who died in Uppsala and, therefore were most likely to either have been cremated or buried there. Prior to the 5th or 6th century, royal vikings were cremated, but thereafter were buried in mounds. Here is their story:
King Fjolnir of Uppsala (240-300 AD) (57th ggf) , according to legend the son of the Norsk god Freyr and the giantess Gerd, was born in Uppsala, and reigned from there. The Yngling a saga tells that while he was visiting a similarly legendary King Peace-Fróði at Lejre, Roskilde, Zealand, Denmark, he woke up in the middle of the night to take a piss. Unfamiliar with the layout of the second floor where he slept, he took a wrong turn and fell through a large hole in the floor which was used to refill a large vat of mead on the ground floor. He drowned in the vat of mead. So he is not buried in Uppsala, first because he wasn't there, and secondly, he would have been cremated, as he probably was in Denmark...probably an explosion being soaked in mead!
King Swegde Fjolnarson (280-340) (56th ggf), died in what is now Russia, where he was lured by a dwarf, Sveigðir, disappeared into a stone and never came back...or not in that century. I wonder if this was the inspiration for
Outlander.
King Vanlandi Svegdison (260-320) (55th ggf) was married to Driva, the daughter of King Snae "The Old" of Finland. After abandoning his wife, she sought the help of the witch Huld to kill him.
King Visbur Vanlandesson (300-360) (54th ggf) was burned to death inside his hall by two of his sons in revenge for rejecting their mother and denying them their heritage. He was succeeded by his son, Dómald.
King Dómald Visburrson (320-380) (53rd ggf) was sacrificed due to poor harvests. Sacrificing a king was usually a last resort, with bulls serving that role. Talk about the buck stopping here! He was married to Drott, the sister of King Dan Mikillati from whom the name Denmark derives. Likely cremated in Uppsala.
King Domar Domaldesson (360-410) (52nd ggf) was cremated on the banks of the Fyrisvold River that runs through Uppsala, Sweden.
King Dyggvi Domarson (360-410) (51st ggf). When Dyggvi died an uneventful death he became the "concubine" of Hel, the daughter of the Norse god Loci. She was the goddess in Norse mythology who presides over an underworld realm of the same name. I wonder if that is where our word hell comes from. Likely cremated in Uppsala.
King Dag "The Wise" Dyggvasson (380-440) (50th ggf) was so wise that he understood bird language, but was killed by a pitchfork at Skjotan's Ford, Goteland, so not buried in Uppsala.
King Agne "The Powerful" Dagsson (400-450) (49th ggf) was not powerful enough to prevent his wife, Skjalv, daughter of King Froste of Finland, from murdering him. Likely cremated in Uppsala.
King Alrik Agnasson (430-470) (48th ggf) went horseback riding where he was killed by his brother Eric. Likely cremated in Uppsala.
King Yngve Alreksson (460-525) (47ggf) was killed by his brother King Alf, who was jealous because his wife wished she had married Yngve. Likely cremated in Uppsala.
King Jörund Yngvasson (487-548) (46th ggf) was hung after loosing a battle to King Gylog of Halogaland, in Limfjorden, Denmark.
King On or Aun " The Aged" Jörundsson (509-590) (45th ggf) made a deal with the Norsk god Odin to extend his life in exchange for sacrificing a son every 10 years. He sacrificed nine sons, living for 81 years before dying in Uppsala in 590 AD. About this time burials had replaced cremations, so he might have a mound, although given his brutality he may not have deserved a burial.
King Egil "Vendikraka (translated as Giant Beast)" Aunsson (530-590) (44th ggf) was killed by a bull (perhaps that is where his nickname derives!) that was intended to be sacrificed due to poor harvests, but escaped to the forest. Talk about irony! He might have a mound in Uppsala.
Now skipping ahead a few generations, where kings usually died fighting the Danes, we arrive at a time of westward expansion as most of Sweden was forested so needed to be cleared for farmland...kings didn't want to be sacrificed for poor harvests!
King Onund "The Land Clearer" or "Roadmaker" Ingvarsson (636-674) (39th ggf) was killed in a landslide on one of his roads. He was buried, but not in Uppsala.
King Ingjald "Ill Adviser" Onundsson (660-685) (38th ggf). He invited all seven minor Swedish kings to a celebration in Uppsala, with only one king not showing up. He wished to rule all their lands so set fire to the hall in which they were all incinerated (no mounds for them!). The subjects of these minor kings didn't appreciate what King Ingjald had done, so drove him from Uppsala, probably using the roads his father had built. His death, when he set fire to the place he was staying, was the end of the Yngling Kings of Uppsala, Sweden.
King Olaf "The Tree Feller" Ingjaldsson of Ynglinga (no longer of Uppsala) (682-750) (37th ggf) was sacrificed due to poor harvests. I bet that sped up the tree felling! It was tough to be a king as very few died of old age in their own bed.
King Halfdan "Whiteshanks" Olafsson of Norway (710-740) (36th ggf) completes the migration of the Ynjling kings to Norway.
His grandson, King Halfdan "The Mild" of Vestfold and Romerike (34th ggf) was the father of Ivar "The Uplander" Halfdansson (33rd ggf), from whom our Norman ancestors descended with Rolf Ganger (ganger means walk...he had to walk because he was too large to ride a horse), also known as Rollo"The Viking", baptized as Robert I Rogenvaldsson, 1st Duke of Normandy (30th ggf) as progenitor from whom is descended King William I "The Conqueror" (26th ggf) and many other kings and queens. He was also the father of Gudrød "the Hunter" Halvdansson (33rd ggf) from whom the Kings of Dublin and the Isle of Man, the Earls of Orkney, and our Campbell ancestors descend.
Other candidates for burial at Uppsala are the aforementioned King Eric "the Victorious" of Sweden, who was the first king to unify all the tribes of Sweden, and his son King Olof III "the Treasurer" Eriksson of Sweden, the first Christian king of Sweden, both of whom died in Uppsala.
The docents at the museum could not say who was buried in which mound...all lost in the mist of history! I hope you have enjoyed this history lesson.
I then took the bus back to the Uppsala train station where I caught the train to Stockholm, my first visit there since 1968 when I Eurail'ed around Europe following graduation from high school (see [blog=608107). I walked to the waterfront next to the Town Hall where the Nobel Prizes (except for the Peace Prize) are awarded.
I took the train back to my hotel at the Arlanda airport.
6 Sep 2022,Tuesday. I caught the shuttle to Arlanda Airport, which dropped me off at the furthest point from check in and my departure gate (about 1.4 KM). I had to drag my two bags (down to one after one was checked in) this whole distance. On the way I passed advertisements for Carlsberg Beer, which said "Possibly the Best Beer in the World." Nothing could be more indicative of Swedish modesty or egalitarianism. In the US, "Possibly" would have been deleted.
By the time I reached the gate, the agent saw that I was listing pretty badly. She arranged for disabled assistance in London Heathrow, which was a relief as I didn't know how l would get between terminals and gates, Denver, and Colorado Springs. My flight departed at 11:15 AM and transiting London Heathrow was a breeze. In Denver, while waiting with other disabled individuals, I noticed a 50ish woman with a prosthetic leg. Normally I wouldn't be so rude as to ask what happened, but as I had been flying for over 10 hours, my manners were impaired. She told me that in 1990, when qualifying for airborne with her last jump in front of her parents and brother, her main parachute failed to open. So did her reserve. She fell 1800 feet without a parachute...and survived, albeit with many broken bones and years of narcotics to ease the pain and recovery. I was flabbergasted!! She credited her survival and recovery to Jesus. I'm glad I asked her what happened so I could witness such a miracle. I arrived in Colorado Springs at 8 PM. Linda wasn't there to greet me! Soon I began to worry. Just as i was going to call 911, she arrived...not very happy as she had gotten lost in the dark. I drove us home the long way, demonstrating that I too can get lost in the dark. At least Bonnie, my dog, was happy to see me.
Now to plan my Ancestral Visitations to Poland, Slovakia, Romania, and Hungary. Originally Linda and I were just going to visit Haczów, Podkarpackie, Poland, where her paternal grandmother's parents came from, and Nižné Repaše, Levoča, Slovakia, where her maternal grandparents came from. However, my research for my visit to Scotland and Sweden uncovered many royal Polish and Hungarian ancestors much earlier in history. We will see!
Note: on 3 Oct 2022 while browsing Barnes and Noble bookstore, I cam across the historical fiction book "The Last Crown" by Elzbieta Cherwezinska, which links all my Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Polish, Russian, England, and Holy Roman Empire ancestors together. Written in Polish, it was just translated into English. What a find! My research just got a huge jump.
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Ake Och Emma
Ake Dahllof and Emma Holmbro
Uppsala - A possible future blog from us
I've been thinking about going to Uppsala for a few days and explore the city myself. I have been there a few times but I haven't seen very much. I might write a blog myself then if I find enough to write about. /Ake