Thorgils Sprakeleg Bjornson Styrjornsson

• Preferred Name: Thorgils Sprakeleg Bjornson Styrjornsson^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]}
  
• Alternate Name: Torgils
  
• Alternate Name: Thorgils Sprakalägg
  
• Alternate Name: Thorgils Styrbjørnson
  
• Alternate Name: Thorgils Sprakeleg
  
• Alternate Name: Torkel
  
• Alternate Name: Thrugils
  
• Alternate Name: Thorgil Sprakling
  
• Alternate Name: Thorgils Styrjornsson
  
• Gender: M
  
• FSID: 9CNQ-BYP
  
• Death: Y with note: There is no basis for determining when he died, none whatsoever.
  
• Birth: Abt 970/985 in Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden at LATI: N9.85 LONG: E7.6333
  
• Notes:

  === Life Sketch ===
  Thorgils Sprakalegg (also called Thorgil, Torkel, Torgils, Thrugils or Sprakalägg) was a Danish nobleman whose children were active in the politics of Denmark and England in the early 11th century and who was grandfather of kings of both nations.[1] Little is recorded about Thorgils in historical texts outside of his place in the genealogy of his children or grandchildren. Thorgils' cognomen Sprakalägg can be translated into English as "Break-leg"[2] or "Strut-leg".[3]
  
  === Very little known ===
  In spite of the level of detail found about Thorgils on some online sites, the actual information about him found in the primary record is scant, and mostly refer to him simply as being father of Ulf. The earliest mention found is 11th century chronicler John of Worcester, who reported simply that Earl Beorn of England was son of 'Earl Ulf, son of Spraclingus, son of Ursus'. In the 13th century, several sagas similarly report that Þorgils Sprakaleggs was the father of Ulf, with no additional details beyond the reported genealogical connection. Saxo Grammaticus, also writing in the 13th century, records a story about a noblewoman being attacked by a bear, and as a consequence having a son 'named for his father' (i.e. named Bjorn = bear in the Old Norse language), and that he was father of 'Thrugillus, called Sprageleg', father of Earl Ulf. He gives us our only non-genealogical information, stating that he "lacked not one ounce of his father's valour". The English Gesta Antecessorum Comitis Waldevi repeats the bear story, and says of its progeny that 'Ursus begat Spratlingus' who was father of Ulf.
  This is the sum total of what historical sources report about Thorgils - no dates, no places, no wife, nothing but that he was father of Ulf, that he was the son of the half-bear Bjorn, and that he had just as much valor as his father.
  
  In the 18th century, Danish historian Jakob Langebek suggested that the story of the half-bear/half-human Bjorn was an allegorical reference to the 'wild' Jomsviking Styrbjorn of the sagas, but this came out of a period of historicity when a lax standard was used to form desirable connections between obscure people and prior kings. Langebek had no evidence other than the name Bjorn and general wildness, and nothing written about Torgils's son Ulf suggested he had famous ancestors, or that he had origins on the north-Polish shore where Styrbjorn had his base of operations. A contemporary saga of Styrbjorn's life makes no mention of children, and a modern study of the descendants of Gorm the Old (whose granddaughter Tyra was Styrbjorn's wife) concluded that Styrbjorn and Tyra had no known children. In summary, this attempt to connect Thorgils' father the half-bear Bjorn of legend with Styrbjorn is nothing but wishful thinking, an attept to conjure an ancestry not found in any sources for an otherwise completely obscure person.
  
  === Bosatt i Skåne, Denmark Residence ===
  Bosatt i Skåne, Denmark Residence

1. Ulf Thorgilsson Jarl of Denmark, b. 993     d. 31 DEC 1026 in Roskilde, København, Denmark
2. Gytha Thorgilsdóttir, b. 996 in Hålland, Jämtland, Sweden     d. 1069 in Flanders, France
3. Fulbert de Falaise, b. 976     d. 1017 in Normandy, France

1. Title: Foundation for Medieval Genealogy -Thorgils Sprakelegg
   Author: Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, Medieval Lands Project by Cawley, Charles Notes shown below
   Publication: Name: https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/DENMARK.htm#_Toc481342013;
   Note: THORGILS Sprakling [THRUGILS Sprakaleg], son of [STYRBJØRN & his wife Tyre daughter of King Harald Bluetooth][314]. According to Florence of Worcester, "Spracing" was the son of Urso[315]. m ---. The name of the wife of Thorgils is not known. Thorgils & his wife had three children: 1. GYTHA (-St Omer after 1069). Adam of Bremen records that "Wolf sororem" married "duci Gudvino", and was mother of "ducis Suein, Tostin et Haroldum [genuit parricidas]"[316], although this last reference is unexplained. She is named by Florence of Worcester[317]. Her origin is deduced from Ulf Jarl of Denmark being described as the uncle of her son Svein by Florence of Worcester[318]. Morkinskinna names “Gytha, the daughter of Thorgils sprakaleggr and the sister of Jarl Úlfr” as the wife of “Godwin”[319]. Orderic Vitalis records that, after the rebellion of [her grandsons] the sons of King Harold, “Gisa Goduini uxor, Heraldi genitrix” secretly took a great treasure (“ingentem gazam clanculum”) and crossed “in Galliam”[320]. Florence of Worcester records that "Gytha…comitissa…mater Haroldi regis Anglorum ac soror Suani regis Danorum" fled to Flanders, in a passage dealing with events in early 1068[321]. She became a nun at Saint-Omer. m (1019) GODWIN Earl of Wessex, son of WULFNOTH "Cild" & his wife --- ([993]-Winchester 15 Apr 1053, bur Winchester Old Minster). 2. ULF Thrugilson [WULFSIGE Sprakling] (-murdered Roskilde 1026, bur Roskilde). Florence of Worcester specifies that he was the son of "Spracing"[322]. Snorre names Earl Ulf as son of Thorgils Sprakaleg[323]. Jarl in England 1017. Regent of Denmark from [1026]. He joined the alliance of Olav II King of Norway and Anund King of Sweden to oppose his brother-in-law King Knud[324]. The Chronicon Roskildense records that "duci Ulf" was killed "in ecclesia Roskildensi" where his widow buried him[325]. Saxo Grammaticus records that he was killed on the orders of King Knud whom he had allegedly insulted[326]. m ESTRID [Margrete] Svendsdatter, daughter of SVEND I "Tveskæg/Forkbeard" King of Denmark & [his second wife Sigrid of Poland] (-9 May ----, bur Roskilde Cathedral). Adam of Bremen records that "Chnud…rex Danorum" gave "suam…germanam Margaretam pro foedere" to "comitis Nortmannorum Rikardi" and after she was repudiated to "Wolf duci Angliæ"[327]. The Chronicon Roskildense records that "Kanutus" gave "sororem…Estrith" to "Richardo", who repudiated her, after which she married "duci Ulf" without her brother´s consent[328]. Snorre names "Astrid, a daughter of King Svein Forkbeard" as wife of Earl Ulf[329]. Morkinskinna names “the lady Ástrídr…sister of two kings, Knútr the Great and Óláfr the Swede” as daughter of “King Sveinn Forkbeard…and Sigrídr en stórráda who had previously been married to King Eirikr enn sigrsæli” and wife of “Jarl Úlfr sprakalegge”[330]. Ulf & his wife had [four] children: a) SVEND Estridsen ([1020]-Søderup [29] Apr 1074, bur Roskilde Cathedral). Adam of Bremen names "Bern ducem et Suein regem" as sons of "Wolf duci Angliæ" & his wife[331]. Jarl 1042. He succeeded in 1047 as SVEND II King of Denmark. - see below, Part B. b) BJØRN Ulfsen (-murdered Dartmouth 1049, bur Dartmouth, transferred to Winchester Cathedral). Adam of Bremen names "Bern ducem et Suein regem" as sons of "Wolf duci Angliæ" & his wife[332]. 1020. Florence of Worcester specifies that he was the son of Ulf and brother of King Svend[333]. He was created Earl in Eastern Mercia in 1045 by Edward "the Confessor" King of England. King Edward granted him part of the earldom of Svein Godwinsson, son of Godwin Earl of Wessex, after the latter was outlawed following his seduction of the Abbess of Leominster[334]. Bjørn was killed on board the ship of his cousin Earl Svein, son of Godwin Earl of Wessex. c) ASBJØRN Ulfsen (-1086). Adam of Bremen names "in Anglia duces…Bern…[et] Osbern" as brothers of "Suein regis"[335]. As Asbjørn is not named with his brothers in the earlier passage which names their mother, it is possible that he was their half-brother born from a concubine. Like his brother, he lived in England. Jarl in Denmark. Florence of Worcester records that "Suani regis Danorum filii, Haroldus, Canutus et patruus eorum Esbernus comes et comes Turkillus" sailed from Denmark in [1069] and landed "in ostio Humbræ fluminis"[336]. Orderic Vitalis records that “Suenus rex Danorum” sent a fleet led by “duos...filios suos et Osbernum fratrem suum” to attack England, dated to 1069[337]. m ---. The name of Asbjørn's wife is not known. Asbjørn & his wife had one child: i) [MARGRETE Asbjørnsdatter . Her marriage is referred to in Knytlinga Saga[338]. A Queen Margreta is referred to in the Liber daticus Roskildensis who was assigned to King Harald III in the 19th century[339]. m her first cousin, HARALD III "Hein/the Whetstone" King of Denmark, illegitimate son of SVEND II Estridsen King of Denmark (-17 Apr 1080, bur Dalby Cloister, near Lund).] d) [daughter . m ---.] One child: i) ASMUND "Free-booter" (-killed in battle [1063]). Snorre names "Asmund…said to have been King Svein's sister's son and his foster-son" when recording that he was murdered[340]. Morkinskinna records that “Ásmundr” was the son of “Bjorn” (see above)[341]. 3. EILAF. He was one of the leaders of the Danish raids on England in 1009[342]. He was made an Earl in England by Knud. He joined his brother's alliance to oppose Knud in 1026. Citations: [314] Burke's Guide to the Royal Family. This parentage is not shown in ES II. [315] Florence of Worcester 1049, p. 148. [316] Adami, Gesta Hammenburgensis Ecclesiæ Pontificum II.52, MGH SS VII, p. 325. [317] Florence of Worcester, 1049, 1051 and 1067, pp. 148, 152 and 172, the last reference calling her sister of Svend King of Denmark. [318] Florence of Worcester, 1049, p. 148. [319] Morkinskinna, 49, p. 261. [320] Le Prévost, A. (1845) Orderici Vitalis Historiæ Ecclesiasticæ (Paris) ("Orderic Vitalis (Prévost)"), Vol. II, Liber IV, V, p. 190. [321] Thorpe, B. (ed.) (1849) Florentii Wigorniensis Monachi Chronicon, Tomus II (London) (“Florentii Wigornensis Monachi Chronicon”), p. 2. [322] Florence of Worcester 1049, p. 148. [323] Snorre, Saga of Magnus the Good, 23. [324] Saxo Grammaticus (Christiansen), 10, XVI, p. 34. [325] Chronicon Roskildense, VII, p. 20. [326] Saxo Grammaticus (Christiansen), 10, XVII, p. 36. [327] Adami, Gesta Hammenburgensis Ecclesiæ Pontificum II.52, MGH SS VII, p. 325. [328] Chronicon Roskildense, VII, p. 20. [329] Snorre, Saga of Magnus the Good, 23. [330] Morkinskinna, 4, p. 113. [331] Adami, Gesta Hammenburgensis Ecclesiæ Pontificum II.52, MGH SS VII, p. 325. [332] Adami, Gesta Hammenburgensis Ecclesiæ Pontificum II.52, MGH SS VII, p. 325. [333] Florence of Worcester 1049, p. 148. [334] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. [335] Adami, Gesta Hammenburgensis Ecclesiæ Pontificum III.13, MGH SS VII, p. 340. [336] Florentii Wigornensis Monachi Chronicon, p. 3. [337] Orderic Vitalis (Prévost), Vol. II, Liber IV, V, pp. 190-3. [338] Saxo Grammaticus (Christiansen), p. 240 footnote 40, the author being sceptical about the accuracy of the statement. [339] Saxo Grammaticus (Christiansen), p. 242 footnote 44. [340] Snorre, King Harald's Saga Part I, 51. [341] Morkinskinna, 42, p. 237. [342] Stenton (2001), p. 3
   Page: Confirms name, and children.
   
2. Title: Earl Thorkel's life
   Author: http://www.sagaconference.org/SC13/SC13_Kruhoeffer.pdf
   Publication: Name: http://www.sagaconference.org/SC13/SC13_Kruhoeffer.pdf;
   Note: We have no reliable accounts of the time or circumstances of Thorkell*s death. William of Malmesbury states that Thorkell was killed after he returned to Denmark, and the Supplement to the Jomsviking Saga even says that Cnut was once invited home to Thorkell and met Ulfhild, the daughter of Æthelred, whom Thorkell had married after killing her husband Ulfkell Snilling in revenge for his brother Hemming’s death.
   Page: Cites Thorgils.
   
3. Title: more family names and things
   Publication: Name: https://gw.geneanet.org/comrade28?lang=en&n=styrjornsson&oc=0&p=thorgils+sprakaleg&type=tree;
   
4. Title: Wikipedia - Thorgils Sprakalegg
   Author: Lawætz, Peter (April 2011). "Ulf jarls herkomst". vikingekonger.dk. Retrieved April 1, 2016. Snorri Sturluson (2014). Heimskringla, Volume II: Óláfr Haraldsson (The Saint) (PDF). Translated by Finlay, Alison; Faulkes, Anthony. London: The Viking Society. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-903521-89-5. Knytlinga Saga: The History of the Kings of Denmark. Translated by Pálsson, Hermann; Edwards, Paul. Odense: Odense University Press. 1986. pp. 26, 44. ISBN 9788774925712. Retrieved 31 May 2022. Bolton, Timothy (2007), "Was the Family of Earl Siward and Earl Waltheof a Lost Line of the Ancestors of the Danish Royal Family?", Nottingham Medieval Studies, 51:41–71 Bolton, Timothy (2009). The Empire of Cnut the Great: Conquest and the Consolidation of Power in Northern Europe in the Early Eleventh Century. Boston: Brill. pp. 70–71, 233. Arthur, Ross G. "Bjorn - Bear" (PDF). English-Old Norse Dictionary. Retrieved April 1, 2016. Gertz, M. Cl., ed. (1917). Scriptores minores historiæ Danicæ medii et.al.
   Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorgils_Sprakelegg;
   Note: Thorgils Sprakalegg (also called Thorgil, Torkel, Torgils, Thrugils or Sprakalägg) was a Danish nobleman whose children were active in the politics of Denmark and England in the early 11th century and who was grandfather of kings of both nations.[1] Little is recorded about Thorgils in historical texts outside of his place in the genealogy of his children or grandchildren. Thorgils' cognomen Sprakalägg can be translated into English as "Break-leg"[2] or "Strut-leg".[3] The 11th-century English chronicler John of Worcester reports in an entry dated 1049 that Earl Beorn Estrithson was brother of King Svein of Denmark, and son of Danish Earl Ulf, son of Spracling[us], son of Urs[us].[4] Here Spraclingus is a garbled representation of the byname of Thorgils appearing in later Scandinavian sources,[5] while Ursus is the Latin urso, or bear (Bjørn in Danish, Björn in Swedish).[6] He appears in several 13th-century sources. He is Torgils or Þorgils Sprakaleggs in Knýtlinga saga and in two works of Snorri Sturluson – Óláfs saga helga in Heimskringla,[2] and the Separate Saga of St. Olaf – each time simply as father of Earl Ulf. Two other 13th-century sources relate folklore that derives Thorgils from the mating of a bear with a noblewoman. Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus recorded that the son born to such a union was 'named after his father' (i.e. called 'bear' – Ursus/Björn; in the 14th-century summary of Saxo's work, Compendium Saxonis, he is explicitly named 'Byorn'[7]) and was himself father of 'Thrugillus, called Sprageleg', father of Earl Ulf. Saxo further says of 'Thrugillis' that he "lacked not one ounce of his father's valour" (nullo probitatis vestigio a paternae virtutis imitatione defecit).[8] The other source, Gesta Antecessorum Comitis Waldevi, copies the early generations of John of Worcester's pedigree but, confusing two like-named men, replaces Earl Beorn Estrithson as Earl Ulf's son with Björn Boreson, the father of Siward, Earl of Northumbria.[9] This pedigree commences with an episode not found in the Worcester chronicler's pedigree but similar to that of Saxo, that a 'certain nobleman', contrary to the natural order of human procreation, had a white bear as his father and a noblewoman as a mother, before continuing the pedigree with 'Ursus begat Spratlingus'.[10] The chronicle sometimes attributed to the 15th-century John Brompton tells a very similar tale of bear-paternity relating to the birth of Björn Boresune ('bear's son') himself. Historian Timothy Bolton has suggested that the role of a bear in the immediate ancestry of both Ulf's children and Siward's line may represent a tradition shared by relatives rather than that two independent families at about the same time both co-opting the same ancient Norwegian legend for their immediate ancestry – that Björn Boresune and Thorgils may have been brothers.[4] In the 18th century, Danish historian Jakob Langebek suggested this bear story was allegorical, and that the brutish 'Wild' Björn, father of Thorgils, was a reference to Jomsviking brigand leader Styrbjörn the Strong (Styrbjörn Starke),[11][12] depicted by sagas as the son of Olaf Björnsson, king of Sweden.[11][12][13] The sagas relate that Styrbjörn was the first husband of Tyra, the daughter of Harold Bluetooth, king of Denmark and Norway.[11][12][14] No children or wife are assigned to Styrbjörn in a 10th-century chronicle attributed to a witness of the events in Harald Bluetooth's life, Gesta Wulinensis ecclesiae pontificum,[15] and Otto Brenner's detailed study of the descendants of Gorm the Old gives his granddaughter Tyra and Styrbjörn no children.[16] Children Ulf (died 1027) – Earl in Denmark and brother-in law of King Cnut the Great. His son became King Sweyn II of Denmark.[17] Eileifr (Eglaf), named in a Supplement to Jómsvíkinga saga as "Eilífr Þorgilsson, bróðir Úlfs", he was one of the leaders of Thorkell the Tall's 1009 invasion of England, and appears between 1019 and 1024 as an earl under King Cnut with jurisdiction centered on Gloucester. He ravaged the South Wales coastal region in 1022/3, but apparently left England for Scandinavia in 1024.[5] Gytha Thorkelsdóttir – married Godwin, Earl of Wessex; mother of King Harold Godwinson of England and Edith of Wessex, Queen of King Edward the Confessor
   
5. Title: Thorkel or Thorgils family
   Author: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorgils_Sprakelegg
   Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorgils_Sprakelegg;
   Note: horgils Sprakalegg (also called Thorgil, Torkel, Torgils, Thrugils or Sprakalägg) was a Danish nobleman whose children were active in the politics of Denmark and England in the early 11th century and who was grandfather of kings of both nations.[1] Little is recorded about Thorgils in historical texts outside of his place in the genealogy of his children or grandchildren. Thorgils' cognomen Sprakalägg can be translated into English as "Break-leg"[2] or "Strut-leg".[3] The 11th-century English chronicler John of Worcester reports in an entry dated 1049 that Earl Beorn Estrithson was brother of King Svein of Denmark, and son of Danish Earl Ulf, son of Spracling[us], son of Urs[us].[4] Here Spraclingus is a garbled representation of the byname of Thorgils appearing in later Scandinavian sources,[5] while Ursus is the Latin urso, or bear (Bjørn in Danish, Björn in Swedish).[6] Children Ulf (died 1027) – Earl in Denmark and brother-in law of King Cnut the Great. His son became King Sweyn II of Denmark.[17] Eileifr (Eglaf), named in a Supplement to Jómsvíkinga saga as "Eilífr Þorgilsson, bróðir Úlfs", he was one of the leaders of Thorkell the Tall's 1009 invasion of England, and appears between 1019 and 1024 as an earl under King Cnut with jurisdiction centered on Gloucester. He ravaged the South Wales coastal region in 1022/3, but apparently left England for Scandinavia in 1024.[5] Gytha Thorkelsdóttir – married Godwin, Earl of Wessex; mother of King Harold Godwinson of England and Edith of Wessex, Queen of King Edward the Confessor.
   Page: Cites Thorkel and children.
   
6. Title: Marriage of Ulfhild (Edith) to Thorkel
   Author: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/40271/40271-h/40271-h.htm
   Publication: Name: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/40271/40271-h/40271-h.htm;
   Note: Florence tells us that Thurkil's wife bore the name Edith (Chronicon, i., 183). The Jómsvikingasaga (c. 52) has Thurkil marry Ethelred's daughter Ulfhild, Ulfketel's widow. However, Ethelred had a daughter Edith who prior was married to Eadric. (Florence, Chronicon, i., 161.)
   Page: Cites him and wife.