Herrauðr

Herrauðr is presented within saga genealogy as a son or scion of royal lines (in some versions son of King Ring of Östergötland and nephew of Gautrekr) and in at least one recension traced to descent from Gauti (a son of Odin). In Bósi and Herrauðr's saga his early life includes outlawry, quests (including an expedition to obtain a vulture's egg), and a rise to kingship in Östergötland; that quest-episode supplies an origin for the lindworm that later encircles his daughter Þóra's bower. Other accounts diverge in details (e.g., Gesta Danorum describes him finding adders while hunting and giving them to his daughter).

Sagas do not provide an elaborate portrait; narrative descriptors record him as of great size and fair appearance and physically strong — summarized in Old Norse as mikill vexti ok fridr synum, sterkr at afli ok vel at ithrottum buinn — while most attention in the sources is given to his social rank (earl or king) rather than bodily detail.

Herrauðr's capacities are political and social rather than supernatural: he rules territory, organizes feasts and public pledges (symbel), grants his daughter possessions (the lindworm/adders), issues marriage-promises to reward heroic deeds, sends retainers on quests, and participates in warfare or provides men for battles (he is associated with the generation involved in the Battle of Brávellir). He is not described as possessing magical powers; his narrative agency lies in rulership decisions, family arrangements, and participation in saga quests.