The Myth of King Rakni

Who was King Rakni? The short version is: We don’t know. There are no available sources which give us the names of the leaders of Romerike at the end of the Migration Period. We do not have any potential candidates mentioned in other historical sources either.

The name Rakni is known from the language of the Norse poets, the skalds. It was as a heiti, a metaphor, for a king of the sea. The origin of the name is unknown, but it could be of the same origin as Ragnarr, a name which combines the Norse regin (power) and arr (warrior). This indicates that the name of the mound could refer to an idealised warrior king.

Even if King Rakni today cannot be identified as a recognisable historical character, there are several traditions and myths connected to him and Rakni’s Mound. Traces of these traditions were not documented in writing until the 18th century, but the folklore and tradition is most probably older and still alive today.

Circuit Judge Jochum Werner’s report from 1743 about the nature and the economic state of Ullensaker mentions, among other things, the following curiosity which translates as:

There are in Hovin annex, estate of Ullensaker Parish, the Houg Farm, a mighty height of Sand and soil. Old people say that King Ragnvold is buried there. Therefore, it is called Ragnvold’s Height.

Anders Lorange gives further details about King Rakni in his report from the 1869 – 70 excavations. He had, even before the excavations started, been told by locals that, in the mound, there was, a King, between two white horses, in a stone chamber, and, above the chamber, is timber log placed on top of timber log. This proved to be an amazingly accurate match with the finds Lorange made in the mound (see above). Even if he could not prove the existence of a grave, the excavations confirmed that the mound was partly constructed of three separate timber chambers. Lorange’s team of diggers also found the remains of a horse. It was discovered quite some distance down in the mound, but above the uppermost layer of timber. The odour from the horse was so strong that the work had to be stopped. Anders Hagen quoted some locals who, even in the 1940s and 50s, remembered the pungent smell from the mound. One of the workers was even supposed to have become ill from the gas, and later died from it. This story was probably inspired by the investigations of Tut Ank’Amon’s grave. It is possible that the reference to the stone chamber is based on the stone pavilion Johan Koren built on top of the mound in 1808. According to Grieg’s information the structure was demolished around 1850. Its remains could have been the source for Lorange’s report that there would have been a stone ring on the mound. The stones were removed before the excavation and incorporated in the wall of a cowshed.

Jan Petersen wrote down a variant of the myth about King Rakni in 1927. This version describes the events prior to the construction of the mound and the king’s burial. Ha describes a myth from the village where a large battle took place at Steinsjordet in the 7th century. King Rakni was killed. He was buried in a mound in full armour with a white horse. Killed warriors were buried in several mounds in Sandshagan. According to the myth, chipped stone was used for weapons. Thus, Steinsjordet (the Stone Field) got its name.

Naturally, one thinks of the smaller mounds, which originally filled the landscape around Rakni’s Mound, as a part of the inspiration for myth. According to tradition, many of King Rakni’s warriors died. The mounds have now partly been rediscovered as vegetative traces: Most of the mounds were erased in Jan Pettersen’s time. This might have led to a projection of the tradition to the largest preserved mound in the area; Sandshagan. Several other historical monuments are connected to the myth of King Rakni. The ØK registration in 1970 reported that Bånnhaugen by Hovin church was erected for Rakni’s four sons, and that Herberghaugen contained the king’s treasures.

Rakni’s Mound came into focus at the beginning of the 19th century as the historical and national interest bloomed in the local community. The Regional Magistrate, Johan Koren, and his wife, Christiane, were both part of the circle around the Norske Selskap, and should be mentioned in particular. The mound had a certain power of nationalistic inspiration which is revealed in some poems and writings written by these thirteen. The Koren’s acquired the mound through a change of marital status. They later built a pavilion on top of the mound. It was initiated as a memorial for their son Wilhelm, even so, the building was used for dances by its new owners later in the 19th century. Rakni’s Mound has also in the 20th century been a centre for the celebration of Olsok, Sankthans (midsummer) and 17th of May, particularly around the time of the dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway.

Litterature:

Gaut, B.
2008 Tilstandsrapport, i forbindelse med ny skilt- og skjøtselsplan for Raknehaugen (R32659) og tilstøtende områder på Ullensaker (Haug gnr. 136, Ljøgot gnr. 137, Hovin østre gnr. 138, Hovin nordre gnr. 140, Gislevoll gnr. 151, Lauten gnr. 152, Låke gnr. 153 og Sand gnr. 172). Upublisert rapport. Akershus fylkeskommune.

Grieg, S.
1939 Innberetning angående undersökelse av Raknehaugen i Hovin s., Ullensaker pdg., Akershus, 1. juni – 20 oktober 1939. Top.ark., KHM; kopi i fylkesarkivet.

Hagen, Anders
1997 Gåten om Kong Raknes grav. Cappelen. Oslo.

Helliksen, W.
1997 Gård og utmark på Romerike 1100.f.Kr.-1400 e.Kr. Varia 45.
Universitetets Oldsaksamling, Oslo.

Lindbæk, Sofie Aubert
1915 Moer Korens Dagbøger, bind I 1808-1810. H. Aschehoug & Co. Kristiania.

Lorange, A.
1871 Fra Raknehaugen. Entiqvarisk Meddelelse af A. Lorange. Foredraget i Mødet den 11te November 1870. I: Det Norske videnskaps-akademi. Forhandlinger i Videnskabs-selskabet i Christiania 1870. Christiania.

Petersen, J.
1927 Ullensaker i hedensk tid. I: H. Nesten (red.): Ullensaker. En Bygdebok 1, s. 53-78. Grøndahl & søns boktrykkeri, Oslo.

Sandnes, J. & O. Stemshaug (red.)
1997 Norsk stadnamnleksikon. 4. utgåva. Det norskesamlaget, Oslo.