Aun

Aun

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Aun

For the village in Azerbaijan, see Avun; for the airport with the IATA location identifier "AUN", see Auburn Municipal Airport (California).

Ane, On, One, Auchun or Aun the Old (Audhun, the same name as the A-S name Edwin) was the son of Jorund and one of the Swedish kings of the House of Yngling, the ancestors of Norway's first king, Harald Fairhair.

Aun was a wise king who sacrificed greatly to the gods, but he was not a warlike king and preferred to live in peace. Consequently, he was attacked by the Danish prince Halfdan (the son of Fróði, the son of Dan the Arrogant, the founder of Denmark). Aun lost the battles and fled to the Geats in Västergötland, where he stayed for 25 years until Halfdan died in his bed in Uppsala and was buried in a mound.

King Aun could return to Uppsala, but he was 60 years old. In order to live longer he sacrificed his own son to Odin who promised him that he could live for another 60 years. However, after 25 years, Aun was attacked by Halfdan's cousin Ale the Strong. Aun lost several battles and had to flee a second time to Västergötland. Ale the Strong ruled in Uppsala for 25 years until he was killed by Starkad the old.

After Ale the Strong's death, Aun could return to Uppsala. Once again, Aun sacrificed a son to Odin, but this time Odin said that he would live as long as he sacrificed a son every ten years and that he had to name one of the Swedish provinces after the number of sons he sacrificed.

When Aun had sacrificed a son for the seventh time, he was so old that he could not walk but had to be carried on a chair. When he had sacrificed a son for the eighth time, he could no longer get out of his bed. When he had sacrificed his ninth son, he was so old that he had to feed by suckling a horn like a little child.

After ten years he wanted to sacrifice his tenth and last son and name the province of Uppsala the ten lands. However, the Swedes refused to allow him this sacrifice and so he died. He was buried in a mound at Uppsala and succeeded by his last son Egil. From that day, dying in bed of old age was called Aun's sickness among the Scandinavians.

Knátti endr

at Upsölum

ána-sótt

Aun of standa,

ok þrálífr

þiggja skyldi

jóðs alað

öðru sinni.

Ok sveiðurs

at sér hverfði

mækis hlut

enn mjávara,

es okhreins

óttunga hrjóðr

lögðis odd

liggjandi drakk;

máttit hárr

hjarðar mæki

austrkonungr

upp of halda.^[1]^[2]

In Upsal's town the cruel king

Slaughtered his sons at Odin's shrine --

Slaughtered his sons with cruel knife,

To get from Odin length of life.

He lived until he had to turn

His toothless mouth to the deer's horn;

And he who shed his children's blood

Sucked through the ox's horn his food.

At length fell Death has tracked him down,

Slowly, but sure, in Upsal's town.^[3]^[4]

The Historia Norwegiæ presents a Latin summary of Ynglingatal, older than Snorri's quotation (continuing after Jorund):

Iste genuit Auchun, qui longo vetustatis senio IX annis ante obitum suum densæ usum alimoniæ postponens lac tantum de cornu ut infans suxisse fertur. Auchun vero genuit Eigil cognomento Vendilcraco [...]^[5]

He became the father of Aukun, who, in the feebleness of a protracted old age, during the nine years before his death is said to have abandoned the consumption of solid food and only sucked milk from a horn, like a babe-in-arms. Aukun's son was Egil Vendelkråke, [...]^[6]

The even earlier source Íslendingabók also cites the line of descent in Ynglingatal and it also gives Aun as the successor of Jörundr and the predecessor of Egil Vendelcrow: xv Jörundr. xvi Aun inn gamli. xvii Egill Vendilkráka^[7].