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According to the oldest source, Beowulf, Eadgils uncle Onela killed Ohthere. Eadgils rebelled together with his brother Eanmund and fled to the Geats. Then Onela attacked the Geats and the Geatish king Heardred was killed, as was Eanmund by Onela's champion Weohstan. Then Beowulf became king of the Geats and helped Eadgils in defeating Onela, who was killed by Eadgils.
In the Hrólf Kraki tradition, Eadgils (Adils) captured and married Yrsa (Yrs), the mother of Hrólf Kraki (Hrothulf). Not long after Hrólf became king, Eadgils requested his assistance in battle against his uncle, Onela (Áli). Hrólf sent his twelve companions, led by Bödvar BjarkiBodvar Bjarki is the hero appearing in tales of Hrolf Kraki in the Saga of Hrolf Kraki in the Latin epitome to the lost Skjoldunga saga and as Biarco in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum''. Some think he and the hero Beowulf in the Old English poem Beowulf (the counterpart of Beowulf in Scandinavian sources), Onela was defeated and Eadgils gained the kingdom. But when Eadgils refused to pay Hrólf's men the expected tributes for their help, Hrólf Kraki set off to Gamla Uppsalagrave field whose larger mounds (left part) are close to the royal mounds. The building beyond the mounds is the church and to its right is the low Ting-mound and then the museum. Gamla Uppsala ("Old Uppsala") is a parish and a town outside of Uppsala in. As Eadgils was away, gathering reinforcements, Hrólf's mother and sister Yrsa then gave him a hornFor the instrument—i. French horn see horn (instrument). Horn" is also used as a slang term for any wind instrument. A horn is a hollow, pointed projection of the skin of various animals. In ruminant artiodactyls, the horns are paired and take various for filled with goldFor alternative meanings, see gold (disambiguation Gold is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Au ( L. aurum and atomic number 79. A soft, shiny, yellow, heavy, malleable, ductile (trivalent and univalent) transition metal, gold d and jewelA gemstone is a mineral, rock (as in lapis lazuli) or petrified material that when cut and polished is collectible or can be used in jewellery. Others are organic, such as amber (fossilised tree resin) and jet (a form of coal). Some beautiful gemstones ars and a famous ring called Sviagris 'Pig of the Swedes'. With the treasure given them by Yrsa, Hrólf and his men try to escape over the Fy´risvellir ( Fyris Wolds). When Eadgils and his men pursued them, Hrólf desperately spilled out the gold to occupy the pursuers with treasure collecting instead. Eadgils, however, overtook Hrólf who desperately threw away Sviagris. When Eadgils stooped to pick it up with his spear Hrólf ungloriously cut him in the back screaming that he had bent the back of the most powerful man in Sweden, stole the ring once again and fled.
Snorri Sturluson relates that Eadgils (Adils) loved good horses and had the best horses in his days (interestingly, the contempary Gothic scholar Jordanes noted that the Swedes were famed for their good horses). One horse was named Slöngve and had been taken from Onela (Áli). From this horse he had bred a horse named Raven which he sent to king Godgest of Hålogaland, but Godgest could not manage it and fell from it and died, in Omd on the island of Andøya . Eadgils himself died in a similar way at the Disa blót. Eadgils was riding around the Disa shrine when Raven stumbled and fell, and the king was thrown forward and hit his skull on a stone. He was buried at Uppsala, and was succeeded by Östen.He is said to be buried in Adils' Mound (also known as the Western mound or Thor's mound) one of the largest mounds at Uppsala. An excavation in this mound showed that a man was buried there c. 575 on a bear skin with two dogs and rich grave offerings (pawns of ivory and gems from the Middle East).
| Preceded by: Onela | Semi-legendary king of Sweden | Succeeded by: Östen |