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After the death of his brother, Hygelac ascends the Geatish throne. Hygelac then goes on a Viking raid to FrisiaFrisia (or more commonly " Friesland") is a region along the southeastern coasts of the North Sea. Frisia extends from the northeastern Netherlands across northern Germany to southwestern Denmark. Western Frisia is roughly identical with the Dutch provinc, and dies.

This event has helped scholars pinpoint the date of Hygelac's death to 516, because the raid was documented by Frankish scribes.

In these sources he appears as Chlochilaicus, king of the GeatsGeats Gautar Old Norse or Gotar in Swedish) is the Old English spelling of the name of a Scandinavian people living in Gotaland, land of the Geats, currently within the borders of modern Sweden. The name of the Geats lives on in the Swedish counties of Va (Rex Getarum, in Liber Monstrorum, and Rege Gotorum in a copy of Historiae Francorum of Gregory of ToursGregory of Tours (c. 538 November 17, 594?) was a Gallo-Roman historian and bishop of Tours, which made him the leading prelate of Gaul. He wrote in a clumsy, ungrammatical and barbarized late Latin attempt at a literary style, which is full of vitality n), or the DanesThe Daner were an ancient North Germanic tribe residing in Terra Scania and on the Danish islands. They were not mentioned by Tacitus, who his famous work Germania included the Gothones ( Geats and/or Goths?) and the Suiones (Swedes). However, they seem t (in most copies of Historiae Francorum, III, 3.), who invaded GaulGallia (in English Gaul is the Latin name for the region of western Europe occupied by present-day France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine river. In English the word Gaul commonly ref in the early sixth centuryCenturies: 5th century 6th century 7th century Decades: 460s 470s 480s 490s 500s 510s 520s 530s 540s 550s 560s Years: 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 Events and Trends 510s., and was killed by TheudebertTheodebert I ( French Thibert Ier or Theodebert Ier), (circa 500 547 or 548), Merovingian king of Austrasia from 533 548, residence: Reims, now in northeast France. Son of Frankish king Theuderich I. Married in 533 Deuteria, a Gallo-Roman. Later abandoned, son of Theuderic, king of the Franks.

The double identification of Hygelac as either Dane or Geat is not surprising. Because Dane seems to have been used as a generic term for Scandinavians (cf. Danish toungue).

Hygelac was succeeded by Heardred.