Onela
Onela, Áli, Ale, Åle, Ole was a Swedish king during the first half the 6th century. He was the son of Ongentheow (Egil) and the brother of Ohthere (Ottar). He appears in several sources and is most likely based on a real person who ruled Sweden in the 6th century, before losing the throne to his nephew Eadgils.
The oldest source for Onela is the Old English poem Beowulf which relates that Onela killed his elder brother Ohthere (Ottar), and usurped the Swedish throne. Ohthere's sons Eadgils (Eadgils) and Eanmund fled to king Heardred of Geatland, the son of Hygelac who had killed their grandfather Ongentheow. Onela then had both a father to avenge and two pretenders to neutralize, in Geatland. Onela attacked the Geats and killed Heardred, while Onela's warrior Weohstan killed Eanmund. Beowulf became king of the Geats and helped Eadgils defeat and kill Onela.
By a conjectural emendation of line 62 of this poem some editors represent Onela as the son-in-law of Healfene/Halfdan king of Denmark. See Halfdan for details.
In the Hrólf Kraki tradition, Onela is called Áli hin upplenzki, and called Norwegian. This change of ethnicity is regarded as a late confusion between the Swedish Uppland, the core province of the Swedes, and its namesake, the Norwegian Oppland. In both versions, however, Áli is the uncle of Adils (Eadgils). In the Hrólf Kraki tradition, Bödvar Bjarki aids Eadgils in defeating Onela as one of twelve champions sent out by Hrólf Kraki.
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