"Rorik's battle against the Curonians and the Swedes
Saxo also connects the battles of the Danes against the Curonians with the name of Rorik. The Curonians and Swedes, who used to pay an "annual tribute" to the Danes, attacked Denmark when Rorik became King of Denmark. The Slavs and many other tribes joined the revolt and elected one king to reign over all. Rorik defeated these "barbarians" in a sea battle.60 Then he dealt with the rest of the Slavs, whom he forced to obey him and to once again pay him tribute.
This Rorik can be identified with the Viking Rorik who was active in Friesland and Jutland in the middle of the 9th century. In about 837, Emperor Ludwig the Pious appointed him to defend the city Dorestad in Friesland, which was being attacked by the Vikings. Emperor Lothar expelled him from there in about 841, but in 850 Rorik regained Dorestad by force. With rising inner conflicts in Denmark, Rorik attacked Denmark in 855 and 857 and fortified his position in South Jutland. At that time, his situation in Friesland became unstable. In 863, he and the Danes attacked Dorestad unsuccessfully. In 867, the intentions of the then expelled from Friesland Rorik to regain his former fief, are mentioned again. Only in 870–873 did the Frankish kings approve him his fief. But by 882 Rorik was already dead.61
Since Saxo connects Rorik's battles in the Baltic Sea with the beginning of Rorik's reign in Denmark, it is possible to connect the battles with his growing power in Jutland in 857. This date also fits well with the events in Ruthenia. At that time, an opinion takes root that Rorik the Jutlander, and Rurik, the founder of the house of the Ruthenian dukes, are one and the same person.62 His invitation to North Ruthenia is dated to 862, his death – to 879 in the Ruthenian chronicles. These are conditional dates, but they essentially coincide with the dates of Rorik's historical life.
Rorik's battles with the Curonians and the Swedes, described by Saxo, are like a connecting link of Rorik's road to Ruthenia. The Swedes had had colonies in both Curonia (Seeburg) and Ruthenia (Ladoga) for a long time. In the middle of the 9th century, the tribes living near Ladoga revolted against the Swedes and expelled them. The mighty Viking Rorik, who was fighting successfully with the Swedes and the Curonians, appeared in the Baltic Sea at approximately the same time. It is only natural that the inhabitants of the Ladoga region invited Rorik to defend them from the Swedes."
