IN: Hrolfr Kraki, Hrodulf, Rolfo, Roluo, Rolf Krage (early 6th century) was a legendary Danish king who appears in both Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian tradition. His name would in his own language (Proto-Norse) have been *Hrothiwulfaz (famous wolf). Both traditions describe him as a Danish Scylding, the nephew of Hrodgar and the grandson of Healfdene. The consensus view is that Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian traditions describe the same people.

The standard view is that, if Beowulf himself has a 'cognate' character in Rolf Kraki's story, it is Bodvar Bjarki (Bodvar Biarke), who also has a younger companion, Hjalti (Hialte) - perhaps matching the Beowulf character Wiglaf. Beowulf comes from Geatland (= Gotaland) and one of Bodvar Bjarki's elder brothers, Thorir, becomes a king of Gotaland. Moreover, like Beowulf, Bodvar Bjarki arrives in Denmark from Gotaland (Geatland), and upon arriving in Denmark he kills a beast that has been ravaging the Danish court for two years. The monster in Hrolf Kraki's saga, however, is quite unlike the Grendel of Beowulf; but it does have characteristics of a more typical dragon, a creature which appears later in Beowulf. Just as Beowulf and Wiglaf slay a dragon at the end of Beowulf, Bodvar Bjarki and Hjalti help each other slay the creature in Denmark.  Proponents of this theory, like J. R. R. Tolkien, argue that both the names Beowulf (lit. "bee-wolf", a kenning for "bear") and Bjarki are associated with bears. Bodvar Bjarki is constantly associated with bears, his father actually being one.  In some of the Hrolf Kraki material, Bodvar Bjarki aids Adils in defeating Adils' uncle Ali, in the Battle on the Ice of Lake Vanern. In Beowulf, the hero Beowulf aids Eadgils in Eadgils' war against Onela. As far as this Swedish adventure is concerned, Beowulf and Bodvar Bjarki are one and the same. This match supports the hypothesis that the adventure with the dragon is also originally derived from the same story.
QUESTION: Do Beowulf and Bjarki have anything in common?
IN: Kathleen Deanna Battle (born August 13, 1948) is an American operatic soprano known for her distinctive vocal range and tone. Born in Portsmouth, Ohio, Battle initially became known for her work within the concert repertoire through performances with major orchestras during the early and mid-1970s. She made her opera debut in 1975. Battle expanded her repertoire into lyric soprano and coloratura soprano roles during the 1980s and early 1990s until her eventual dismissal from the Metropolitan Opera in 1994.

Among the conductors with whom Battle has worked are Herbert von Karajan, Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, Seiji Ozawa, Claudio Abbado, Georg Solti, Carlo Maria Giulini, and Battle's fellow Ohioan James Levine, music director at New York's Metropolitan Opera. She has performed with many orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Orchestre de Paris. She has also appeared at the Salzburg Festival, Ravinia Festival, Tanglewood Festival, Blossom Festival, the Hollywood Bowl, Mann Music Centre Festival and the Caramoor Festival, and at Cincinnati May Festival.  In recital, she has been accompanied on the piano by various accompanists including Margo Garrett, Martin Katz, Warren Jones, James Levine, Joel Martin, Ken Noda, Sandra Rivers, Howard Watkins, Dennis Helmrich, JJ Penna, and Ted Taylor. Collaborations with other classical artists include flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal, soprano Jessye Norman, mezzo-sopranos Frederica von Stade and Florence Quivar, violinist Itzhak Perlman, baritone Thomas Hampson, tenors Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and guitarist Christopher Parkening.  Away from the classical side, she has worked with vocalists Al Jarreau, Bobby McFerrin, Alicia Keys, and James Ingram, jazz saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr., jazz pianists Cyrus Chestnut and Herbie Hancock. Battle also lent voice to the song "This Time" on Janet Jackson's album Janet and sang the title song, "Lovers", for the 2004 Chinese action movie, House of Flying Daggers. She also performs the music of Stevie Wonder.
QUESTION: why types of work was she collaborating?
IN: Weldon Gaston "Hum" Humble (April 24, 1921 - April 14, 1998) was an American football guard who played five seasons in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Texans in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Humble grew up in Texas and was a multi-sport athlete at Brackenridge High School in San Antonio. He enrolled at Rice University in Houston, Texas in 1940 and played three seasons on the school's football team. Humble then spent three years in the U.S. Marines during World War II, serving in the Pacific War and earning a Bronze Star Medal before returning to complete his college studies in 1946.

Humble was born in Nixon, Texas, a suburb of San Antonio, in 1921. His athletic career began at San Antonio's Brackenridge High School. Humble played as an end for two seasons and a fullback for a third season on the football team. He also played on the basketball, track and swimming teams before graduating and enrolling at Rice University in Houston, Texas in 1940.  Humble began play on Rice's freshman team as an end in 1940. He advanced to the varsity team the next year. While he started as an end, coach Jess Neely switched him to guard before the first game of the season. He thrived in the new position, and was named a sophomore all-star by the Associated Press after the Rice Owls finished 1941 with a 6-3-1 win-loss-tie record. The following year, Humble earned All-Southwestern Conference honors and won the George Martin Award, given to Rice's most valuable player, as Rice put up a 7-2-1 record.  Humble left Rice in 1943 for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, then called Southwestern Louisiana Institute, to prepare for service in World War II in a V-12 U.S. Navy training program. As he trained, he played alongside enlistees from Tulane University, the University of Tulsa and Louisiana State University on a military team that won six straight games and was selected to play in the first Oil Bowl in Houston. Captained by Humble, Southwestern beat a service team from Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio.  After the season, Humble enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and was sent to fight in the Pacific War. He rose to the rank of first lieutenant and won a Bronze Star Medal. Upon his discharge in 1946, Humble returned to Rice. He lettered in football and track and field and was voted a consensus first-team All-American guard while captain of Rice's Southwestern Conference co-champion team. He was also named lineman of the week by the Associated Press in November for his strong tackling in a game against the Texas A&M Aggies. After finishing with an 8-2 record, Rice beat Tennessee in the Orange Bowl game in early 1947. Rice was ranked the 10th-best college team in the nation in the AP Poll.
QUESTION:
Did he play a certain position?