It is in Gesta Danorum that the most comprehensive treatment of Starkad is found. The Danish chronicler Saxo Grammaticus wrote that Starkad was the son of Stórvirkr (Storwerk/Storuerkus) and saved himself from a shipwreck. He entered the service of the Danish king Frotho and was given a ship so that he could patroll the shores.
No man was Starkad's equal as he was endowed with a superhuman size and a noble disposition. Saxo Grammaticus gives two accounts of Starkad's origin. According to one, he was born in the land of Estonians east of the Baltic sea. According to the second, which the chronicler considers fantastic and unlikely, Starkad was born of jotuns, and he had formerly many arms until Thor cut off all arms but two. Odin had bestowed on Starkad the curse and the blessing that he would live the lives of three men, and commit three evil deeds.
His first evil deed was the murder of the Norwegian petty king Vikar (Wicarus). Starkad had joined a Viking expedition with Vikar, but they found themselves stopped by a strong wind. They then had the idea that they could appease the gods by performing a blót with human blood, and decided to cast lots as to whom was to be sacrificed. Starkad made a noose of willow and put it around the king's neck in the pretense that it was only for show and not for killing. However, the knot was so strong that the king was dying, and Starkad gave him the coup de grace with his sword. Others say that the noose of willow suddenly became so strong that the king was strangled.
Starkad joined the Danish Viking Bemon (Bemonus) and they had a tough discipline on their crew, forbidding them alcoholic beverages. During an attack in Russia, they discovered that the Russians had riddled the terrain with caltrops to stop the Vikings. However, Starkad and his men donned clogs and so won the battle. When Bemon was dead, Starkad entered the service of the Bjarmians and did many heroic deeds among them.
Later, Starkad stayed for seven years in Sweden at Uppsala, with the sons of Frey. However the effeminate jingle of bells, the dancing and the mimes at the sacrifices (see the Temple at Uppsala) nauseated Starkad.
He then enlisted with the Danish king Haki (Haco), and fought for him during the attack on king Hugleik (Hugletus) of Ireland. Hugleik wasted his riches on actors and jugglers, but was defended by Svipdag (Suibdagus) and Geigad (Gegathus), who gave Starkad the most vicious wound he had ever received. After winning the battle, Starkad had all the mimes and jugglers flogged, and all the riches looted.
Starkad was then sent with the Slavic prince Win (Winus) to quell a rebellion in the East. He fought against Curonians, Sambians, Semigallians, until all the Easterlings had been defeated. By covering his sword with a hide, he also defeated a warlord named Wisin (Wisinnus), who lived at Anafial in Russia, and who could make a weapon blunt only by looking at it. He continued his victories by killing the jotun Tanna in Byzantium and the Polish champion Wasce/Wilzce.
When the Saxons rebelled against Frotho, and challenged him to a duel against Hama, Starkad unexpectedly returned and took Frotho's place in the duel. Hama contemptuously brought Starkad to his knees with a blow by his fist, but Starkad rose up and cut Hama to death.
After a while Frotho was killed through treachery by a Saxon named Swerting (Swertingus). Frotho's son Ingild (Ingellus) lived a wanton life and married one of Swerting's daughters. This angered Starkad so much that he enlisted at the Swedish king Halfdan's (Haldanus) court instead. However, when he learnt that Helga, Ingild's sister, was about to marry a lowly goldsmith, Starkad appeared in disguise and castrated the goldsmith. He gave Helga a slap on her face and lambasted her. Then he returned to Sweden and king Halfdan.
Ingild gave Helga to a Norwegian named Helgi (Helgo), on the condition that he fight nine brothers from Zealand who courted her, and among whom the eldest was named Angantyr (Angaterus). Helgi went to Sweden's most famous city Uppsala and asked Starkad to help him in the fight. Starkad agreed, but left Helgi with his bride in order to fight with the nine brothers himself at the moor of Roliung.
Starkad killed the nine brothers but had received seventeen wounds himself, and was so seriously wounded that his guts hanged out. He refused the care of three lowly passers-by, but accepted the treatment of a peasant's son, and could return to Sweden.
As Ingild continued his sinful life and did not do his duty to avenge his father, Starkad appeared during a banquet that Ingild had with the sons of Swerting, his father's slayer. Starkad strongly admonished Ingild and humiliated his queen who tried to calm Starkad with kindness and her costly ribbon. Starkad succeeded in exciting Ingild to kill Swerting's sons and to divorce his Saxon bride.
During the Battle of the Brávellir between the Swedish king Sigurd Ring (Ringo) and Harald Wartooth (Haraldus Hyldetan), Starkad fought on the Swedish side. He received such a severe wound that his lung hanged out, his skull was cleft and a finger was cut off. He had to leave the battle to tend to his wounds.
Starkad was accepted with honour in the warband of the Norwegian hero Olo. However, when Olo had succeeded in conquering Zealand, Starkad was convinced to join Lennius/Lenus/Lennus scheme to attack and kill Olo. However, Olo was hard to kill as his gaze scared everyone. It was not until Starkad managed to cover Olo's face that he could kill him. Starkad was rewarded with 120 pounds in gold, but regretted his crime, and avenged Olo's death by killing Lennius.
When Starkad was so old that he wished to die and his eyesight was bad, he hanged his gold around his neck and went out to wander. He killed a man who wanted one of his swords and some riders who were contracted to kill Starkad by Hather (Hatherus), Lennius' son.
In front of Hather, Starkad sung about his accomplishments, and as Hather's response showed Starkad that Hather was of noble birth, Starkad asked him to be his slayer. Starkad promised Hather all his gold and imperviousness, should Hather cut off his head and run between the head and the body as he fell. Hather cut off Starkad's head but avoided running, as he feared being crushed by Starkad's huge body. When the head had hit the ground, it bit a tussock of grass which showed how ferocious Starkad was.
Hather did not want the old warrior to lie unburied, but showed him respect by making a barrow for him on the heath of Roljung, at the same spot where Starkad's heavy body long ago had made an imprint on a stone.
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