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The Ynglings were a dynasty of kings, first in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
and later in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
, primarily attested through the poem ''
Ynglingatal ''Ynglingatal'' or ''Ynglinga tal'' (Old Norse: 'Enumeration of the Ynglingar') is a Skaldic poem cited by Snorri Sturluson in the ''Ynglinga saga'', the first saga of Snorri's ''Heimskringla''. Þjóðólfr of Hvinir (Thjodolf), who was a poet ...
''. The dynasty also appears as Scylfings (, ) in ''
Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ) is an Old English poetry, Old English poem, an Epic poetry, epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translat ...
''. When ''Beowulf'' and ''Ynglingatal'' were composed sometime in the eighth to tenth centuries, their respective authors (
scop A ( or ) was a poet as represented in Old English poetry. The scop is the Old English counterpart of the Old Norse ', with the important difference that "skald" was applied to historical persons, and scop is used, for the most part, to designat ...
s and
skald A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry in alliterative verse, the other being Eddic poetry. Skaldic poems were traditionally compo ...
s) expected their audience to have a great deal of background information about these kings, which is shown in the allusiveness of the references. According to sources such as ''Ynglingatal'' and ''
Íslendingabók (, , ; ) is a historical work dealing with early history of Iceland, Icelandic history. The author was an Icelandic priest, Ari Þorgilsson, working in the early 12th century. The work originally existed in two different versions but only the y ...
'', the
Fairhair dynasty The Fairhair dynasty () was a family of kings founded by Harald I of Norway (commonly known as "Harald Fairhair", ''Haraldr inn hárfagri'') which united and ruled Norway with few interruptions from the latter half of the 9th century. In the tr ...
in
Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The ...
,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
was in fact a branch of the Ynglings (here Yngling is explicitly used as the name of the dynasty).
Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. He is the author ...
held that the Ynglings also included
Eric the Victorious Eric the Victorious (Old Norse: ''Eiríkr inn sigrsæli'', Modern Swedish: ''Erik Segersäll''; c. 945 – c. 995) was a Swedish monarch as of around 970. Although there were earlier Swedish kings, he is the first Swedish king in a consecutive re ...
, who is usually the first king in modern regnal lists, and his descendants. However, this does not tally with Icelandic sources. The dynasty claimed descent from the gods
Freyr Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord'), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested Æsir, god in Norse mythology, associated with kingship, fertility, peace, prosperity, fair weather, and good harvest. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was ...
and
Njörðr In Norse mythology, Njörðr (Old Norse: ) is a god among the Vanir. Njörðr, father of the deities Freyr and Freyja by Sister-wife of Njörðr, his unnamed sister, was in an ill-fated marriage with the goddess Skaði, lives in Nóatún (myth ...
, and other kings were likely mythical as well, whereas others may have been real: especially Egil, Ottar,
Ale Ale is a style of beer, brewed using a warm fermentation method. In medieval England, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops. As with most beers, ale typically has a bittering agent to balance the malt and act as a preservative. Ale ...
and
Adils Eadgils, ''Adils'', ''Aðils'', ''Adillus'', ''Aðísl at Uppsölum'', ''Athisl'', ''Athislus'' or ''Adhel'' was a semi-legendary king of Sweden, who is estimated to have lived during the 6th century. ''Beowulf'' and Old Norse sources present h ...
that are mentioned in
Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ) is an Old English poetry, Old English poem, an Epic poetry, epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translat ...
as well as Nordic sources.


Names

In the Scandinavian sources they are the descendants of
Yngvi Old Norse Yngvi , Old High German Ing/Ingwi and Old English Ing are names that relate to a Lists of deities, theonym which appears to have been the older List of names of Freyr, name for the god Freyr. Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic Ingw ...
-
Frey Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord'), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested god in Norse mythology, associated with kingship, fertility, peace, prosperity, fair weather, and good harvest. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especi ...
of
Vanaheim In Norse cosmology, Vanaheimr (Old Norse for 'home of the Vanir'Byock (2005:158).) is a location associated with the Vanir, a group of gods themselves associated with fertility, wisdom, and the ability to see the future. Vanaheimr is attested in ...
. ''Yngling'' means ''descendant of Frey'', and in the ''Gesta Danorum'' of
Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. He is the author ...
they are called the ''sons of Frey''. Several of these kings appear in ''Beowulf'':
Eadgils Eadgils, ''Adils'', ''Aðils'', ''Adillus'', ''Aðísl at Uppsölum'', ''Athisl'', ''Athislus'' or ''Adhel'' was a semi-legendary king of Sweden, who is estimated to have lived during the 6th century. ''Beowulf'' and Old Norse sources present ...
(Adils),
Onela Onela was, according to ''Beowulf'', a Swedish king, the son of Ongentheow and the brother of Ohthere. He usurped the Swedish throne, but was killed by his nephew Eadgils, who won by hiring foreign assistance. In Scandinavian sagas a Norwegi ...
(Ale), and
Ohthere Ohthere, also Ohtere (Old Norse: ''Óttarr vendilkráka'', ''Vendelcrow''; in modern Swedish ''Ottar Vendelkråka''), was a semi-legendary king of Sweden of the house of Yngling, Scylfings, who is said to have lived during the Germanic Heroic Ag ...
(Ottar Vendelkråka), but here they are called ''Scylfings'' (see the Beowulf section below). In his ''
Skáldskaparmál ''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'Poetic Diction' or 'The Language of Poetry'; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda'', compiled by Snorri Sturluson. It consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bra ...
'' the 13th-century Icelandic writer
Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...
hints at a less divine origin for this dynasty: ''One war-king was named Skelfir; and his house is called the House of Skilfings: his kindred is in the Eastern Land.'' In ''
Ynglinga Saga ''Ynglinga saga'' ( ) is a Kings' sagas, Kings' saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelanders, Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It is the first section of his ''Heimskringla''. It was first translated into Engl ...
'', Snorri discusses marriages between Swedish and Finnish royal families. In the section of
Edda "Edda" (; Old Norse ''Edda'', plural ''Eddur'') is an Old Norse term that has been applied by modern scholars to the collective of two Medieval Icelandic literary works: what is now known as the ''Prose Edda'' and an older collection of poems ( ...
, he discusses King
Halfdan the Old Halfdan the Old (Old Norse: ''Hálfdanr gamli'' and ''Hálfdanr inn gamli'') was an ancient, legendary king from whom descended many of the most notable lineages of legend. A second Halfdan the Old is the purported great-grandfather of Ragnvald E ...
, Nór's great-grandson, and nine of his sons who are the forefathers of various royal lineages, including ''"Yngvi, from whom the Ynglings are descended"''. According to the , ''Nór'' founded Norway. He was a direct descendant of Fornjótr, the King of ''"Gotland, Kvenland and Finnland"''. In traditional Scandinavian lineages we find Halfdan the Old as the Great-grandfather of Ragnvald Eysteinson Jarl of Møre, the father of Rollo, called Gengu-Hrolf in Norse sources, the Viking conqueror who founded Normandy, who
Dudo of Saint-Quentin Dudo, or Dudon, was a Picard historian, and dean of Saint-Quentin, where he was born the 960s. He was an erudite scholar and he likely acquired his education in Liège or perhaps Laon. By 987, Dudo had become a canon at St Quentin, the abbacy of ...
testifies took the name Robert after converting to Christianity. He is also known as Count Rou of Rouen, and is said to have been
William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
's great-great-great-grandfather. ('How Norway was founded') is a 14th-century account of the origin of various legendary Norwegian lineages. It too traces the descendants of the primeval Finnish ruler Fornjotr back through Nór and his siblings, Góí and Gór; Nór being here the eponym and first great king of Norway, and then gives details of the descendants of Nór and of his brother Gór in the following section known as the ('Genealogies', a.k.a. , 'Founding of Norway'). The Hversu account is closely paralleled by the opening of the . The 'genealogies' also claim that many heroic families famed in Scandinavian tradition but not located in Norway were of a Finn-Kven stock, mostly sprung from Nór's great-grandson Halfdan the Old. Almost all the lineages sprung from Halfdan are then shown to reconvert in the person of
Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair (; – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from  872 to 930 and was the first Monarchy of Norway, King of Norway. Supposedly, two ...
, the first king of "all Norway". This information can be confirmed in other sources. The 'Ættartölur' account ends to a genealogy of Harald's royal descendants down to
Olaf IV of Norway Olaf II of Denmark (December 1370 – 3 August 1387) was King of Denmark as Olaf II (though occasionally referred to as Olaf III) from 1376 and King of Norway as Olav IV from 1380 until his death. Olaf was the son of Queen Margaret I of Denmark ...
with the statement that the account was written in 1387, and with a list of the kings of Norway from this Olaf back to Harald Fair-hair. Another origin for the name ''skilfing'' is possible: Snorri described Erik and Alrik, the sons of '' Skjalf'' to be the de facto ancestors of this
Norse clan The Scandinavian clan or ''ætt/ätt'' (pronounced in Old Norse) was a social group based on common descent, equivalent to a clan. History In the absence of a police force, the clan was the primary force of security in Norse society, as the ...
. :''The kings who resided at Upsal had been the supreme chiefs over the whole Swedish dominions until the death of
Agne Agne (English: ''Agni''), ''Hogne'' or ''Agni Skjálfarbondi'' was a semi-legendary king of Sweden, of the House of Yngling. Snorri Sturluson relates that he was the son of Dag the Wise, and he was mighty and famous. He was also skilled in many ...
, when, as before related, the kingdom came to be divided between brothers (Alrek and Erik). After that time the dominions and kingly powers were spread among the branches of the family as these increased; but some kings cleared great tracts of forest-land, and settled them, and thereby increased their domains.


From Sweden to Norway

According to
Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...
, the dynasty led the settlement of the Swedish provinces and established themselves as the kings of its provinces, accepting the overlordship of the Swedish king at
Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...
, until the dynasty all but exterminated itself with Ingjald Ill-Ruler and his downfall. A survivor
Olof Trätälja Olof Trätälja (Old Norse: ''Óláfr trételgja'', Swedish: ''Olof Trätälja'', Norwegian: ''Olav Tretelgja'', all meaning ''Olaf Woodwhittler'') was the son of the Swedish king Ingjald illråde, ruler of the House of Yngling in the 7th cen ...
was the ancestor of the Norwegian branch.


Remaining in Sweden

However, both Snorri (as in the earlier quote) and Saxo described the clan as remaining in Sweden after this date. Saxo on the
Battle of Bråvalla A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...
(ca 750): :''Now the bravest of the Swedes were these: Arwakki, Keklu-Karl (Kelke-Karl), Krok the Peasant, (from Akr), Gudfast and Gummi from Gislamark. These were kindred of the god Frey, and most faithful witnesses to the gods. Ingi (Yngwe) also, and Oly, Alver, Folki, all sons of Elrik (Alrek), embraced the service of
Sigurd Hring Sigurd Ring (Old Norse: ''Sigurðr Hringr'', in some sources merely called ''Hringr'') according to legend was a king of the Swedes, being mentioned in many old Scandinavian sagas. According to these sources he was granted rulership over Sweden ...
; they were men ready of hand, quick in counsel, and very close friends of Ring. They likewise held the god Frey to be the founder of their race. Amongst these from the town of Sigtun (
Old Sigtuna Signhildsberg (historically Fornsigtuna, where ''forn'' means ''ancient'', Old Sigtuna, ''Sithun'', ''Signesberg'') is a manor that formerly was a royal estate (Uppsala öd), located in the parish of Håtuna approximately west of the modern tow ...
) also came Sigmund, a champion advocate, versed in making contracts of sale and purchase; besides him Frosti surnamed Bowl: allied with him was Alf the Lofty (Erect?spear-thrower?) from the district of Upsala (
Old Uppsala Gamla Uppsala (, ''Old Uppsala'') is a parish and a village outside Uppsala in Sweden. It had 17,973 inhabitants in 2016. As early as the 3rd century AD and the 4th century AD and onwards, it was an important religious, economic and political c ...
); this man was a swift spear-thrower, and used to go in the front of the battle.'' Moreover, both in Icelandic sources and in the ''Gesta Danorum'', King Sigurd Hring would become the ancestor of the houses of
Ragnar Lodbrok Ragnar Lodbrok (Old Norse: ''Ragnarr loðbrók'', ), according to legends, was a Viking hero and a Legendary Kings of Sweden, Swedish and Legendary kings of Denmark, Danish king.House of Munsö The House of Munsö (), also called the House of Björn Ironside (Swedish: ), the House of Uppsala (Swedish: ) or simply the Old dynasty (Swedish: ), is the earliest reliably attested royal dynasty of Sweden, ruling during the Viking Age. None of ...
through
Björn Ironside Björn Ironside ( Swedish: ''Björn Järnsida''; Old Norse: ''Bjǫrn Járnsíða'') according to Norse legends, was a Norse Viking chief and Swedish king. According to the 12th- and 13th-century Scandinavian histories, he was the son of notor ...
, and the Danish royal house through
Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye () or Sigurd Ragnarsson was a semi-legendary Viking warrior and Danish king active from the mid to late 9th century. According to multiple saga sources and Scandinavian histories from the 12th century and later, he is one ...
. Ragnar's eldest son
Ivar the Boneless Ivar the Boneless ( ; died ), also known as Ivar Ragnarsson, was a Viking leader who invaded England and Ireland. According to the '' Tale of Ragnar Lodbrok'', he was the son of Aslaug and her husband Ragnar Loðbrok, and was the brother of ...
was the leader of the
Great Heathen Army The Great Heathen Army, also known as the Viking Great Army,Hadley. "The Winter Camp of the Viking Great Army, AD 872–3, Torksey, Lincolnshire", ''Antiquaries Journal''. 96, pp. 23–67 was a coalition of Scandinavian warriors who invaded ...
and appears to have been the founder of the
Uí Ímair The Uí Ímair (; meaning ‘''scions of Ivar’''), also known as the Ivar dynasty or Ivarids, was a Norse-Gael dynasty which ruled much of the Irish Sea region, the Kingdom of Dublin, the western coast of Scotland, including the Hebrides and ...
dynasty of the
Kingdom of York Scandinavian York or Viking York () is a term used by historians for what is now Yorkshire during the period of Scandinavian domination from late 9th century until it was annexed and integrated into England after the Norman Conquest; in parti ...
and
Kingdom of Dublin The Kingdom of Dublin (Old Norse: ''Dyflin'') was a Norse kingdom in Ireland that lasted from roughly 853 AD to 1170 AD. It was the first and longest-lasting Norse kingdom in Ireland, founded by Vikings who invaded the territory around Dublin ...
, and by extension the
Crovan Dynasty The Crovan dynasty, from the late 11th century to the mid 13th century, was the ruling family of an insular kingdom known variously in secondary sources as the Kingdom of Mann, the Kingdom of the Isles, and the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles. The ...
of the Kings of Mann.


The line


The family tree

This is the mythic Yngling family tree based on ''
Historia Norwegiæ ''Historia Norwegiæ'' is a short history of Norway written in Latin by an anonymous monk. The only extant manuscript is in the private possession of the Earl of Dalhousie, and is now kept in the National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh. The manu ...
'', ''
Ynglinga saga ''Ynglinga saga'' ( ) is a Kings' sagas, Kings' saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelanders, Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It is the first section of his ''Heimskringla''. It was first translated into Engl ...
'', ''
Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ) is an Old English poetry, Old English poem, an Epic poetry, epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translat ...
'' and other
Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
sources. The names of Swedish kings are shown in bold.


The name Scylfing

In
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
several kings who are generally identified as Ynglings are called Scylfings. The genealogy is given as: Ohthere (''Ottar'') also occurs as the father of Aedgils (''Adils'') in
Ynglingatal ''Ynglingatal'' or ''Ynglinga tal'' (Old Norse: 'Enumeration of the Ynglingar') is a Skaldic poem cited by Snorri Sturluson in the ''Ynglinga saga'', the first saga of Snorri's ''Heimskringla''. Þjóðólfr of Hvinir (Thjodolf), who was a poet ...
. There Skilfing (''Skilfingr'') appears as a synonym of Yngling, in a line on ''Egil'', the father of ''Ottar'', so that Ongentheow is considered identical to ''Egil''. Likewise in the ''
Skáldskaparmál ''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'Poetic Diction' or 'The Language of Poetry'; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda'', compiled by Snorri Sturluson. It consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bra ...
'' the Scylfings are described as an eastern family and ''East King'' was a conventional
kenning A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech, a figuratively-phrased compound term that is used in place of a simple single-word noun. For instance, the Old English kenning () means , as does (). A kenning has two parts: a base-word (a ...
for a Swedish king. However, in the , (the genealogies attached to ), the Skilfings are of Norwegian origin and include a family identified as '' Skjöldungs''. In the eddic poem ''Grímnismál'' (stanza 55), ''Skilfing'' appears as one of
Odin Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...
's names, the information there also appearing in the ''
Gylfaginning ''Gylfaginning'' (Old Norse: 'The Beguiling of Gylfi' or 'The Deluding of Gylfi'; 13th century Old Norse pronunciation ) is the first main part of the 13th century ''Prose Edda'', after the initial Prologue. The ''Gylfaginning'' takes the form of ...
''..


''Beowulf''

In the Old English poem ''Beowulf'', the word ''Scylfing'' occurs twice in the singular and twice in the plural. For alliterative purposes the name could be extended, such as the form ''Heathoscylfing'' 'Battle-Scylfing', which occurs once in the singular and twice in the plural. A Scylfing whose name is partly missing but ends in ''-ela'' married the sister of
Hrothgar Hrothgar ( ; ) was a semi-legendary Danish king living around the early sixth century AD. Hrothgar appears in the Anglo-Saxon epics ''Beowulf'' and '' Widsith'', in Norse sagas and poems, and in medieval Danish chronicles. In both Anglo-Saxon ...
and
Halga Halga, '' Helgi'', ''Helghe'' or ''Helgo'' was a legendary Danish king living in the early 6th century. His name would in his own language (Proto-Norse) have been *''Hailaga'' (dedicated to the gods). Scholars generally agree that he appears in ...
. Specifically identified as Scylfings are
Ongentheow Ongentheow (Old English: ''Ongenþeow'', ''Ongenþio'', ''Ongendþeow''; Old Norse: ''Angantýr'') (died ca. 515) was the name of a semi-legendary Suiones, Swedish king of the house of Yngling, Scylfings, who appears in Old English sources. He ...
, king of Sweden, and by extension his subject
Wiglaf Wiglaf ( Proto-Norse: *'' Wīga laibaz'', meaning "battle remainder"; ) is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem ''Beowulf''. He is the son of Weohstan, a Swede of the Wægmunding clan who had entered the service of Beowulf, king of the G ...
son of
Weohstan Weohstan, Wēohstān or Wīhstān (Proto-Norse *'' Wīha stainaz'', meaning "sacred stone", and ''Wǣstēn'') is a legendary character who appears in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem ''Beowulf'', and scholars have pointed out that he also appears to b ...
. Wiglaf and Weohstan belonged to the family of the Wægmundings to which
Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ) is an Old English poetry, Old English poem, an Epic poetry, epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translat ...
and his father Ecgtheow also belonged. Another extended form is ''helm Scylfinga''. This literally means 'Scylfings'-helmet'; it is a
kenning A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech, a figuratively-phrased compound term that is used in place of a simple single-word noun. For instance, the Old English kenning () means , as does (). A kenning has two parts: a base-word (a ...
meaning both "ruler of the Scylfings" and "protector of the Scylfings". The ''Beowulf'' poet uses it to refer to Ongentheow's son
Onela Onela was, according to ''Beowulf'', a Swedish king, the son of Ongentheow and the brother of Ohthere. He usurped the Swedish throne, but was killed by his nephew Eadgils, who won by hiring foreign assistance. In Scandinavian sagas a Norwegi ...
.


In Norse tradition


From the

The eddic poem , in stanza 16 speaks of descendants of an ancient king named
Halfdan the Old Halfdan the Old (Old Norse: ''Hálfdanr gamli'' and ''Hálfdanr inn gamli'') was an ancient, legendary king from whom descended many of the most notable lineages of legend. A second Halfdan the Old is the purported great-grandfather of Ragnvald E ...
:
Hence come the Skjöldungs, hence the Skilfings,
Hence the Ödlings [], hence the Ylfings, .

/blockquote>


From the

In the ,
Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...
speaks of the second group of nine sons of Halfdan the Old, from whom many families of legend descend, one of these sons being
Yngvi Old Norse Yngvi , Old High German Ing/Ingwi and Old English Ing are names that relate to a Lists of deities, theonym which appears to have been the older List of names of Freyr, name for the god Freyr. Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic Ingw ...
, purported ancestor of the Yngling lineage. But neither Skylfings or Skjöldungs are specifically derived from these sons. Snorri continues with examples of famous descendants of three of those lineages, followed by: "Of the house of the
Ylfing The Wulfings, Wylfings or Ylfings (the name means the "wolf clan") was a powerful clan in ''Beowulf'', '' Widsith'' and in the Norse sagas. While the poet of ''Beowulf'' does not locate the Wulfings geographically, Scandinavian sources define the Y ...
s was Eirík the Eloquent ()." But Ylfings have not been previously mentioned. Then follows the names of four ancestors of four lineages not descended from Halfdan, which include Yngvi and the Ynglings a second time. There is obvious confusion or corruption in this passage or its source. The fourth lineage is identified:
One war-king was named Skelfir; and his house is called the House of Skilfings: his kindred is in the Eastern Region.
A connection with the east might mean a connection to Sweden, but the vagueness of expression suggests Snorri knows no more about these Skilfings than he has written. Snorri also gives ''Skilfing'' as a kenning for "king" and it appears as a kenning for "sword" in the found in some versions of the .


From the

The connected to are a longer variant of the genealogical passages in the , also speaking of Halfdan the Old and lineages descended from him and of other notable lineages, but in much greater detail. In this list of the sons of Halfdan, Yngvi the ancestor of the Ynglings is missing and Skelfir the ancestor of the Skilfings appears in his place. This might be a remembrance of an earlier identity or connection of the Swedish Ynglings and the Swedish Scylfings in ''Beowulf''. But nothing in the following genealogy is ''necessarily'' Swedish though possible Swedish parallels do appear, particular the names Alrek and Eirík as discussed below. There are many oddities in this account. It claims Skelfir was king of Vörs (''Vǫrs''), modern
Voss Voss () is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality and a Districts of Norway, traditional district in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages inclu ...
in northern
Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Munici ...
in southwestern Norway, but Halfdan's inheritance was in southeastern Norway. Skelfir was the father of Skjöld (''Skjǫldr''). The account ends by saying that lineage of Skelfir was called the Skilfing lineage or the Skjöldung lineage, seemingly identifying the two. But Skjöldungs are normally the legendary royal family of the rulers of
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
and no connection with Denmark is made here. Indeed, the ''Ættartǫlur'' later twice gives a quite different list of descendants of the Danish Skjöld who is there made a son of Odin as commonly in Norse texts. Skjöld as son of Skelfir might be related to English traditions of Scyld being a son or descendant of Sceafa (as discussed under
Sceafa Sceafa ( , also ''Scēaf'', ''Scēf'') was an ancient Lombardic king in English legend. According to his story, Sceafa appeared mysteriously as a child, coming out of the sea in an empty skiff. The name also appears in the corrupt forms ''Ses ...
), though here too (at least in ''Beowulf'') the connection is to Danish matters, not to Norway. This Norwegian Skjöld, ancestor of the Norwegian Skjöldungs, is father of Eirík, father of Alrek (''Alrekr''), father of Eirík the Eloquent, whom the ''Skáldskaparmál'' presented as an Ylfing. These two mentions are the only occurrences of Eirík the Eloquent in Norse texts. But what seems to be the same figure appears prominently in book 5 of
Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. He is the author ...
' ''
Gesta Danorum ("Deeds of the Danes") is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark and is an essentia ...
'' as Ericus disertus. This Ericus disertus is indeed a Norwegian, but his father is not named Alrek but rather Regnerus pugilex, that is Ragnar the Champion. The ''Gesta Danorum'' then somewhat forcibly identifies Ericus disertus with Eirík, a legendary king of Sweden, a king who in the ''Ynglinga saga'' and elsewhere has an elder brother (rather than a father) named Alrek. See
Alrek and Eirík Alaric and Eric (Old Norse: ''Alrekr'' and ''Eiríkr''), according to legend, were two kings of Sweden. In the ''Ynglinga saga'' According to the ''Ynglinga saga'', Alaric and Eric were sons and heirs of the previous king Agni. They shared th ...
for details. In the ''Ynglinga saga'' the mother of the Swedish kings Alrek and Eirík is named Skjálf, which might also be an eponym for Skilfing. Returning to the , there Eirík the Eloquent is father of Alrek, father of Víkar (''Víkarr''), father of Vatnar. This Víkar is the famous Víkar, king of Hördaland, who was sacrificed to Odin by
Starkad ''Starkad'' ( or ; Latin: ''Starcaterus''; in the Late Middle Ages also ''Starkodder''; Danish language, modern Danish: ''Stærkodder'')The article ''Starkad'' in ''Nationalencyklopedin''. was either an eight-armed giant or the human grandson of ...
. The chain of descent from Alrek to Víkar to Vatnar is also found in ''Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka'' ('The saga of Hálf and his heroes'). However ''
Gautreks saga ''Gautreks saga'' (''Gautrek's Saga'') is a Scandinavian legendary saga put to text towards the end of the 13th century which survives only in much later manuscripts. It seems to have been intended as a compilation of traditional stories, often hu ...
'' gives an entirely different ancestry and different descendants to Víkar. See Víkar for details. This genealogy may have been based on attempts to ascribe a Norwegian origin to both Swedish Scylfings and Danish Skjöldungs and also be related to Saxo's account of the Norwegian Ericus desertus. If so, as it stands, it has been edited to remove material that would obviously conflict with the standard genealogies of the Skjöldungs and Ynglings which also appear in the .


Variant spellings

''Other anglicized spellings:'' Eirík: ''Eirik''; Eirík the Eloquent: ''Eirik the Eloquent'', ''Eiríkr the Wise in Speech''; Halfdan the Old: ''Hálfdan the Old''; Skjöld: ''Skjold'', ''Skiold'', ''Scyld''; Starkad: ''Starkath''; Víkar: ''Vikar''; Vörs: ''Vor''.


See also

*
Saxo's kings of Sweden The legendary kings of Sweden (, ) according to legends were rulers of Sweden and the Swedes who preceded Eric the Victorious and Olof Skötkonung, the earliest reliably attested Swedish kings. The stories of some of these kings may be embellish ...
*
Fairhair dynasty The Fairhair dynasty () was a family of kings founded by Harald I of Norway (commonly known as "Harald Fairhair", ''Haraldr inn hárfagri'') which united and ruled Norway with few interruptions from the latter half of the 9th century. In the tr ...


References

{{Authority control Semi-legendary kings of Sweden Freyr Monarchy of Norway * Norse clans Mythological dynasties and royal families