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Scylfings
The Ynglings were a dynasty of kings, first in Sweden and later in Norway, primarily attested through the poem ''Ynglingatal''. The dynasty also appears as Scylfings (Old Norse ''Skilfingar'') in ''Beowulf''. When ''Beowulf'' and ''Ynglingatal'' were composed sometime in the eighth to tenth centuries, the respective scop and skald (poet) expected his 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'', the Fairhair dynasty in Oppland, Norway was in fact a branch of the Ynglings. Saxo Grammaticus held that Eric the Victorious, whom modern regnal lists usually begin with, and his House of Munsö, descendents were also Ynglings, but this does not tally with Icelandic sources. The dynasty claimed descent from the gods Freyr and Njörðr, and other kings were likely mythical as well, whereas others may have been real: especially Ongenþeow, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 him as the son of Ohthere and as belonging to the ruling Yngling (Scylfing) dynasty. These sources also deal with his war against Onela, which he won with foreign assistance: in ''Beowulf'' he gained the throne of Sweden by defeating his uncle Onela with Geatish help, and in two Scandinavian sources (''Skáldskaparmál'' and ''Skjöldunga saga''), he is also helped to defeat Onela in the Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern, but with Danish help. However, Scandinavian sources mostly deal with his interaction with the legendary Danish king Hrólfr Kraki (Hroðulf), and Eadgils is mostly presented in a negative light as a rich and greedy king. Snorri Sturluson, who documented many of the Scandinavian traditions, reported that the Swedes called hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beowulf
''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The date of composition is a matter of contention among scholars; the only certain dating is for the manuscript, which was produced between 975 and 1025. Scholars call the anonymous author the "''Beowulf'' poet". The story is set in pagan Scandinavia in the 6th century. Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall in Heorot has been under attack by the monster Grendel. After Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother attacks the hall and is then defeated. Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland and becomes king of the Geats. Fifty years later, Beowulf defeats a dragon, but is mortally wounded in the battle. After his death, his attendants cremate his body and erect a tower on a headland in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ynglinga Saga
''Ynglinga saga'' ( ) is a Kings' saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It is the first section of his ''Heimskringla''. It was first translated into English and published in 1844 by Samuel Laing. Snorri Sturluson based his work on an earlier ''Ynglingatal'' which is attributed to the Norwegian 9th-century skald Þjóðólfr of Hvinir, and which also appears in ''Historia Norwegiae''. It tells the most ancient part of the story of the House of Ynglings (''Scylfings'' in ''Beowulf''). Snorri described the descent of the kings of Norway from this royal house of Sweden. ''Ynglinga saga'' is the first part of Snorri's history of the ancient Norse kings, the ''Heimskringla.'' Snorri's work covers the history of the Norwegian kings from the mythical prehistoric age until 1177, with the death of the pretender Eystein Meyla. Interwoven in this narrative are references to important historical events. The saga deals wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ongenþeow
Ongentheow (Old English: ''Ongenþeow'', ''Ongenþio'', ''Ongendþeow''; Old Norse: ''Angantýr'') (died ca. 515) was the name of a semi-legendary Swedish king of the house of Scylfings, who appears in Old English sources. He is generally identified with the Swedish king Egil Vendelcrow mentioned in ''Ynglingatal'', ''Historia Norwegiae'' and in ''Ynglinga saga''. The reason why they are thought to have been the same is that each has the same position in the line of Swedish kings and is described as the father of Ohthere and grandfather of Eadgils. The name Ongentheow contains as its second element '' þeōw'' "servant, slave". The first appears to be ''ongēan'' "against, opposite". Old English sources ''Beowulf'' In the Old English epic poem ''Beowulf'', Ongentheow is described as a fearsome warrior, and it took two Geatish warriors Eofor and Wulf Wonreding to take him down. The epic tells that the Geats under their new king Hæþcyn captured the Swedish queen, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Konung Ingjald Illråda Bränner Upp 6 Fylkiskonungar By Hugo Hamilton
Germanic kingship is a thesis regarding the role of kings among the pre-Christianized Germanic tribes of the Migration period (c. 300–700 AD) and Early Middle Ages (c. 700–1,000 AD). The thesis holds that the institution of feudal monarchy developed, through contact with the Roman Empire and the Christian Church, from an earlier custom of sacral and military kingship based on both birth status and consent from subjects. The term barbarian kingdom is used in the context of those Germanic rulers who after 476 AD and during the 6th century ruled territories formerly part of the Western Roman Empire, especially the Barbarian kings of Italy. In the same context, Germanic law is also derisively termed ''leges barbarorum'' "barbarian law" etc. The thesis of Germanic kingship appeared in the nineteenth century and was influential in the historiography of early medieval society, but has since come under criticism for drawing generalizations from limited evidence. Alleged cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Eysteinsson. Halfdan the Old, ancestor of many lineages ''Hyndluljód'' The eddic poem ''Hyndluljód'' states in verses 14–16: "Of old the noblest of all was Áli, Before him Halfdan, foremost of Skjöldungs 'Skjǫldungar'' Famed were the battles the hero fought, To the corners of heaven his deeds were carried. "Strengthened by Eymund 'Eymundr'' the strongest of men, Sigtrygg 'Sigtryggr''he slew with the ice-cold sword; His bride was Álmveig 'Álmveigr'' the best of women, And eighteen boys did Álmveig bear him. "Hence come the Skjöldungs, hence the Skilfings, Hence the Ödlings 'Ǫðlingar'' &nb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edda
"Edda" (; Old Norse ''Edda'', plural ''Eddur'') is an Old Norse term that has been attributed 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 without an original title now known as the ''Poetic Edda''. The term historically referred only to the ''Prose Edda'', but this has fallen out of use because of the confusion with the other work. Both works were written down in Iceland during the 13th century in Icelandic, although they contain material from earlier traditional sources, reaching into the Viking Age. The books are the main sources of medieval skaldic tradition in Iceland and Norse mythology. Etymology At least five hypotheses have been suggested for the origins of the word ''edda'': * One hypothesis holds that it is identical to a word that means "great-grandmother" appearing in the Eddic poem ''Rígsþula.'' * Another hypothesis holds that ''edda'' derives from Old No ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skáldskaparmál
''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'The Language of Poetry'; c. 50,000 words; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda''. The section consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bragi, the god of poetry, in which both Norse mythology and discourse on the nature of poetry are intertwined. The origin of a number of ''kennings'' is given; then Bragi delivers a systematic list of ''kennings'' for various people, places and things. He then goes on to discuss poetic language in some detail, in particular ''heiti'', the concept of poetical words which are non-periphrastic (like ''steed'' for ''horse''), and again systematises these. This in a way forms an early form of poetic thesaurus. References Bibliography * Further reading * Anthony Faulkes"The sources of ''Skáldskaparmál'': Snorri’s intellectual background" in: Alois Wolf (ed.), ''Snorri Sturluson'', Volume 51 of ScriptOralia, Gunter Narr Verlag (1993), 59–76. External ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 the ''Prose Edda'', which is a major source for what is today known as Norse mythology, and ''Heimskringla'', a history of the Norwegian kings that begins with legendary material in ''Ynglinga saga'' and moves through to early medieval Scandinavian history. For stylistic and methodological reasons, Snorri is often taken to be the author of ''Egil's saga''. He was assassinated in 1241 by men claiming to be agents of the King of Norway. Biography Early life Snorri Sturluson was born in (commonly transliterated as Hvamm or Hvammr) as a member of the wealthy and powerful Sturlungar clan of the Icelandic Commonwealth, in AD 1179. His parents were ''Sturla Þórðarson the Elder'' of ''Hvammur'' and his second wife, ''Guðný Böðvarsdóttir''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 the ''Poetic Edda''; compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda'' and (in euhemerized form) ''Heimskringla''; both written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In the ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda'', Vanaheimr is described as the location where the god Njörðr was raised. Attestations Vanaheimr is mentioned a single time in the ''Poetic Edda''; in a stanza of the poem ''Vafþrúðnismál''. In ''Vafþrúðnismál'', Gagnráðr (the god Odin in disguise) engages in a game of wits with the jötunn Vafþrúðnir. Gagnráðr asks Vafþrúðnir whence the Van god Njörðr came, for, though he rules over many hofs and hörgrs, Njörðr was not raised among the Æsir. Vafþrúðnir responds ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_The_Cosmos_in_the_Norse_mythology.jpg "Click for more on -> Vanaheim")