The Dagling or ''Dögling'' dynasty was a

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

ary clan of the

petty kingdom A petty kingdom is a kingdom described as minor or "petty" (from the French 'petit' meaning small) by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it (e.g. the numerous kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England unified into ...

Ringerike in what today is

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. It was descended from a Dag the Great. In the ''

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 184 ...

'', Snorri Sturluson writes that the clan was descended from Dag the Great whose daughter Dageid married the Swedish king Alrekr and was the mother of

Yngvi and Alf Yngvi and Alf, according to legend, were two Swedish kings of the House of Yngling. Some versions indicate they were brothers or other close relations. They killed each other. History According to ''Ynglingatal'', '' Historia Norwegiae'' and '' ...

Dag of the nine sons

Stanza 18 of the '' Hyndluljóð'' reads: In the later ''

Hversu Noregr byggðist ''Hversu Noregr byggðist'' ( non, How Norway was inhabited) is an account of the origin of various legendary Norwegian lineages, which survives only in the ''Flateyjarbók''. It traces the descendants of the primeval Fornjót, a king of ''"Gotlan ...

'', it is reported that Dag married a woman named Þóra drengjamóður and they had nine sons. Among them were Óli, Ámr, Jöfurr and

Arngrim Arngrim was a berserker, who features in Hervarar saga, Gesta Danorum, Lay of Hyndla, a number of Faroese ballads and Orvar-Odd's saga in Norse mythology.Henrikson, Alf. (1998). ''Den stora mytologiska uppslagsboken''. Hervarar saga Accordin ...

the berserker who married

Eyfura Eyfura was a princess in Norse mythology, who married Arngrim and had twelve sons. In all accounts, her twelve sons would be slain by the Swedish champion Hjalmar and his friend Orvar-Odd. According to the Hervarar saga, versions ''U'' and ''H ...

. This makes this Dag roughly contemporary with the Dag of ''Ynglinga saga'', '' Hervarar saga'' and '' Orvar-Odd's saga'', as Arngrim's sons Angantyr and his brother Hjörvard would have been the cousins of the Swedish king Yngvi, whose daughter Hjörvard wanted to marry. This proposal would lead to both

Angantyr Angantyr was the name of three male characters from the same line in Norse mythology, and who appear in '' Hervarar saga'', ''Gesta Danorum'', and Faroese ballads. The last generation named Angantyr also appears to be mentioned as ''Incgentheo ...

and his brothers being killed in battle against the Swedish hero

Hjalmar Hjalmar () and Ingeborg () were a legendary Swedish duo. The male protagonist Hjalmar and his duel for Ingeborg figures in the '' Hervarar saga'' and in '' Orvar-Odd's saga'', as well as in ''Gesta Danorum'', '' Lay of Hyndla'' and a number of Fa ...

and his Norwegian friend Orvar-Odd. But the "Hversu Noregr Byggðist" tells that Dag's grandfather received a promise from the gods that there would be no woman among his descendants for three hundred years, which fits badly with Dag having a daughter. Another one of Dag the Great's sons according to ''Hversu Noregr Byggðist'' was Óli, who was the father of Dag, the father of Óleif the father of Hring (the old king Ring of ''

Frithiof's Saga Frithiof's Saga ( is, Friðþjófs saga hins frœkna) is a legendary saga from Iceland which in its present form is from ca. 1300. It is a continuation from ''The Saga of Thorstein Víkingsson'' ('' Þorsteins saga Víkingssonar''). It takes pla ...

''), the father of Olaf, the father of Helgi, the father of

Sigurd Hjort Sigurd Hart or Sigurd Hjort was a legendary king of Ringerike (modern central south Norway), during the late 9th or early 10th centuries. he is mentioned in '' Ragnarssona þáttr'' ("The Tale of Ragnar's Sons") and in '' Halvdan Svartes saga'' (" ...

, the father of Ragnhild, who was the mother of

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair no, Harald hårfagre Modern Icelandic: ( – ) 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 King of Nor ...

. This line partially agrees with the one found in ''

Ragnarssona þáttr The ''Tale of Ragnar's sons'' ( non, Ragnarssona þáttr) is an Old Norse story about Ragnar Lodbrok and his sons. Summary Ragnar Lodbrok When Sigurd Ring dies, Ragnar Lodbrok succeeds him as the king of Sweden and Denmark. Many foreign kings ...

'', where it is told instead that Dag the Great and his wife Þóra drengjamóður were the parents of Hring, the father of Ingi, the father of Ingjald, the father of Olaf, the father of Gudröd and Helgi the Sharp. Helgi married the daughter of

Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye Sigurd Snake-in-the-eye ( non, Sigurðr ormr í auga) or Sigurd Áslaugsson 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 ...

and had the son

, the father of Ragnhild, the mother of Harald Fairhair.

References

{{reflist Norwegian petty kings Germanic families