Gandalf Alfgeirsson (
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is 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 of Scandinavia and t ...
: ''Gandálf Álfgeirsson'') was a legendary king of the petty kingdom
Alfheim, in south-eastern
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 t ...
and south-western
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
He is portrayed in
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 ...
's saga ''
Heimskringla
''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derived ...
''.
Heimskringla relates that Gandalf was given the kingdom of Alfheim by his father Alfgeir. A Gandalf, normally taken to be the same, fought with
Halfdan the Black
Halfdan the Black (Old Norse: ''Halfdanr Svarti''; fl. c. 9th century) was a king of Vestfold. He belonged to the House of Yngling and was the father of Harald Fairhair, the first king of a unified Norway.
In sagas
According to ''Heimskringla'' ...
for overlordship of what would become Norway under Halfdan the Black's son
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 ...
. They reached an temporary agreement to share
Vingulmork
Vingulmark (Old Norse ''Vingulmörk'') is the old name for the area in Norway which today makes up the counties of Østfold, western parts of Akershus (excluding Romerike), and eastern parts of Buskerud ( Hurum and Røyken municipalities), and inc ...
between them. In a later episode, apparently after Gandalf's death, his three sons, Hysing, Helsing, and Hake, attempted to ambush Halfdan the Black at night but he escaped into the forest. After raising an army, he returned and defeated the brothers, killing Hysing and Helsing. Hake fled from the country and Halfdan became king of all of Vingulmórk (possibly all of old Alfheim).
The stories of Gandalf and his sons was found in a place historically called
Álfheimr
In Norse cosmology, Álfheimr (Old Norse: , "Land of the Elves" or "Elfland"; anglicized as Alfheim), also called "Ljósálfheimr" ( , "home of the Light Elves"), is home of the Light Elves.
Attestations
Álfheim as an abode of the Elves is men ...
which spans modern-day Bohuslän, in Sweden, rivers
Göta
Göta is a Swedish given name, which is the female equivalent of Göte. It may refer to:
*Göta Ljungberg (1893–1955), Swedish singer
*Göta Pettersson (1926–1993), Swedish gymnast
Other uses
*Göta, Sweden
*Göta älv, a river in Sweden
*G ...
and
Klara, originating in
Trysil
Trysil is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Innbygda. Other villages in the municipality include Nybergsund, Øs ...
, as well as
Glåmma, both the east and the west fold of Vingulmórk (cf.
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
), the part of Alfheim given to King Guðrød Halfdanson by King Alfarinn as dowry, when princess Alfhild was married to the grandfather 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 ...
. Olaf Geirstadalv's mother was, if not identical to Alfhild, his aunt called Olöf.
[According to Þattr Olafs Geirstada alfs: http://heimskringla.no/wiki/%C3%9E%C3%A1ttr_%C3%93lafs_Geirsta%C3%B0a_%C3%A1lfs]
Family
Gandalf's only known wife was Gauthild Gyrithe Alfsdottir. They had (presumably) four children, three sons and a daughter.
* Alfhild
* Hysing
* Helsing
* Haki
Ancestry
Gandalf's father was King Alfgeir.
References
External links
Yinglinga Saga, English translation: Of King Olaf's Death*
ttp://www.heimskringla.no/wiki/Ynglinga_saga Ynglinga Saga, Old NorseHalfdan the Black Saga, Old Norse
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gandalf Alfgeirsson
Pagans
Norwegian petty kings
Date of death unknown
Year of birth unknown