A sea-king (''sækonungr'') in the

Norse sagas Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...

is generally a title given to a powerful

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

chieftain, even though the term sea-king may sometimes predate the Viking age. The

Orkneyinga saga The ''Orkneyinga saga'' (Old Norse: ; ; also called the ''History of the Earls of Orkney'' and ''Jarls' Saga'') is a narrative of the history of the Orkney and Shetland islands and their relationship with other local polities, particularly No ...

contains the earliest reference to sea-kings. There the original line of 'kings' of Kvenland (present-day Finland) ends with the father of Gor Thorrasson 'Sea King'. The appellation of 'Sea King' to subsequent names, from Gor to his great-grandson, Sveidi, suggests that they lose or surrender their inheritance as Kven kings and rule the seas instead, eventually ending up as minor lords in Norway. Sea-kings could also be independent or

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

Norwegian and Danish chieftains, and also

kings of Sweden This list records the Monarchy of Sweden, monarchs of Sweden, from the late Viking Age to the present day. Sweden has continuously been a monarchy since the country's consolidation in the Viking Age and early Middle Ages, for over a thousand year ...

(such as

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 ...

and Jorund), or sons of kings, such as Refil. However, they could also be men "without roof" like Hjörvard 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 ...

; such men without roof could be so powerful that they could subdue a country and make themselves kings. Two examples are Sölve who killed the Swedish king Östen, and Haki who killed the Swedish king Hugleik. However, in both cases they ultimately lost due to lack of popular support.

List of sea-kings as given in the '' Nafnaþulur'' 1-5

* Ale the Strong * Asmund * Atal * Ati * Atli * Audmund * Beimi * Beimuni * Beiti * Budli * Byrvil * Ekkil * Endill * Frodi * Eynef * Gaupi * Gæir * Gauti, Geat * Gautrek * Geitir * Gestil * Gjuki * Glammi * Gor * Gudmund * Gylfi * Hagbard * Haki * Half * Harek * Heiti * Hemlir * Hiorolf * Hjalmar * Hnefi * Hogni * Homar * Horvi * Hraudnir * Hraudung * Hun * Hunding * Hviting * Hæmir * Iorek * Kilmund * Leifi * Longhorn * Lyngvi * Mævi * Mævil * Meiti * Moir * Mysing * Nori * Næfil * Ræfil * Randver * Rakni * Reifnir * Rer * Rodi * Rokkvi * Skefil * Skekkil * Solsi * Solvi * Sorvi * Sveidi * Teiti * Thvinnil * Vandil * Vinnil * Virfil *

References

{{Reflist
Names of Sea-Kings ("Heiti Sækonunga") by Björn Sigfússon in Modern Philology, Vol. 32, No. 2 (Nov., 1934), pp. 125-142
Norse monarchs Piracy in the Atlantic Ocean Medieval piracy