In
Norse legend, Valland is the name of the part of Europe which is inhabited by
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
and
Romance
Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to:
Common meanings
* Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings
* Romance languages, ...
peoples. The element ''Val-'' is derived from *''
Walhaz
''Walhaz'' is a reconstructed Proto-Germanic word meaning 'foreigner', or more specifically 'Roman', 'Romance-speaker' or '(romanized) Celt', and survives in English as 'Welsh'. The term was used by the ancient Germanic peoples to describe inha ...
'', a Proto-Germanic word whose descendants were used in various Germanic languages to refer to the inhabitants of the
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...
.
Mythological context
In the genealogy section of ''
Flateyjarbók
''Flateyjarbók'' (; "Book of Flatey") is an important medieval Icelandic manuscript. It is also known as GkS 1005 fol. and by the Latin name ''Codex Flateyensis''. It was commissioned by Jón Hákonarson and produced by the priests and scribes ...
'', there are two kings of Valland named Auði and
Kjárr
Kjárr, or ''Kíarr'', is a figure of Germanic heroic legend that is believed to be the reflection of the Roman Emperors. In Old Norse sources, he appears as a king of the Valir (Celtic/Romance southerners) , who may have been a late reflection of
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
and the
Roman Emperors in
Norse mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...
:
[Anderson, Carl Edlund. (1999). ''Formation and Resolution of Ideological Contrast in the Early History of Scandinavia''. Ph.D. thesis, University of Cambridge, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic (Faculty of English). p. 44.](_blank)
Kjárr and his daughter
Ölrún Alruna (Old Norse Ǫlrún, Old High German Ailrun, Modern German Alruna, Alraune) is a Germanic female personal name, from Proto Germanic ''*aliruna'' (or possibly ''*agilruna''), which is formed from '' runa'' "secret, rune" and a debated prefix t ...
also appear in the ''
Völundarkviða
''Vǫlundarkviða'' (Old Norse: 'The lay of Völund'; modern Icelandic spelling: ''Völundarkviða'') is one of the mythological poems of the '' Poetic Edda''. The title is anglicized in various ways, including ''Völundarkvitha'', ''Völundark ...
'', where she is a
Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997:36) ...
who marries the hero
Egil:
It is mentioned in
Illuga saga Gríðarfóstra
Illuga saga Gríðarfóstra is a ''fornaldarsaga'' about a young Dane named Illugi who delivers a female troll and her daughter from a curse. The earliest manuscript (of 36 which are known to exist) dates from the first half of the 16th century (AM ...
that Hringr, the king of Denmark and son of Sköld dagsson, was married to Sigrid, who was the daughter of Vilhálm - or William - king of Valland.
Legendary and historical context
In the ''
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 ...
'' by
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 ...
, Valland is mentioned several times as the
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 ...
name for
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
. It was the country where
Rollo
Rollo ( nrf, Rou, ''Rolloun''; non, Hrólfr; french: Rollon; died between 928 and 933) was a Viking who became the first ruler of Normandy, today a region in northern France. He emerged as the outstanding warrior among the Norsemen who had se ...
carved out
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
:
:Rolf Ganger went afterwards over sea to the West to the Hebrides, or Sudreys; and at last farther west to Valland, where he plundered and subdued for himself a great earldom, which he peopled with Northmen, from which that land is called Normandy.
Harald Harfager's Saga at Northvegr.
/ref>
In ''Hrómundar saga Gripssonar ''Hrómundar saga Gripssonar'' or ''The Saga of Hromund Gripsson'' is a legendary saga from Iceland. The original version has been lost, but its content has been preserved in the ''rímur'' of ''Hrómundr Gripsson'', known as ''Griplur'', which were ...
'', the hero Hrómund slays an undead witch-king named Þráinn who had been the king of Valland.
See also
* Blakumen
''Blakumen'' or ''Blökumenn'' were a people mentioned in Scandinavian sources dating from the 11th through 13th centuries. The name of their land, ''Blokumannaland'', has also been preserved. Victor Spinei, Florin Curta, Florin Pintescu and othe ...
Notes and references
Saga locations
Viking Age populated places
Exonyms