Yngvi and Alf, according to legend, were two

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

kings of the

House of Yngling 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'' ...

. Some versions indicate they were brothers or other close relations. They killed each other.

History

According to ''

Ynglingatal ''Ynglingatal'' or ''Ynglinga tal'' (Old Norse: 'Enumeration of the Ynglingar') is a Skaldic poem cited by Snorri Sturluson in the ''Ynglinga saga'', the first saga of Snorri's ''Heimskringla''. Þjóðólfr of Hvinir (Thjodolf), who was a poe ...

'', ''

Historia Norwegiae Historia may refer to: * Historia, the local version of the History channel in Spain and Portugal * Historia (TV channel), a Canadian French language specialty channel * Historia (newspaper), a French monthly newspaper devoted to History topics * ...

'' and ''

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 ...

'', Yngvi and Alf were the sons of

Alrik Alaric and Eric (Old Norse: ''Alrekr'' and ''Eiríkr''), according to legend, were two kings of Sweden. In the ''Ynglinga saga'' According to the ''Ynglinga saga'', Alaric and Eric were sons and heirs of the previous king Agni. They shared the ...

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 ...

relates that Yngvi was an accomplished king: a great warrior who always won his battles, the master of all exercises, generous, happy and sociable. He was both loved and famous. Alf was unsociable and harsh and stayed at home instead of pillaging in other countries. His mother was Dageid, the daughter of king Dag the Great from whom is descended the

Dagling The Dagling or ''Dögling'' dynasty was a legendary Norse clans, clan of the petty kingdom Ringerike (traditional district), Ringerike in what today is Norway. It was descended from a Dag the Great. In the ''Ynglinga saga'', Snorri Sturluson writes ...

family. Alf was married to Bera who was happy and alert and a very lovable woman. One day in the autumn, Yngvi returned to

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

from a very successful Viking expedition which had rendered him famous. He used to spend time at the drinking table until late in the night, like Bera, and they found it pleasant to talk to each other. Alf, however, preferred to go to bed early and he started to tell her to go to bed early as well so that she did not wake him. Then Bera used to answer that Yngvi was much better for a woman than Alf, an answer that was getting on Alf's nerves. One evening, the jealous Alf entered the hall and saw Yngvi and Bera converse on the high seat. Yngvi had a short sword in his lap and the other guests were too drunk to see that Alf had arrived. From under his cloak Alf drew a sword and pierced Yngvi. Yngvi, mortally wounded, got up, drew his own short sword and slew Alf. They were buried in two mounds on the

Fyrisvellir Fyrisvellir, Fyris Wolds or Fyrisvallarna was the marshy plain (''vellir'') south of Gamla Uppsala where travellers had to leave the ships on the river Fyris (Fyrisån) and walk to the Temple at Uppsala and the hall of the Swedish king. The name ...

(Fyris Wolds). Alf was succeeded by his son

Hugleik Hugleik or Ochilaik (a namesake of Hygelac) was a Swedish king of the House of Yngling, according to the ''Ynglinga saga''. He was the son of Alf and Bera. Some commentators assimilate Hugleik with his namesake, the Geatish king Hygelac. However, ...

. The poem in ''

'': The ''

Historia Norwegiæ ''Historia Norwegiæ'' is a short history of Norway written in Latin by an anonymous monk. The only extant manuscript is in the private possession of the Earl of Dalhousie, and is now kept in the National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh. The manu ...

'' presents a Latin summary of ''Ynglingatal'', older than Snorri's quotation: ''Ingjaldr'' is held to be an error for ''Yngvi''. Unlike ''Ynglingatal'', ''Historia Norwegiæ'' gives

Agne Agne (English: ''Agni''), ''Hogne'' or ''Agni Skjálfarbondi'' was a semi-legendary, king of Sweden, of the House of Yngling. Snorri Sturluson relates that he was the son of Dag the Wise, and he was mighty and famous. He was also skilled in many ...

as Yngvi's predecessor. Instead Alrekr precedes Agne and Agne is succeeded by Yngvi. The even earlier source ''

Íslendingabók ''Íslendingabók'' (, Old Norse pronunciation: , ''Book of Icelanders''; ) is a historical work dealing with early Icelandic history. The author was an Icelandic priest, Ari Þorgilsson, working in the early 12th century. The work originally ex ...

'' cites the line of descent in ''Ynglingatal'' and it gives the same line of succession as ''Historia Norwegiæ'': ''xi Dagr. xii Alrekr. xiii Agni. xiiii Yngvi. xv Jörundr''.Guðni Jónsson's edition of Íslendingabók
/ref>

Ari Frodi's Younger Íslendingabók

According to Ari Frodi's line of Swedish kings Yngvi was the son of

, and not of Agne's son

Gesta Danorum

Gesta Danorum ''Gesta Danorum'' ("Deeds of the Danes") is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark an ...

, Alf (Alverus) was the father of Yngve (Ing) and

Ingjald Ingjald illråde or Ingjaldr hinn illráði (''Ingold Illruler'' or ''Illready'') was a semi-legendary Swedish king of the House of Ynglings, son and successor of King Anund, and the father and predecessor of King Olof Trätälja. As with many ...

(Ingild). Ingjald, in his turn was the father of

Sigurd Hring Sigurd Ring (Old Norse: ''Sigurðr Hringr'', in some sources merely called ''Hringr'') according to legend was a king of the Swedes, being mentioned in many old Scandinavian sagas. According to these sources he was granted rulership over Sweden a ...

and the grandfather of

Ragnar Lodbrok according to legends, was a Viking hero and a Danish and Swedish king.Gutenberg Projec ...

Notes

References

* Nerman, B. ''Det svenska rikets uppkomst''. Stockholm, 1925. {{Norse mythology Mythological kings of Sweden House of Yngling Mythological duos Brother duos

History

Ari Frodi's Younger Íslendingabók

Gesta Danorum

See also

Notes

References