Nór (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

Nórr) is according to the Orkneyinga Saga the eponymous founder of Norway.

Icelandic accounts

Source material

Nór of

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 ...

appear in “Fundinn Nóregr” (‘Norway Founded’), hereafter called F, which begins the '' Orkneyinga saga'', and in ''

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 ...

'' (‘How Norway was Settled’), hereafter called B, both found in the ''

Flatey Book ''Flatey'' may refer to either of two islands in Iceland: *Flatey, Breiðafjörður * Flatey, Skjálfandi See also * ''Flateyjarbók ''Flateyjarbók'' (; "Book of Flatey") is an important medieval Icelandic manuscript. It is also known as GkS ...

''. The term is described differently in different sources.

About Thorri

King Thorri ('' Þorri'' 'frozen snow') was son of Snær ('Snow') the Old, a descendant of

Fornjót Fornjót (Old Norse: ''Fornjótr'') is a jötunn in Norse mythology, and the father of Hlér ('sea'), Logi ('fire') and Kári ('wind'). It is also the name of a legendary king of " Finnland and Kvenland". The principal study of this figure i ...

("king of Jotlandi (also spelled Gotlandi), later known as Quennlandi and Finnlandi"). See

Snær In Norse mythology, Snær (Old Norse Snærr, East Norse Sniō, Latin Nix, Nivis, English "snow") is seemingly a personification of snow, appearing in extant text as an euhemerized legendary Scandinavian king. Icelandic tradition In the '' Orkney ...

and

for further information. The name Þorri has long been connected with that of Þórr, the name of the Norse thunder god

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...

, or

thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

personified.Georg Friedrich Creuzer, Franz Joseph Mone, ''Symbolik und Mythologie der alten Völker, besonders der Griechen'', Heyer und Leske, 1822, p. 275. A grandson of King Snow, and Frost before that, king Nór marries Hedda (Höddu) daughter of Svaða Jótun that may be seen as descending from the

Scylding Old English Scylding (plural Scyldingas) and Old Norse Skjǫldung (plural Skjǫldungar), meaning in both languages "children of Scyld/Skjǫldr" are the members of a legendary royal family of Danes, especially kings. The name is explained in many ...

s, from the Kings of

Lejre Lejre is a railway town, with a population of 3,127 (1 January 2022),Dan in Denmark. Þorri is the brother of Driva, mother of

Visbur Visbur or Wisbur (Old Norse "Certain/Undoubted Son"McKinnell (2005:70).) was a legendary Swedish king of the House of Ynglings and the son of Vanlandi. He was burned to death inside his hall by the arson of two of his own sons in revenge for reje ...

, as attested by the scolding poetic genealogy known as

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 poet ...

, by King

Vanlande Vanlandi or ''Vanlande'' (Old Norse "Man from the Land of the Vanir"McKinnell (2005:70).) according to mythology was a Swedish king at Uppsala of the House of Yngling in Norse mythology. He was the son of Sveigðir whom he succeeded as king. He ...

(from the land of the

Wends Wends ( ang, Winedas ; non, Vindar; german: Wenden , ; da, vendere; sv, vender; pl, Wendowie, cz, Wendové) is a historical name for Slavs living near Germanic settlement areas. It refers not to a homogeneous people, but to various people ...

), as well as Fónn and Mjól, by their father Snow the Old (Snær ins Gamli) – who lived for 360 years. He was an offspring of Frost (Frosti), child of Kári (master of the arctic wind), sibling to Logi (master of the fire – eponymous to

Hålogaland Hålogaland was the northernmost of the Norwegian provinces in the medieval Norse sagas. In the early Viking Age, before Harald Fairhair, Hålogaland was a kingdom extending between the Namdalen valley in Trøndelag county and the Lyngen fjord ...

– High Logi), & Hler (master of the sea, also known by the name Ægir, and cognate with Llyr as well as King Lear of Shakespeare, as well as eponymous to

Lejre Lejre is a railway town, with a population of 3,127 (1 January 2022),Læsø Læsø ("Isle of Hlér") is the largest island in the North Sea bay of Kattegat, and is located off the northeast coast of the Jutland Peninsula, the Danish mainland. Læsø is also the name of the municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') on that ...

), as well as Gymir the husband of Aurboda, whose daughter becomes the famous Åsynje

Gerðr In Norse mythology, Gerðr (Old Norse: ; "fenced-in"Orchard (1997:54).) is a jötunn, goddess, and the wife of the god Freyr. Gerðr is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; the ''Prose Ed ...

Chronicon Lethrens'

The ''Chronicle of Lejre'' (“ Chronicon Lethrense”) written about 1170 introduces a primeval King Ypper of

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Located north of the c ...

whose three sons were Dan who afterwards ruled

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, Nori who afterwards ruled

, and Östen who afterwards ruled the Swedes. But the account then speaks only of the descendants of Dan. Although not matching, there are some correspondences between the sources. In the B-source (''Hversu Noregr byggðist'') Nór is married Höddu, granddaughter of a King Östen, on her mother Åshild's side. Her and her brother Hrolf of Berg's father, Svaða Jótun appears in a number of obscure genealogies as a descendant from Dan, through Hjörvard Halgison, also named Åsathor Oðinnson who married Helga Friðleifsson; Friðleif was born to

Fróði Fróði ( non, Frōði; ang, Frōda; Middle High German: ''Vruote'') is the name of a number of legendary Danish kings in various texts including ''Beowulf'', Snorri Sturluson's ''Prose Edda'' and his ''Ynglinga saga'', Saxo Grammaticus' ''Gesta ...

King of Denmark, descendants of Scjöldr, eponymous ancestor of the

s. Both accounts state that great sacrifice was made yearly at mid-winter, whence was derived both the name of the mid-winter sacrifice and the name of the winter month Thorri corresponding to late January and early February in the

Roman calendar The Roman calendar was the calendar used by the Roman Kingdom and Roman Republic. The term often includes the Julian calendar established by the reforms of the dictator Julius Caesar and emperor Augustus in the late 1stcenturyBC and sometim ...

The story of Nór

One year, at the time of Thorri's Sacrifice, Gói the daughter of King Thorri suddenly vanished. Thorri held a second feast the following month hoping to learn what had become of Gói. That sacrifice was afterward also observed regularly and known as Gói's Sacrifice and the name of the month was thence named Gói. When Gói was still not found after three years, her brothers Nór and Gór set out separately in search of her with many folk in their following, Nór and his folk going by land on skis while Gór went by ship and searched the islands and skerries. Eventually Nór and his following came to the Kjölen Mountains (the Keel) and passed into was later to be called Norway, defeating any who opposed him. F relates in particular that Nór defeated the folk around what was later called the

Trondheimsfjord The Trondheim Fjord or Trondheimsfjorden (), an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, is Norway's third-longest fjord at long. It is located in the west-central part of the country in Trøndelag county, and it stretches from the municipality of Ørland i ...

, that Nór also took possession of the eastern lands near Lake Mjors (modern lake Mjøsa), then slew King Sokni, the eponym of Sokna Dale (modern Sogndal) and Sognefjörd (modern Sognefjorden) and took possession of his kingdom. But B mentions instead the defeat of four kings named Véi, Vei, Hunding (''Hundingr''), and Heming (''Hemingr''). Then, in Heidemark (approximately the modern region of Hedemarken in the more extensive province of

Hedmark Hedmark () was a county in Norway before 1 January 2020, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar. Hedmark and Oppland counties were merged int ...

), Nór met with King Hrólf of the Hill (''Hrólfr í Bergr''). Hrólf was son of the giant Svadi (''Svaði'') from

Dovre Dovre is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dovre. Other villages in Dovre include Dombås and Hjerkinn. The m ...

Mountain in the north. According to B Hrólf's mother was Áshild (''Áshildr'') daughter of King Eystein of Heidemark. It was this Hrólf who had taken Gói captive and had then made her his wife. Nór and Hrólf came to terms (after a long single combat according to F). Hrólf kept Gói as his wife and Nór afterwards married Hrólf's sister (called Hödd in B) and became Nór's man. Both accounts relate that Gór eventually joined Nór and the two brothers made an agreement that Nór would rule all the mainland but Gór would rule all islands around the mainland, that he would be lord over any island that was separated from the mainland by a channel through which a ship with a fixed rudder was able to pass. The mainland was then named Norway (''Noregr'') after Nór. Nór's new kingdom is now said to have been what is south-eastern Norway today, as it extended from Jötunheim mountains in the north to what was later known as '' Álfheim'' (roughly the modern Swedish Bohuslän) in the south, the southern border of Nór's land being what is now the Glomma river whose southwestern course is not very far inside the southeastern border of modern Norway. The sons and grandsons and later descendants of Nór continually divided their inheritances among themselves so that Norway became filled with many small kingdoms and lordships.

Descendants of Nór

According to B, Nór's sons by Höddu were Thránd (''Þrándr'') and Gard (''Garðr''). B later brings in another son of Nór named Raum (''Raumr''). Presumably either Raum had another mother than Höddu, or Raum's name has accidentally dropped out from the earlier listing of Höddu's sons.

Thránd

Thránd ruled Trondheim (''Þrándheimr'') which was named after him and refers approximately to present day county of Sør-Trøndelag and the southern parts of Nord-Trøndelag, rather than to the city now called

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. ''

Eireks saga víðförla ''Eireks Saga Víðförla'' is a legendary saga about a Norwegian, Eric the Traveller. He travels to Miklagard, modern Istanbul, with Eric the Dane. There he interacts with a King, possibly the Eastern Roman Emperor, who informs him on Christian ...

'' ('The Saga of Eirek the Traveller') also brings in Thrand as the first king to regin of Trondheim. Thrand's ancestry is not given here, but he is the father of Eirek the Traveller (''Eirekr inn víðfǫrli'') the hero of the saga. '' Hálfdanar saga Eysteinssonar'' ('Saga of Halfdan Eystein's son') states instead that Trondheim was named from King Thránd, the father of Eirek the Traveller, but also states that Thrand was son of King

Sæmingr Sæmingr was a king of Norway according to Snorri Sturluson's euhemerized accounts or Hålogaland. He was said to be the son of Odin or Yngvi-Freyr. According to the prologue of the ''Prose Edda'', Sæmingr was one of the sons of Odin and the a ...

of Hálogaland, son of Odin, and that Thránd's mother and Sæmingr's wife was Nauma after whom Naumu Dale was named. For more on Sæmingr see

Sons of Odin Various gods and men appear as sons of Odin or sons of Wodan/Wotan/Woden in old Old Norse and Old High German and Old English texts. Thor, Baldr, Víðarr and Váli Four gods, Thor, Baldr, Víðarr and Váli, are explicitly identified as sons ...

. Thrand's wife is here said to be Dagmær sister of Svanhvít the wife of Hrómund Grip's son, the protagonist of '' Hrómundar saga Gripssonar''. The saga says that Eystein, son of Thrand and Dagmær, married Ása, a daughter of Sigurd Hart (the maternal 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 ...

), and she gave birth to Halfdan, the hero of the saga. This places Thrand just three generations back from Harald Fairhair. But this saga seems to be a late and untraditional creation, dating only to the early 14th century.

Gard

Gard son of Nór was also called Gard Agdi (''Garðr Agði''), apparently as ruler of Agdir (''Agðir''): the modern counties of Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder. Gard Agdi's descendants ruled the southwestern regions of Norway. See

Gard Agdi Gard Agdi (''Old Norse'' Garðr Agði) appears in the legendary genealogies of '' Hversu Noregr byggdist'' as one of the three sons of Nór, the legendary first king of Norway, and as ruler and ancestor of rulers over southwestern Norway. The surn ...

for details.

Raum the Old

Raum inherited south-eastern Norway and also the northwestern valley of the Rauma river to the western sea which waters the region called Raums Dale (modern

Romsdal Romsdal is a traditional district in the Norwegian county Møre og Romsdal, located between Nordmøre and Sunnmøre. The district of Romsdal comprises Aukra, Fræna, Midsund, Molde, Nesset, Rauma, Sandøy, and Vestnes. It is named after ...

). Raum in this account also ruled the land of Álfheim to the south. See

Raum the Old Raum the Old (Old Norse: ''Raumr inn gamli'') is a legendary king in Norway in the '' Hversu Noregr byggdist'' and in Thorsteins saga Víkingssonar. He was said to have been ugly, as was his daughter, Bryngerd, who was married to King Álf. Indeed ...

for further details on Raum and his descendants.

Descendants of Gór

Gór had sons named Heiti and Beiti (and according to B two other sons named Meitir and Geitir). Heiti and Beiti often made war against the sons of Nór. Beiti the sea-king had one of his ships put on sledge runners and so passed in the ship over the snow-covered land starting from what was afterwards called

Beitstad Beitstad () is a village in the municipality of Steinkjer in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located along the Beitstadsundet strait at the end of the Beitstadfjorden at the inner end of the Trondheimsfjord, about southwest of the vi ...

Beitstadfjorden Beitstadfjorden () is the innermost arm of the Trondheimsfjord in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the municipalities of Steinkjer, Inderøy, and a small part extends into Indre Fosen. The fjord has a length of from southwest to nort ...

from Beiti's named and passing north across Ellidæid (''Elliðæið'' 'Galley-neck') to Naumu Dale (''Naumudal'') with his father Gór in the ship with his hand on the tiller. So, by the agreement that had been made between Nór and Gór, the land between the path of the ship and the sea became Beiti's. The names of Beiti's descendants are missing from B. Heiti the sea-king was the father of Svadi (''Svaði''). Geitir was father of Glammi and Gylfi; and Meitir the sea-king was father of two sons named Mævil and Myndil (''Myndill''), Myndil being father of two sons named Ekkil (''Ekkill'') and Skekkil (''Skekkill''). But F speaks only of Gór's son Heiti as the father of Sveidi (''Sveiði'') the father of Halfdan the Old, who confusingly is named identically to Halfdan the Old who is a descendant of Nór. But it is from Halfdan the Old who is called a descendant of Gór from whom springs at last the Jarls of Orkney who are the subject of the ''Orkneyinga saga''. See

Halfdan the Old Halfdan the Old (Old Norse: ''Hálfdanr gamli'' and ''Hálfdanr inn gamli'') was an ancient, legendary king from whom descended many of the most notable lineages of legend. A second Halfdan the Old is the purported great-grandfather of Ragnvald Eys ...

to follow this lineage further. A famous family descending from Gór exists to this day in the 42nd generation, the old Hardanger male lineage of Galte.

Alternative spellings

Alternative Anglicizations are: * Glói: ''Gloi'' * Gór: ''Gorr'' * Hrólf: ''Hrolf'', ''Rolf'' * Nór: ''Norr'' * Forniot, ''Forniotr'' * Hlér: ''Hler'' ; : ''Kari'' * Snær: ''Snaer'', ''Snœr'', ''Snow'' * Véi: ''Vee''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nor Medieval Norway Kings in Norse mythology and legends