Saxo's Kings Of Sweden

The legendary kings of Sweden (, ) according to legends were rulers of Sweden and the Swedes who preceded Eric the Victorious and Olof Skötkonung, the earliest reliably attested Swedish kings. The stories of some of these kings may be embellished tales of local rulers or chiefs that actually existed. For example, Hygelac (500 A.D.) is believed to have historical basis due to his name being attested in Frankish, English, Danish and Icelandic sources. But the historicity of most legendary kings remains impossible to verify due to a lack of sources.Dick, Harrison 2011 http://blog.svd.se/historia/2011/10/13/varfor-jag-inte-tror-pa-sagokungar/ The modern Swedish monarchy considers Eric the Victorious to have been the first King of Sweden.

In medieval Swedish lists of kings, the figure generally represented as the first king of Sweden is Olof Skötkonung, the first Christian king of Sweden and the first Swedish king to mint coins. The earlier kings are for the most part only attested in Icelandic sagas, sometimes contradictory mixtures of myths and poetry, written in the 11th–13th centuries, several centuries after the events described in them. What is genuine history and what is myth and legend in the sagas is impossible to determine today, and everything contained in them must as such be regarded as legendary, if not fictional. The earliest legendary dynasty, the Ynglings, may be an entirely invented sequence of kings, serving to justify and legitimize the later dynasties and rulers in Scandinavia who claimed descent from them. Many of the legendary kings would have ruled during the Migration Period ( 375–550) and subsequent Vendel Period ( 550–790), but larger political structures in Scandinavia (i. e. the medieval kingdoms of Sweden, Norway and Denmark) are not believed to have formed and centralized until the Viking Age.

The legendary kings of Sweden, as presented in the sagas, covers three legendary dynasties of rulers; the Yngling dynasty, claimed to have been descended from the Norse god Odin, the dynasty founded by Ivar Vidfamne, who conquered Sweden and deposed the Ynglings, and the House of Munsö, which succeeded Vidfamne's dynasty. The final few kings considered part of the Munsö dynasty by the Icelandic sagas; Eric the Victorious, Olof Skötkonung, Anund Jacob and Emund the Old, were real historical kings, though that does not mean that their legendary ancestors were real historical figures. Contemporary primary sources from 9th–11th century Germany, such as the accounts of Adam of Bremen and Rimbert, contradict the line of Munsö kings purported to have existed by the sagas.

Yngling dynasty

The sequence of legendary kings below derives from medieval Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson's ''Ynglinga saga'', the first section of the saga collection '' Heimskringla''. The ''Ynglinga saga'' was composed by Sturluson 1230 and details the reigns and lives of the kings of the Yngling dynasty (), a legendary line of kings said to descend from the Norse god Odin. The Ynglings are described in the ''Ynglinga saga'' as the first royal blood line of the Swedes.

The ''Ynglinga saga'' contains no references to chronology (such as specific dates of the reigns of the various kings) with the exception of presenting the rulers in chronological order. In some places, names appear (notably kings Ottar and Adils) that might belong to people also attested in other sagas, such as ''Beowulf'' (written in the 10th–11th century in England, but concerning events in Scandinavia in the 6th/7th century), wherein the Ynglings are called Scylfings (Old Norse: ''Skilfingar''; ). According to the ''Ynglinga saga'', the earliest rulers used the title ''drotin'' (modern Swedish: ''Drott''). Even later Yngling rulers are typically not designated as "Kings of Sweden" or "Kings of the Swedes" in the ''Ynglinga saga'', most of them being described as "Kings in Uppsala", an early political center in Sweden. The Yngling dynasty is sometimes referred to as the "Royal House of Uppsala" in later scholarship.

Sequence of kings

The ''Ynglinga saga'' presents the following line of Yngling kings of the Swedes:

* Odin ''the Old'' (Old Norse: ''Óðinn''; Swedish: ''Oden'') – founder of the royal line; identified with the Norse mythological figure of the same name.
* Njord ''the Rich'' (Old Norse: ''Njörðr''; Swedish: ''Njord'', ''Njärd'') – son and successor of Odin; identified with the Norse mythological figure of the same name.
* Yngvi-Frey (Old Norse: ''Yngvi-Freyr''; Swedish: ''Yngve-Frej'', ''Yngve Frö'', ''Frö'') – son and successor of Njord; identified with the Norse mythological figure of the same name. Described as the founder of the subsequent Viking age political centre Gamla Uppsala. The Yngling dynasty takes its name from him.
* Fjölnir (Old Norse: ''Fjölnir''; Swedish: ''Fjölner'', ''Fjölne'') – son and successor of Yngvi-Frey.
* Sveigder (Old Norse: ''Sveigðir''; Swedish: ''Svegder'', ''Svegde'') – son and successor of Fjölnir.
* Vanlande (Old Norse: ''Vanlandi''; Swedish: ''Vanlande'', ''Vanland'') – son and successor of Sveigder.
* Visbur (Old Norse: ''Vísburr''; Swedish: ''Visbur'', ''Visburr'') – son and successor of Vanlande.
* Domalde (Old Norse: ''Dómaldi'', ''Dómaldr''; Swedish: ''Domalde'') – son and successor of Visbur.
* Domar (Old Norse: ''Dómarr''; Swedish: ''Domar'') – son and successor of Domalde.
* Dyggvi (Old Norse: ''Dyggvi''; Swedish: ''Dyggve'', ''Dygve'') – son and successor of Domar.
* Dag ''the Wise'' (Old Norse: ''Dagr Spaka''; Swedish: ''Dag den vise'') – son and successor of Dyggvi.
* Agne ''Skjálfarbondi'' (Old Norse: ''Agni Skjálfarbondi''; Swedish: ''Agne Skjalfarbonde'') – son and successor of Dag.
* Alaric (Old Norse: ''Alrekr''; Swedish: ''Alrik'', ''Alrek'') and Eric (Old Norse: ''Eiríkr''; Swedish: ''Erik'') – sons and co-successors of Agne.
* Yngvi (Old Norse: ''Yngvi''; Swedish: ''Yngve'') and Alf (Old Norse: ''Álfr''; Swedish: ''Alf'') – sons of Alaric; co-successors of Alaric and Eric.
* Hugleik (Old Norse: ''Hugleikr''; Swedish: ''Hugleik'', ''Huglek'') – son of Alf; successor of Yngvi and Alf.
** Haki (Old Norse: ''Haki''; Swedish: ''Hake Hednasson'') – Danish sea-king who conquered Sweden, usurpring the throne from Hugleik.
* Jorund (Old Norse: ''Jörundr''; Swedish: ''Jorund'', ''Jörund'', ''Järund'', ''Eorund'') – son of Yngvi and cousin of Hugleik; retook the throne from Haki.
* Aun ''the Old'' (Old Norse: ''Aun hinn gamli''; Swedish: ''Aun'', ''Ane'', ''Ön'', ''On'', ''One'') – son and successor of Jorund.
** Halfdan (Old Norse: ''Halfdan''; Swedish: ''Halfdan'', ''Halvdan'') – legendary Danish king of the Scylding dynasty; supposedly conquered Uppsala from Aun and ruled there as king for twenty years before dying of natural causes, whereupon Aun was reinstated as king.
** Ale ''the Strong'' (Old Norse: ''Ale''; Swedish: ''Ale'', ''Åle'') – legendary Danish king of the Scylding dynasty; conquered Uppsala from Aun and ruled there as king for twenty-five years before being killed by legendary champion Starkad, whereupon Aun was reinstated as king.
* Egil ''Tunnadolg'' (Old Norse: ''Egill Tunnudólgr''; Swedish: ''Egil Tunnadolg'', ''Angantyr'') – son and successor of Aun.
* Ottar ''Vendelcrow'' (Old Norse: ''Ótarr vendilkráka''; Swedish: ''Ottar Vendelkråka'') – son and successor of Egil.
* Eadgils ''the Mighty'' (Old Norse: ''Aðils''; Swedish: ''Adils'') – son and successor of Ottar.
* Eysteinn (Old Norse: ''Eysteinn''; Swedish: ''Östen'', ''Eystein'') – son and successor of Eadgils.
** Sölve (Old Norse: ''Sölve''; Swedish: ''Sölve Högnesson'', ''Salve'') – Danish or Geatish sea-king who conquered Sweden, usurping the throne from Eysteinn.
* Ingvar ''Harra'' (Old Norse: ''Yngvari''; Swedish: ''Yngvar Harra'', ''Ingvar'') – son of Eysteinn, proclaimed king after the Swedes turned on Sölve and murdered him.
* Anund (Old Norse: ''Brautönundr'', ''Anundr''; Swedish: ''Bröt-Anund'', ''Bryt-Önund'') – son and successor of Ingvar.
* Ingjald ''Illready'' (Old Norse: ''Ingjaldr hinn illráði''; Swedish: ''Ingjald illråde'', ''Ingjald illråda'') – son and successor of Anund. According to the ''Ynglinga saga'' the last of the Swedish Yngling kings as Sweden was conquered by Scanian king Ivar Vidfamne. Ingjald's son, Olof Trätälja, became ancestral to the later kings of Norway of the Fairhair dynasty.

Historicity

Sturluson's ''Ynglinga saga'' was created far too late to serve as a reliable source in regards to the events and kings it describes, being separated from the earliest ones by several centuries. ''Ynglinga saga'' appears to have been based on an earlier scaldic poem, '' Ynglingatal'', which is quoted at length by Snorri. ''Ynglingatal'' is not a reliable source either, though traditionally believed to have been composed at the end of the 9th or beginning of the 10th century, it might be from as late as the 12th century. Sturluson would have had access to older (now lost) manuscripts when writing the ''Ynglinga saga'', but this does not necessarily corroborate anything that appears in the ''Ynglinga saga'' as true. What is genuine history and what is myth and legend is today impossible to determine, and everything contained in the saga must as such be regarded as legendary, if not fictional. Modern scholarship does not see sagas such as the ''Ynglinga saga'' as good sources for genuine historical information. As a historical source, the ''Ynglinga saga'' is much better used as a source on historiography and society during Sturluson's own time than as a source on Sweden's early history.

It is possible that the Yngling line of kings is entirely fictional, invented by later Norwegian rulers to assert their right to rule Norway. In the Viking Age and later, Danish rulers repeatedly attempted to conquer Norway and through inventing a lineage that stretched back centuries, the Norwegian rulers may have attempted to demonstrate their inherent right to their lands and to put themselves on the same level as the Danes, who had historical accounts of their ancestors. The Swedish Ynglings might have been invented to glorify the Norwegian kings further, giving them a glorious and mythical past associated with Uppsala. Most of the sagas known today, the ''Ynglinga saga'' included, were composed during a relatively brief period, from the 12th to 13th century, a time when royal power was being consolidated in Norway, Denmark and Sweden. Their creation might thus stem from political and social needs (i. e. justifying the rule of a dynasty), rather than a desire to tell genuine history.

In addition to having been written centuries after the events they describe, the sagas have numerous other problems which make them unsuitable to use as sources. Many of the elements of the ''Ynglinga saga'' appear to be based on later, documented, events and people in Scandinavia. For instance, the figure of Aun, described as being driven from Uppsala and taking up court in Västergötland instead, is similar to the historical Swedish king Inge the Elder ( 1079–1084, 1087–1105), who was driven from Uppsala into Västergötland in the 11th century. The ''Ynglinga saga'' might also be an example of anti-royal social commentary rather than an attempt to tell history. Many of the kings in the saga are overshadowed by their contemporary vassals and wives, and they are rarely shown in a positive light. The inglorious deaths of many of the Swedish Ynglings; with examples such as murder, burning to death, drowning in mead and being " hag-ridden" to death, might be an attempt by Sturluson to say that the kings who ruled Norway in his time and claimed Yngling descent were not to be taken seriously. Though descent from figures such as Odin and Njord, gods in Norse mythology, might seem a prestigious origin, it would be problematic in early medieval Norway since the kings were Christian and their ancestors were worshipped as Pagan gods. Their addition to the saga might thus have been another attempt by Sturluson to undermine royal ideology.

If some of the Ynglings were real historical figures, they would have ruled during the Migration Period ( 375–550) and the subsequent Vendel Period ( 550–790), predating the Viking Age. Historical evidence of early geopolitics in Scandinavia suggests that larger political structures, kingdoms such as medieval Sweden, Norway and Denmark, did not form until the late Viking Age. The centralization of power under one monarch is believed to have resulted from, or at the very least have been connected to, Viking expansion, with petty kings increasing their power through aggressive military ventures directed both to foreign lands (i. e. Viking raids) and against their neighbors.

Vidfamne dynasty

According to the ''Ynglinga saga'', the Yngling dynasty's rule in Sweden was succeeded by Ivar Vidfamne, previously a petty king in Scania, who founded a new royal line.

Sequence of kings

The sequence of kings presented below is given by the ''Hervarar saga'', a saga written in the 12th or 13th century.

* Ivar ''Vidfamne'' (Old Norse: ''Ívarr inn víðfaðmi''; Swedish: ''Ivar Vidfamne'') – founder of the dynasty, deposed the Yngling dynasty.
* Harald ''Wartooth'' (Old Norse: ''Haraldr hilditǫnn''; Swedish: ''Harald Hildetand'') – son of Randver, Ivar's vassal king in Denmark, and Alfhild, the daughter of Ivar. Took control over most of Ivar's former empire.
* Eysteinn ''Beli'' (Old Norse: ''Eysteinn hinn illráði''; Swedish: ''Östen Illråde'', ''Östen Beli'') – son of Harald Wartooth, inherited Sweden. He ruled until Sweden was conquered by the Danish or Swedish Viking Ragnar Lodbrok