Närke, is a province in Central Sweden, which historically formed part of Svealand. The name of the province is partly derived from an old name for the people of the province, the Njarar (Njars) or Nerikjar (today Närkingar). The root nari, neri is cognate to English narrow and refers to the narrow inlets that caracterized the geography, a tribe that is also mentioned in the lay of Völund (Weyland the Smith): "When the Lord of the Njars, Nidud, heard That Völund sat i ...

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The Tyrfing Cycle is a collection of legends united by the magic sword Tyrfing. Two of them are found in the Poetic Edda, and the Hervarar saga can be seen as a compilation of these legends. Tyrfing Cycle - The forging and the curse. The first part deals with the forging of the sword Tyrfing by the Dwarves Durin and Dvalin. They are forced to do so by Svafrlami, the king of Gardariki, but in revenge they curse the sword so that it will kill a man every time it is unsheathed, cause three evil deeds and be th ...

Including:

• Tyrfing Cycle - The forging and the curse
• Tyrfing Cycle - The Battle on Samsø
• Tyrfing Cycle - Hervor
• Tyrfing Cycle - Heidrek
• Tyrfing Cycle - The Battle of the Goths and the Huns
• Tyrfing Cycle - The history of Sweden

Read more here: » Tyrfing Cycle: Encyclopedia - Tyrfing Cycle

The Wulfings or Wylfings (the name means the "wolf clan") was a prominent family/clan in Beowulf and Widsith. According to one theory (Newton 1993), the East Anglian Wuffing dynasty was derived from the Wulfings, and it was at their court that Beowulf was first composed. The Old Norse form of this name is Ylfing 1, and a powerful Scandinavian clan by that name figures prominently in the Heimskringla and in Sögubrot, where ...

Including:

• Wulfing - Norse sagas
• Wulfing - Beowulf
• Wulfing - Known Wulfings
• Wulfing - Footnotes
• Wulfing - Primary sources
• Wulfing - Secondary sources

Read more here: » Wulfing: Encyclopedia - Wulfing

Bilskirnir, Breidablik, Élivágar, Eliudnir, Fensalir, Fólkvangr, Gimlé, Ginnungagap, Gjallar Bridge, Gjöll, Gladsheim, Glasir, Glitnir, Gnipa, Himinbjörg, Hindarfjall, Horgr, Idavoll, Jotunheim, Ironwood, Hlidskjalf, Midgard, Muspelheim, Mirkwood, Nastrond, Niflheim, Noatun, Sessrúmnir, Singasteinn, Slidr River, Sökkvabekkr, Thrudvang, Thrymheim, Utgard, Valhall, Vanaheim, Hvergelmi ...

Including:

• Norse mythology - Sources
• Norse mythology - Cosmology
• Norse mythology - Supernatural beings
• Norse mythology - Völuspá: the origin and end of the world
• Norse mythology - Kings and heroes
• Norse mythology - Norse worship
• Norse mythology - Centres of faith
• Norse mythology - Priests
• Norse mythology - Human sacrifice
• Norse mythology - Interactions with Christianity
• Norse mythology - Modern influences
• Norse mythology - Bibliography

Read more here: » Norse mythology: Encyclopedia - Norse mythology

The Battle of the Brávellir or the Battle of Bråvalla was a legendary battle that took place on the Brávellir between Sigurd Ring, king of Sweden and the Geats of West Götaland, and Harald Wartooth, king of Denmark and the Geats of East Götaland. Battle of the Brávellir - Sources. This battle is said to have taken place in the mid 8th century and it is retold in several sources, such as the Norse sagas Hervarar saga, Bósa saga ok Herrauds and Sögubrot af Nokkrum, but it i ...

Including:

• Battle of the Brávellir - Sources
• Battle of the Brávellir - Cause
• Battle of the Brávellir - Preparation
• Battle of the Brávellir - Location
• Battle of the Brávellir - Battle
• Battle of the Brávellir - Outcome

Read more here: » Battle of the Brávellir: Encyclopedia - Battle of the Brávellir

The number, names, and order of the Skjöldung kings vary greatly in different texts until one comes to Halfdan/Healfdene. All Old English texts call Scyld's son and successor Beaw or some similar name. (The name was expanded to Beowulf in the poem Beowulf, probably in error by a scribe who thought it was an abbreviation for the name of the poem's hero, who is quite a different person). Halfdan/Healfdene seems to be the direct son of Beaw in the poem. But all Scandinavian sources that mention both Skjöld and Halfdan put Halfda ...

See also:

Scylding, Scylding - From Skjöld to Halfdan, Scylding - Halfdan and his descendants, Scylding - Other Skjöldungar

Read more here: » Scylding: Encyclopedia II - Scylding - From Skjöld to Halfdan

The first part deals with the forging of the sword Tyrfing by the Dwarves Durin and Dvalin. They are forced to do so by Svafrlami, the king of Gardariki, but in revenge they curse the sword so that it will kill a man every time it is unsheathed, cause three evil deeds and be the undoing of Svarflami. Svarflami is killed in single combat with the beserker Arngrim, who takes the sword and gives it to his son Angantyr. ...

See also:

Tyrfing Cycle, Tyrfing Cycle - The forging and the curse, Tyrfing Cycle - The Battle on Samsø, Tyrfing Cycle - Hervor, Tyrfing Cycle - Heidrek, Tyrfing Cycle - The Battle of the Goths and the Huns, Tyrfing Cycle - The history of Sweden

Read more here: » Tyrfing Cycle: Encyclopedia II - Tyrfing Cycle - The forging and the curse

For lists of the prehistoric kings of Sweden see Mythological kings of Sweden Semi-legendary kings of Sweden List of Swedish monarchs - The House of Munsö or Uppsala. c. 970- c. 995 : Eric the Victorius (Erik Segersäll) c. 995- c. 1022 : Olof the Treasurer (Olof Skötkonung) c. 1022-1050 : Anund Jacob (Anund Jakob) - and in South Canut ...

See also:

List of Swedish monarchs, List of Swedish monarchs - Monarchs Regents and Viceroys of Sweden, List of Swedish monarchs - The House of Munsö or Uppsala, List of Swedish monarchs - The House of Stenkil, List of Swedish monarchs - The Houses of Sverker and Erik, List of Swedish monarchs - The House of Bjällbo, List of Swedish monarchs - Regents of the Kalmar Union and Viceroys Riksföreståndare, List of Swedish monarchs - The House of Vasa, List of Swedish monarchs - The House of Wittelsbach Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Kleeburg, List of Swedish monarchs - The House of Hesse, List of Swedish monarchs - The House of Holstein-Gottorp, List of Swedish monarchs - The House of Bernadotte

Read more here: » List of Swedish monarchs: Encyclopedia II - List of Swedish monarchs - Monarchs Regents and Viceroys of Sweden

For lists of the prehistoric kings of Sweden see Mythological kings of Sweden Semi-legendary kings of Sweden List of Swedish monarchs - The House of Munsö or Uppsala. c. 970- c. 995 : Eric the Victorius (Erik Segersäll) c. 995- c. 1022 : Olof the Treasurer (Olof Skötkonung) c. 1022-1050 : Anund Jacob (Anund Jakob) - and in South Canut ...

See also:

List of Swedish monarchs, List of Swedish monarchs - Monarchs Regents and Viceroys of Sweden, List of Swedish monarchs - The House of Munsö or Uppsala, List of Swedish monarchs - The House of Stenkil, List of Swedish monarchs - The Houses of Sverker and Erik, List of Swedish monarchs - The House of Bjällbo, List of Swedish monarchs - Regents of the Kalmar Union and Viceroys Riksföreståndare, List of Swedish monarchs - The House of Vasa, List of Swedish monarchs - The House of Pfalz-Zweibrücken, List of Swedish monarchs - The House of Hesse, List of Swedish monarchs - The House of Holstein-Gottorp, List of Swedish monarchs - The House of Bernadotte

Read more here: » List of Swedish monarchs: Encyclopedia II - List of Swedish monarchs - Monarchs Regents and Viceroys of Sweden

Snorri Sturluson relates that when his father Anund had died, Ingjald became the king of Sweden. The kings at Uppsala were the foremost among the kings of the various provinces since Odin ruled the country, and they were the supreme chiefs of the other kingdoms since the death of Agne and Sweden was divided between Erik and Alrik. The descendants of these two kings had spread, cleared land and settled new territories, ...

See also:

Ingjald, Ingjald - Youth, Ingjald - The deceit, Ingjald - Wars, Ingjald - Downfall, Ingjald - Secondary sources

Read more here: » Ingjald: Encyclopedia II - Ingjald - The deceit

All sources describe him as the son of Ivar Vidfamne's daughter Aud (but Hervarar saga calls her Alfhild). According to Sögubrot and the Lay of Hyndla, Harald was the son of Rörek, the king of Zealand. Sögubrot relates that his mother later married Radbart, the king of Gardariki and they had the son Randver. However, according to Hervarar saga, both Harald and Randver were the sons of Valdar and Alfhild. Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum does not mention any Ivar Vidfamne, and gives two different versions of Harald's ancestry. First ...

See also:

Harald Wartooth, Harald Wartooth - Family, Harald Wartooth - Claiming his inheritance, Harald Wartooth - The Battle of Bråvalla, Harald Wartooth - Primary sources

Read more here: » Harald Wartooth: Encyclopedia II - Harald Wartooth - Family

His mother was Gauthild, a princess of West götaland, whose maternal grandfather was Olof the Sharp-sighted, the king of Nerike. His mother sent him to his foster-father Bove in West Götaland, where he grew up with his foster-brother Saxe who was surnamed Flette. When Olof heard of his father's death, he assembled the men who were willing to follow him and went to his kinsmen in Nerike, because after his father's atrocities, th ...

See also:

Olof Trätälja, Olof Trätälja - Heimskringla, Olof Trätälja - Ynglingatal and Historia Norwegiae, Olof Trätälja - Archaeology

Read more here: » Olof Trätälja: Encyclopedia II - Olof Trätälja - Heimskringla

In Norse mythology, the earth was believed to be a flat disc. This disk is situated in the branches of the world tree, or Yggdrasil. Asgard, where the gods lived, was located at the centre of the disc, and could only be reached by walking across the rainbow (the Bifröst bridge). The Giants lived in an abode called Jötunheimr (giant realm). A cold, dark underground abode called Niflheim was ruled by Hel, daughter of Loki. According to the Prose Edda this was the eventual dwelling-place of most of the dead. Located somewhere in ...

See also:

Norse mythology, Norse mythology - Sources, Norse mythology - Cosmology, Norse mythology - Supernatural beings, Norse mythology - Völuspá: the origin and end of the world, Norse mythology - Kings and heroes, Norse mythology - Norse worship, Norse mythology - Centres of faith, Norse mythology - Priests, Norse mythology - Human sacrifice, Norse mythology - Interactions with Christianity, Norse mythology - Modern influences, Norse mythology - Bibliography

Read more here: » Norse mythology: Encyclopedia II - Norse mythology - Cosmology

In Norse mythology, the earth is represented as a flat disc. This disk is situated in the branches of the world tree, or Yggdrasil. Asgard, where the gods lived, was located at the centre of the disc, and could only be reached by walking across the rainbow (the Bifröst bridge). The Giants lived in an abode called Jötunheimr (giant realm). A cold, dark underground abode called Niflheim was ruled by Hel, daughter of Loki. According to the Prose Edda this was the eventual dwelling-place of mos ...

See also:

Norse mythology, Norse mythology - Overview, Norse mythology - Sources, Norse mythology - Cosmology, Norse mythology - Supernatural beings, Norse mythology - Völuspá: the origin and end of the world, Norse mythology - Kings and heroes, Norse mythology - Norse worship, Norse mythology - Centres of faith, Norse mythology - Priests, Norse mythology - Human sacrifice, Norse mythology - Interactions with Christianity, Norse mythology - Modern influences, Norse mythology - Bibliography

Read more here: » Norse mythology: Encyclopedia II - Norse mythology - Cosmology

According to Saxo Grammaticus, both hosts prepared for seven years, and mustered armies of 200 000 men. Harald was joined by the legendary heroes Ubbe of Friesland, Uvle Brede, Are the One-eyed, Dag the Fat, Hroi Whitebeard and Hothbrodd the indomitable as well was 300 shieldmaidens led by Hed, Visna and Hedborg. Sigurd recruited the legendary heroes Starkad, Egil the Bald, Grette the Evil (a Norwegian), Blig Bignose, Einar the Fatbellied and Erling Snake. They were joined by scores of Norwegians, Saxons, Angles, Frisians, Irish, Rus', Finns ...

See also:

Battle of the Brávellir, Battle of the Brávellir - Sources, Battle of the Brávellir - Cause, Battle of the Brávellir - Preparation, Battle of the Brávellir - Location, Battle of the Brávellir - Battle, Battle of the Brávellir - Outcome

Read more here: » Battle of the Brávellir: Encyclopedia II - Battle of the Brávellir - Preparation

The saga deals with the cursed sword Tyrfing and how it was forged and cursed by the Dwarves Dvalin and Durin for king Svafrlami. Later, he lost it to the beserker Arngrim from Bolmsö who gave it to his son Angantyr. Angantyr died during a fight on Samsø against the Swedish hero Hjalmar, whose friend Orvar-Odd buried the cursed sword in a barrow together with Angantyr. From the barrow it was retrieved by Angantyr's daughter, the shieldmaiden Hervor who summoned her dead father to claim her inheritance. Then the saga continues with her and ...

See also:

Hervarar saga, Hervarar saga - Synopsis, Hervarar saga - Versions, Hervarar saga - Age, Hervarar saga - Tolkien, Hervarar saga - Bibliography

Read more here: » Hervarar saga: Encyclopedia II - Hervarar saga - Synopsis

In the first poem (Helgakviða Hundingsbana I), Sinfjotli has his residence on the Bravellir (in East Götaland, see Battle of Bråvalla). Stanza 42: Sinfiotli qvaþ: «Þv vart brvþr Grana a Bravelli, gvllbitlvþ vart gor til rasar; hafda ec þer moþri mart sceiþ riþit, svangri vnd sa/þli, simvl! forbergis.»[1] Sinfjotli quoth: "You were the bride ...

See also:

Wulfing, Wulfing - Norse sagas, Wulfing - Beowulf, Wulfing - Known Wulfings, Wulfing - Footnotes, Wulfing - Primary sources, Wulfing - Secondary sources

Read more here: » Wulfing: Encyclopedia II - Wulfing - Norse sagas

Norse mythology was a collection of beliefs and stories shared by Northern Germanic tribes. It was not a revealed religion, in that it was not a truth handed down from the divine to the mortal (although it does have tales of normal persons learning the stories of the gods from a visit to or from the gods), and it had no scripture. The mythology was orally transmitted in the form of long, regular poetry. Oral transmission continued through the Viking Age, and our knowledge about it is mainly based on the Eddas and other medieval texts wri ...

See also:

Norse mythology, Norse mythology - Overview, Norse mythology - Sources, Norse mythology - Cosmology, Norse mythology - Supernatural beings, Norse mythology - Völuspá: the origin and end of the world, Norse mythology - Kings and heroes, Norse mythology - Norse worship, Norse mythology - Centres of faith, Norse mythology - Priests, Norse mythology - Human sacrifice, Norse mythology - Interactions with Christianity, Norse mythology - Modern influences, Norse mythology - Bibliography

Read more here: » Norse mythology: Encyclopedia II - Norse mythology - Overview

The Germanic gods have left traces in modern vocabulary. An example of this is some of the names of the days of the week: modelled after the names of the days of the week in Latin (named after Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn), the names for Tuesday through to Friday were replaced with Germanic equivalents of the Roman gods. In English, Saturn was not replaced, while Saturday is named after the sabbath in German, and is called "washing day" in Scandinavia. Norse mythology also influenced Richard Wagner's use of literary themes from it to compose the four operas that comprise Der Ring ...

See also:

Norse mythology, Norse mythology - Overview, Norse mythology - Sources, Norse mythology - Cosmology, Norse mythology - Supernatural beings, Norse mythology - Völuspá: the origin and end of the world, Norse mythology - Kings and heroes, Norse mythology - Norse worship, Norse mythology - Centres of faith, Norse mythology - Priests, Norse mythology - Human sacrifice, Norse mythology - Interactions with Christianity, Norse mythology - Modern influences, Norse mythology - Bibliography

Read more here: » Norse mythology: Encyclopedia II - Norse mythology - Modern influences

An important problem in interpreting this mythology is that often the closest accounts that we have to "pre-contact" times were written by Christians. The Younger Edda and the Heimskringla were written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century, over two hundred years after Iceland became Christianized. Virtually all of the saga literature came out of Iceland, a relatively small and remote island, and even in the climate of religious tolerance there, Snorri was guided by an essentially Christian viewpoint. The Heimskring ...

See also:

Norse mythology, Norse mythology - Overview, Norse mythology - Sources, Norse mythology - Cosmology, Norse mythology - Supernatural beings, Norse mythology - Völuspá: the origin and end of the world, Norse mythology - Kings and heroes, Norse mythology - Norse worship, Norse mythology - Centres of faith, Norse mythology - Priests, Norse mythology - Human sacrifice, Norse mythology - Interactions with Christianity, Norse mythology - Modern influences, Norse mythology - Bibliography

Read more here: » Norse mythology: Encyclopedia II - Norse mythology - Interactions with Christianity