In the medieval Icelandic tradition preserved in the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, Dagr is presented as a son of Dellingr. Snorri Sturluson (Gylfaginning) reports that Odin gave Dagr a chariot and the horse Skinfaxi and placed him in the sky to ride around the Earth, bringing daylight each day. Manuscript variation in Snorri's Gylfaginning affects details of mothering/genealogy (some variants name Nótt or Jörð), a point noted in modern discussions of the texts.
The sources give brief, poetically framed descriptions: Dagr is described as bright and beautiful (Prose Edda, Gylfaginning). He rides a horse, Skinfaxi, whose gleaming mane is said to illuminate the sky and the Earth (Vafþrúðnismál; Prose Edda). Hrafnagaldr Óðins includes a verse where the son of Delling urges on a horse 'adorned with precious jewels' and the horse's mane shines over mankind, emphasizing radiance rather than detailed anthropomorphic features.
Dagr's principal role is the personification and ordering of the daylight cycle: he rides across the sky such that Skinfaxi's mane 'draws day to mankind' and illuminates the world. Snorri frames this as a regular, roughly 24-hour cyclic motion. Beyond bringing daylight and participating in the familial cosmology of personified natural phenomena, the medieval sources do not attribute additional magical powers or hostile behavior to Dagr. Scholarly proposals (e.g., Otto Höfler) linking Dagr with the heroic name Svipdagr are interpretive hypotheses rather than direct textual claims.
Adils
Adils (Old Norse Aðils; also Eadgils, Adillus, Athisl, Adhel) is a semi‑legendary sixth‑century Swedish king attested in Old Norse saga material and later medieval traditions. He appears in saga episodes as a storied royal figure involved in warfare, court acts, and marriage suits rather than as a supernatural being.
Agilaz (Egil)
Agilaz (reconstructed Proto-Germanic) — commonly recorded in medieval sources as Egil or Ægil — is a legendary archer attested in Germanic heroic tradition. He appears as the brother of Völund (Wayland/Weland) in the Old Norse poem Völundarkviða and in the Thidreks saga, and his name is also inscribed on early medieval objects (Franks Casket, Pforzen buckle). The attested material presents him as a named heroic human archer within saga and inscriptional contexts rather than as a recurrent supernatural species.
Agnarr Geirröðsson
Agnarr Geirröðsson is a mortal prince attested only in the Poetic Edda poem Grímnismál; he aids Odin (disguised as Grímnir) during Geirröðr's torture and, after Odin reveals himself and King Geirröðr dies, Agnarr succeeds as king.
Agne
Agne (also attested Agni, Hogne, Agni Skjálfarbondi) is a semi-legendary king of Sweden in Old Norse saga tradition, preserved in the Ynglingatal corpus and prose expansions such as Snorri Sturluson's Ynglinga saga. He is portrayed as a mighty and famous warrior-king whose campaign in Finland, marriage to Skjalf, and death by hanging form a remembered episode connected to local place-names and a burial mound.
Alf and Alfhild
Alf and Alfhild are legendary human figures from Old Norse/early Scandinavian narrative tradition preserved principally in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum. The tale presents Alf as a Danish prince and Alfhild as a Geatish princess who becomes a shieldmaiden and leader of a fleet of female raiders; their story includes combat, recognition, marriage, and later dynastic conflict.
Algaut
Algaut (also rendered Algöt or Algaut Gautreksson) is a semi-legendary Geatish king of West Götaland recorded in Scandinavian saga and genealogical tradition. Saga summaries (via Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla as reported in later compilations) record that he was the father of Gauthild and was burnt to death by his son-in-law, the Swedish king Ingjald Ill-ruler.
Almáttki áss
Almáttki áss is an epithet-attested divine figure invoked in an Icelandic legal oath recorded in Landnámabók (Hauksbók 268). In the sole attestation the phrase functions as an invoked áss (god) described with the adjective almáttki ('almighty') and serves as the divine guarantor or witness for an oath sworn on a temple ring. Scholarly sources debate whether the epithet refers to a named Norse god (Thor, Ullr, Odin, or Týr) or is a Christianizing formulation by a later author.
Alrek and Eirík
Alrek and Eirík (also rendered Alaric and Eric) are legendary Swedish kings from the Old Norse saga tradition who are presented as joint rulers and as members of the Ynglinga royal genealogies. They appear in saga narratives as sons and heirs of King Agni, famed for martial and athletic prowess, and as hosts who receive the hero Starkaðr after the sacrificial death of Vikar.
Alvaldi
Alvaldi (Old Norse: Alvaldi / Ölvaldi) is a jötunn in Norse mythic genealogies, attested chiefly as the father of the notable jötunn Þjazi and described in one source as exceedingly rich in gold. He survives in the record mainly as a familial antecedent and an etiological figure rather than as an active participant in preserved narratives.
Alvíss
Alvíss (Old Norse: 'All‑Wise') is a dwarf in Norse mythology who appears in the Poetic Edda poem Alvíssmál as a prospective husband for Thor's daughter Þrúðr. In the surviving narrative Thor tests Alvíss's wisdom through a lengthy question-and-answer session that lasts until sunrise, whereupon the dwarf is petrified by exposure to sunlight.
Amleth
Amleth (Old Norse: Amlóði; Latinized Amlethus) is a legendary medieval Scandinavian prince and saga-hero best known from Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum. He is a human protagonist whose story centers on feigned madness, cunning survival, exile to Britain, marriage, wealth-gathering, and eventual vengeance against his father's murderer; the tale later inspired the character of Shakespeare's Hamlet and numerous adaptations.
Ancient Kings of Finland
In early literary sources, the Ancient Kings of Finland are described as hypothetical or mythical monarchic systems associated with ancient Finland. (Note: 1. Power tier: Lower to Primordial (given the lack of specific abilities and behaviors) 2. Abilities and behaviors are described as 'generally vague', so this section should be reworded or removed 3. )
Community Record
- [1]Poetic Edda: Vafþrúðnismál (stanza referencing Skinfaxi). Poetic Edda, Vafþrúðnismál — stanza noting Skinfaxi 'drawing day to mankind' and the horse's mane gleaming (cited in secondary sources and summaries).literary
- [2]Prose Edda: Gylfaginning ch.10. Prose Edda, Gylfaginning ch.10 — passage stating Dagr is 'as bright and beautiful as his father's people', that Odin gave him the horse Skinfaxi whose mane illuminates sky and Earth, and that they ride around the Earth every 24 hours (Snorri's account; manuscript variation noted in scholarship).literary
- [3]Hrafnagaldr Óðins (stanza). Hrafnagaldr Óðins — verse describing 'the son of Delling' urging on a horse 'adorned with precious jewels' and the horse's mane shining over mankind (poetic emphasis on radiance).literary
- [4]Secondary commentary on manuscript variation and scholarly hypotheses. Modern summaries note manuscript variation in Snorri's genealogical details (e.g., whether Nótt or Jörð is named) and record interpretive proposals (Otto Höfler) linking Dagr to Svipdagr; these connections are presented as scholarly hypotheses rather than established textual facts.other