In Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda Gefjon is granted 'one plough-land' by King Gylfi; she takes four oxen from Jötunheimr — said to be her sons by a jötunn — and ploughs so deeply that she uproots a tract of land, which she draws out into the sea to become the island of Zealand while the pit left behind becomes a lake in Sweden (Snorri aligns this with Lake Mälaren though he notes other geographies such as Vänern have been suggested). Heimskringla presents a euhemerized account in which Gefjon is associated with Odense and is said to marry the legendary Danish king Skjöldr, placing her among ancestral/royal figures in saga-historic prose.
Primary source descriptions supply no sustained physical portrait of Gefjon beyond narrative scenes and poetic imagery. The Prose Edda and associated skaldic verses portray her in the act of ploughing with four swift oxen (her sons), and the Poetic Edda (Lokasenna) records her as a speaking participant among the gods. Kennings and skaldic usage place her as a known divine name in verse but do not provide detailed bodily features.
Texts attribute cosmological and social functions to Gefjon rather than enumerated magical rites. Her signature mythic act is land-creation by ploughing (Prose Edda, Heimskringla): by enlisting four oxen she removes land to form Zealand. Snorri's prose also describes her as a virgin and states that 'all who die as virgins attend her,' indicating a named post-mortem association. In Lokasenna Odin defends her, saying she 'knows the destinies of mankind just as well as Odin himself,' which associates her with foresight or knowledge of fate. She appears among the ásynjur at Ægir's feast and is used as a name in skaldic kennings.
Freyja
Freyja is a major Vanir goddess in Norse mythology associated with love, beauty, fertility, gold, war, and the seiðr form of magic. She rules the field Fólkvangr and the hall Sessrúmnir, where she receives half of those slain in battle, and is attested across the Poetic Edda, the Prose Edda, skaldic poetry, and later Scandinavian folklore.
Fulla
Fulla (Old Norse Fulla; Old High German Volla/Folla) is a named goddess (ásynja) in the Germanic tradition, attested as Frigg's trusted attendant and confidante in Old Norse sources and as a named singer in the Old High German Merseburg horse-healing charm.
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]Prose Edda (Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál) - accounts of Gefjon. Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda (Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál) — ploughing myth; statement that Gefjon is a virgin and receives those who die virgins; skaldic quotations.literary
- [2]Lokasenna (Poetic Edda) — Gefjon attested in three stanzas. Poetic Edda, Lokasenna — conversational poem in which Loki accuses and Odin defends Gefjon, with Odin saying she knows destinies as well as he.literary
- [3]Heimskringla (Ynglinga saga) — euhemerized account. Snorri Sturluson, Heimskringla — euhemerized narrative placing Gefjon in Odense/Lejre and saying she married Skjöldr (legendary royal association).literary
- [4]Gefjon (Wikipedia summary). Modern summary of attestations, etymological discussion linking Gef- to Gefn and referencing scholarly debate about geography (Mälaren/Vänern) and functions.wiki
- [5]Archive JSTOR snippet / academic discussion (Gefjon). Secondary scholarly material discussing Gefjon's name, functions and links to other goddess-forms (used in source summaries).other