In the Old Norse literary corpus Granmar is presented as a king (konungr) of Södermanland whose recorded narrative is political and martial rather than supernatural. Heimskringla relates that Granmar married Hilda, daughter of the Geatish king Högne of East Götaland, and received Hjörvard the Sea-king as a son-in-law when Granmar had no sons; the marriage and acceptance of Hjörvard establish a defensive and political alliance. The Heimskringla account reports that when the Swedish king Ingjald Ill-ruler invited several petty kings to his hall to burn them, Granmar avoided the initial massacre by failing to arrive, but the following autumn he and Hjörvard were trapped at a feast on Selaön where Ingjald surrounded the hall and set it on fire, burning them to death. In contrast, the Helgi Hundingsbane poems and related traditions (reflected in the Volsunga saga milieu) preserve variant genealogies that ascribe sons to Granmar—Hothbrodd, Gudmund and Starkad—who are slain by the hero Helgi, a discrepancy that marks the character as part of competing saga and Eddaic strands of legendary history.
The surviving Old Norse sources provide no physical description of Granmar. The narratives focus on his actions, kinship ties, halls, feasting customs, and political role; as with many legendary kings in saga and Eddaic material, bodily or facial detail is not preserved in the provided texts, so no authoritative depiction of his appearance can be drawn from the sources.
Sources depict Granmar as a mortal king and war-leader: he hosts feasts, negotiates marriage alliances (notably to Hilda, daughter of Högne), accepts and grants positions to retainers (e.g., accommodating Hjörvard as son-in-law and defender), and leads or participates in military resistance against Ingjald Ill-ruler alongside allies such as Högne and Hjörvard. He is portrayed as politically active and militarily engaged rather than possessing supernatural powers. Tradition differs on his progeny: Heimskringla states he had no sons, while the Helgi poems attribute sons (Hothbrodd, Gudmund, Starkad) who are slain by Helgi.
Weaknesses
- conditionvulnerability to political treachery (hall-burning by Ingjald)
- conditionabsence or lack of male heirs (Heimskringla reports he had no sons), which affects succession and political security
Wards
- ritualmarriage and alliance-making
- ritualfeasting customs and hospitality
- conditionmilitary alliance
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]Granmar — Wikipedia. Wikipedia: Granmarwiki
- [2]Wikidata: Granmar (Q5595982). Wikidata entry for Granmarother
- [3]Heimskringla (account summarized in supplied notes). Heimskringla (Snorri Sturluson) as summarized in source materials; cited incidents: marriage to Hilda, alliance with Hjörvard and Högne, avoidance of initial invitation, later burning on Selaönliterary
- [4]Helgakviða Hundingsbana I & II / Volsunga saga (Eddaic materials summarized). Poetic Edda (Helgakviða Hundingsbana I & II) and related saga material as summarized in source materials; cited tradition attributing sons Hothbrodd, Gudmund, and Starkad to Granmar who are slain by Helgiliterary
- [5]Archive items related to 'Granmar' (not substantive on the legendary king). Archive entries referenced in supplied materials (not providing additional verifiable detail about the legendary king)other