Ingjald Illråde is a legendary king in Norse folklore, from Uppland (Uppsala). Ingjald (Old Norse Ingjaldr), known by the byname Illråde ('ill-ruler' / 'ill-adviser'), is a semi-legendary early Swedish king attested in medieval saga-chronicles (notably Snorri Sturluson's Ynglinga saga and related lists). He is remembered for treacherous expansion — most famously the burning of rival kings in a hall — and for dying by self-immolation when confronted by a superior force.
In saga-derived genealogies Ingjald is presented as a son of King Anund and a member of the Yngling dynasty. His youth is framed by presence at the sacral centre of Uppsala (midwinter/Yule sacrifices) and by an anecdote in which he is given a roasted wolf's heart as a child leading the narrative to remark that he became fierce and ill-disposed. The sagas portray him taking a ceremonial vow (the Bragebeaker oath) to enlarge his realm and then pursuing that vow by treachery and violence, culminating in his death by burning when faced by Ivar Vidfamne's host.
The supplied saga material does not provide a standardized physical portrait. Narrative comments emphasize character and behavior — ferocity and a 'bad disposition' (the wolf-heart anecdote is given in saga tradition) — rather than consistent anthropomorphic description.
No supernatural powers are ascribed in the sources; Ingjald's capacities are political and martial. The sagas record his ability to muster men, to use ceremonial moments (the Bragebeaker oath) for public commitment, to arrange feasts and assemblies, and to employ deceit and arson (notably building a hall in which rival kings were burned) to eliminate rivals and enlarge his rule. Tradition also attributes to him the killing of multiple kings by treachery (a common saying records 'twelve kings' killed by deceit).
Weaknesses
- conditionvulnerability to superior military force and political coalition (defeat by Ivar Vidfamne's host)
Wards
None recorded.
Abraun
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Adils
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Agilaz (Egil)
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Agnarr Geirröðsson
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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.
Alaisiagae
A group of Germanic female deities attested in Roman Britain, worshipped by continental auxiliary troops at a shrine near Vercovicium (Housesteads) on Hadrian's Wall. Epigraphic evidence records dedications to named members (Beda, Fimmilena, and in other lists Baudihillia and Friagabis) alongside Mars Thincsus and the numen of the emperor; modern scholarship interprets them variously as war/victory goddesses, as goddesses associated with assembly/justice, or as part of Matronae‑type fertility/ancestor cults.
Alberich
In Germanic heroic legend, Alberich is a dwarf associated with elven qualities and power. (Note: 1. Power tier: Reduce to Ancient as Alberich's abilities are not described beyond being a dwarf with elven qualities. 2. Origin story: Clarify that Alberich is mentioned in multiple Germanic texts, bu)
Alcis
A pair of youthful brother-deities worshipped by the Naharvali, attested only in Tacitus' Germania (c. 98 CE). They were venerated in a sacred grove under the care of a priest in female attire and are compared by Roman ethnography to the Graeco‑Roman Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux).
Alf and Alfhild
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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.
Allerleirauh
Allerleirauh is the eponymous heroine of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale (Grimm no. 65; ATU 510B) who flees an enforced-marriage crisis by disguising herself in a mantle of many furs, takes menial service in another court, and later reveals her identity through three magnificent dresses and token objects to secure recognition and marriage.
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.
Community Record
- [1]Ingjald. Wikipedia, article 'Ingjald' (summary of Ynglinga saga, Ynglingatal, Historia Norwegiae and later lists)wiki
- [2]Ingjald (Wikidata). Wikidata entry Q138380744 (name instance and basic metadata)other