 halfdan the old (old norse: hÃ¡lfdanr gamli and hÃ¡lfdanr inn gamli) was an ancient, legendary king from whom descended many of the most notable lineages of legend. a second halfdan the old is the purported great-grandfather of ragnvald eysteinsson. ==halfdan the old, ancestor of many lineages== ===hyndluljÃ³d=== the eddic poem hyndluljÃ³d states in verses 14&ndash;16: "of old the noblest &nbsp; &nbsp; of all was Ãli, before him halfdan, &nbsp; &nbsp; foremost of skjÃ¶ldungs [skj&#491;ldungar]; famed were the battles &nbsp; &nbsp; the hero fought, to the corners of heaven &nbsp; &nbsp; his deeds were carried. "strengthened by eymund [eymundr], &nbsp; &nbsp; the strongest of men, sigtrygg [sigtryggr] he slew &nbsp; &nbsp; with the ice-cold sword; his bride was Ãlmveig [Ãlmveigr], &nbsp; &nbsp; the best of women, and eighteen boys &nbsp; &nbsp; did Ãlmveig bear him. "hence come the skjÃ¶ldungs, &nbsp; &nbsp; hence the skilfings, hence the Ãdlings [&#490;Ã°lingar], &nbsp; &nbsp; hence the ynglings, hence come the free-born, &nbsp; &nbsp; hence the high-born, the noblest of men &nbsp; &nbsp; that in midgard dwell: and all are thy kinsmen, &nbsp; &nbsp; Ãttar, thou fool!" though halfdan is himself called a skjÃ¶ldung in verse&nbsp;14, in verse&nbsp;16 the skjÃ¶ldungs are named instead as one of the families that sprang from halfdan's marriage with Ãlmveig. ===skÃ¡ldskaparmÃ¡l=== snorri sturluson explains in the skÃ¡ldskaparmÃ¡l: there was a king named halfdan the old, who was most famous of all kings. he made a great sacrificial feast at mid-winter, and sacrificed to this end, that he might live three hundred years in his kingdom; but he received these answers: he should not live more than the full life of a man, but for three hundred years there should be in his line no woman and no man who was not of great repute. he was a great warrior, and went on forays far and wide in the eastern regions: there he slew in single combat the king who was called sigtrygg. then he took in marriage that woman named alvig the wise, daughter of king eymund of hÃ³lmgard [hÃ³lmgarÃ°r]: they had eighteen sons, nine born at one birth. these were their names:the first, thengil [thengill], who was called thengil of men; the second, rÃ¦sir; the third, gram [gramr]; the fourth, gylfi; the fifth, hilmir; the sixth, jÃ¶fur [j&#491;furr]; the seventh, tyggi; the eighth, skyli or skÃºli; the ninth, harri or herra. these nine brothers became so famous in foraying that, in all records since, their names are used as titles of rank, even as the name of king or that of jarl. they had no children, and all fell in battle. snorri then gives exampl
Norwegian_petty_kings People_in_Norse_mythology_and_legends