page_title: Ynglingatal
section_title: Content
hierarchical_section_title: Ynglingatal / Content
caption_attribution_description: Gerhard Munthe: Illustration for Ynglingesaga. Snorre 1899-edition. 27
context_page_description: Ynglingatal or Ynglinga tal is a Skaldic poem cited by Snorri Sturluson in the Ynglinga saga, the first saga of Snorri's Heimskringla. Snorri quotes frequently from this poem and cites it as one of the sources of the saga. The composition of the poem has variously been dated between the late 9th and the early 12th century.
  Þjóðólfr of Hvinir, who was a poet for Harald Fairhair, is traditionally credited with its authorship.
  The poem lists the partly mythical and partly historical ancient Swedish kings; twenty-seven of whom are mentioned in the poem, along with details about their deaths and burial places. The title Ynglingatal alludes to Yngling, who had the name Yngve-Frey—another name for Frey, the god who was worshipped in Svealand. Yngling allegedly descended from Frey's son Fjölnir. Snorri portrayed Harald Fairhair as a descendant of the Ynglings. The poem was written on behalf of Ragnvald the Mountain-High, a cousin of King Harald Fairhair, and its last stanza is about Ragnvald.
context_section_description: Ynglingatal consists of 27 stanzas and a litany of different kings and how they died. It starts with Fjölnir, who according to the Ynglinga saga was the son of Frey. This relationship is not mentioned in the actual poem. Fjolne drowned in a mead tub. The poem continues with his son Sveigðir, who followed a dwarf into a rock and never came out again. Then comes Sveigde's son Vanlande, who was strangled by a mare. Vanlande's son Visbur was burned alive and his son Domalde was sacrificed by the Swedish chiefs to get a good year's harvest. Domalde had his son Domar, who died of illness in Uppsala. Domar's son Dyggve also died of illness, and his son Dag the Wise was killed by a slave with a pitchfork when he was out to avenge the death of a sparrow. Dag's son Agne was hung by his wife Skjålv, and Agne's sons Alaric and Eric killed each other with a bridle when they were out riding. Their sons Yngve and Alf killed each other after being incited by Alf's wife Bera.
  The poem continues with varying degrees of mythical ways to die. Eventually the Yngling kings walked through the woods from the Svea kingdom to Norway. Here there is a clear break in the series and it is possible Thjodolf is linked here to the Norwegian seed in the Swedish genealogies to provide the Norwegian kings with a divine origin and thus greater legitimacy. The first breeding of the kings of Norway was supposed to have been Halfdan Hvitbeinn, who died in his bed at Toten. According to the poem, his son Eystein was killed on a ship; he was beaten by the boat's vessel and fell into the sea. Eystein's son Halfdan died in his bed in Borre, where he was buried. Halfdan's son Gudrød was killed by the servant of his wife Åsa. The poem ends with Halfdan's son Olaf Geirstad-Alf and grandson Ragnvald Heidumhære. Tjodolv dedicated Ynglingatal to Ragnvald. The last stanza reads:
  Þat veitk bazt
  und blǫ́um himni
  kenninafn,
  svát konungr eigi,
  es Rǫgnvaldr,
  reiðar stjóri,
  heiðum-hárr
  of heitinn es;
  ok mildgeðr
  markar dróttinn.
   
  According to Snorri's Ynglinga Saga, Harald Fairhair's father Halfdan the Black was the half-brother of Olav Geirstadalv and Harald, and was thus Ragnvald's cousin, but neither Harald nor his father Halfdan are mentioned in the poem, so this is probably an attempt by Snorri and other writers to make Harald look more royal. It may have been the Icelandic poet Ari Þorgilsson who constructed the genealogy of the Ynglings and connected Harald Fairhair's seed to Ynglingatal. Snorri later developed this to the Ynglinga Saga.
caption: Gudrod's death. Vignette by Gerhard Munthe
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