Nór
Encyclopedia
Nór or Nori is firstly a mercantile title and secondly a Norse
man's name. It is stated in Norse sources that Nór was the founder of Norway
, from whom the land supposedly got its name. (The name in fact probably derives from *norðvegr, 'the route north'.)
") written about 1170 introduces a primeval King Ypper of Uppsala
whose three sons were Dan who afterwards ruled Denmark
, Nori who afterwards ruled Norway
, and Østen who afterwards ruled the Swedes
. But the account then speaks only of the descendants of Dan.
, and in Hversu Noregr byggdist
('How Norway was Settled'), hereafter called B, both found in the Flatey Book.
'frozen snow'), king of Götaland
, Finland
, and Kvenland in B, was son of Snær ('Snow') the Old, a descendant of Fornjót (ruler of Finland and Kvenland in F). See Snær
and Fornjót
for further information.
Both accounts state that great sacrifice was made yearly at mid-winter, either offered by Thorri (F) or offered by the Kvens to Thorri (B), whence was derived both the name of the mid-winter sacrifice and the name of the winter month Thorri corresponding to late January and early February in the Roman calendar
..
Thorri was father of two sons named Nór and Gór (Górr) and a daughter named Gói ('thin snow, track-snow').
When Gói was still not found after three years, her brothers Nór and Gór set out separately in search of her with many folk in their following, Nór and his folk going by land on skis while Gór went by ship and searched the islands and skerries.
Eventually Nór and his following came to the Kjölen Mountains (the Keel) and passed into was later to be called Norway, defeating any who opposed him. F relates in particular that Nór defeated the folk around what as later called the Trondheimsfjord
, that Nór also took possession of the eastern lands near Lake Mjors (modern lake Mjøsa
), then slew King Sokni, the eponym of Sokna Dale (modern Sogndal
) and Sognefjörd (modern Sognefjorden) and took possession of his kingdom. But B mentions instead the defeat of four kings named Véi, Vei, Hunding (Hundingr), and Heming (Hemingr).
Then, in Heidemark (approximately the modern region of Hedemarken in the more extensive province of Hedmark
), Nór met with King Hrólf of the Hill (Hrólfr í Bergr). Hrólf was son of the giant Svadi (Svaði) from Dovre
Mountain in the north. According to B Hrólf's mother was Áshild (Áshildr) daughter of King Eystein of Heidemark. It was this Hrólf who had taken Gói captive and had then made her his wife. Nór and Hrólf came to terms (after a long single combat according to F). Hrólf kept Gói as his wife and Nór afterwards married Hrólf's sister (called Hödd in B) and became Nór's man.
Both accounts relate that Gór eventually joined Nór and the two brothers made an agreement that Nór would rule all the mainland but Gór would rule all islands around the mainland, that he would be lord over any island that was separated from the mainland by a channel through which a ship with a fixed rudder was able to pass. The mainland was then named Norway (Noregr) after Nór. Nór's new kingdom is now said to have been what is south-eastern Norway today, as it extended from Jötunheim mountains in the north to what was later known as Álfheim
(roughly the modern Swedish Bohuslän
) in the south, the southern border of Nór's land being what is now the Glomma
river whose southwestern course is not very far inside the southeastern border of modern Norway.
The sons and grandsons and later descendants of Nór continually divided their inheritances among themselves so that Norway became filled with many small kingdoms and lordships.
and the southern parts of Nord-Trøndelag
, rather than to the city now called Trondheim
.
Eireks saga víðförla
('The Saga of Eirek the Traveller') also brings in Thrand as the first king to regin of Trondheim. Thrand's ancestry is not given here, but he is the father of Eirek the Traveller (Eirekr inn víðfǫrli) the hero of the saga.
Hálfdanar saga Eysteinssonar
('Saga of Halfdan Eystein's son') states instead that Trondheim was named from King Thránd, the father of Eirek the Traveller, but also states that Thrand was son of King Sæmingr
of Hálogaland
, son of Odin
, and that Thránd's mother and Sæmingr's wife was Nauma after whom Naumu Dale was named. For more on Sæmingr see Sons of Odin
. Thrand's wife is here said to be Dagmær sister of Svanhvít the wife of Hrómund Grip's son, the protagonist of Hrómundar saga Gripssonar
. The saga says that Eystein, son of Thrand and Dagmær, married Ása, a daughter of Sigurd Hart (the maternal grandfather of Harald Fairhair), and she bore him Halfdan, the hero of the saga. This places Thrand just three generations back from Harald Fairhair. But this saga seems to be a late and untraditional creation, dating only to the early 14th century.
and Aust-Agder
. Gard Agdi's descendants ruled the southwestern regions of Norway. See Gard Agdi
for details.
). Raum in this account also ruled the land of Álfheim to the south. See Raum the Old
for further details on Raum and his descendants.
Beiti the sea-king had one of his ships put on sledge runners and so passed in the ship over the snow-covered land starting from what was afterwards called Beitstad
on Beitstadfjorden
from Beiti's named and passing north across Ellidæid (Elliðæið 'Galley-neck') to Naumu Dale (Naumudal) with his father Gór in the ship with his hand on the tiller. So, by the agreement that had been made between Nór and Gór, the land between the path of the ship and the sea became Beiti's.
The names of Beiti's descendants are missing from B. Heiti the sea-king was the father of Svadi (Svaði). Geitir was father of Glammi and Gylfi; and Meitir the sea-king was father of two sons named Mævil and Myndil (Myndill), Myndil being father of two sons named Ekkil (Ekkill) and Skekkil (Skekkill).
But F speaks only of Gór's son Heiti as the father of Sveidi (Sveiði) the father of Halfdan the Old, who confusingly is named identically to Halfdan the Old who is a descendant of Nór. But it is from Halfan the Old who is called a descendant of Gór from whom springs at last the Jarls of Orkney who are the subject of the Orkneyinga saga. See Halfdan the Old
to follow this lineage further.
Norsemen
Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...
man's name. It is stated in Norse sources that Nór was the founder of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, from whom the land supposedly got its name. (The name in fact probably derives from *norðvegr, 'the route north'.)
Chronicon Lethrens'
The Chronicle of Lejre ("Chronicon LethrenseChronicon Lethrense
Chronicon Lethrense is a small Danish medieval work from the 12th century, written in Latin.-Themes:...
") written about 1170 introduces a primeval King Ypper of Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
whose three sons were Dan who afterwards ruled Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Nori who afterwards ruled Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, and Østen who afterwards ruled the Swedes
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. But the account then speaks only of the descendants of Dan.
Source material
Parallel but not quite identical accounts of Nór the eponym of Norway appear in Fundinn Noregr ('Norway Found'), hereafter called F, which begins the Orkneyinga sagaOrkneyinga saga
The Orkneyinga saga is a historical narrative of the history of the Orkney Islands, from their capture by the Norwegian king in the ninth century onwards until about 1200...
, and in Hversu Noregr byggdist
Hversu Noregr byggdist
Hversu Noregr byggðist is an account of the origin of various legendary Norwegian lineages, which survives only in the Flatey Book. It traces the descendants of the primeval Finnish ruler Fornjót down to Nór, who is here the eponym and first great king of Norway, and then gives details of the...
('How Norway was Settled'), hereafter called B, both found in the Flatey Book.
About Thorri
King Thorri (ÞorriÞorri
Þorri is the Icelandic name of the personification of frost or winter in Norse mythology, and also the name of the fourth winter month in the Icelandic calendar....
'frozen snow'), king of Götaland
Götaland
Götaland , Gothia, Gothland, Gothenland, Gautland or Geatland is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises provinces...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, and Kvenland in B, was son of Snær ('Snow') the Old, a descendant of Fornjót (ruler of Finland and Kvenland in F). See Snær
Snær
Snær Snærr, East Norse Sniō, Latin Nix, Nivis) 'snow', in Norse mythology seemingly a personification of snow, appearing in extant text as an euhemerized legendary Scandinavian king.-Icelandic tradition:...
and Fornjót
Fornjót
Fornjót was an ancient giant in Norse mythology and a king of Finland. His children are Ægir , Logi and Kári ....
for further information.
Both accounts state that great sacrifice was made yearly at mid-winter, either offered by Thorri (F) or offered by the Kvens to Thorri (B), whence was derived both the name of the mid-winter sacrifice and the name of the winter month Thorri corresponding to late January and early February in the Roman calendar
Roman calendar
The Roman calendar changed its form several times in the time between the founding of Rome and the fall of the Roman Empire. This article generally discusses the early Roman or pre-Julian calendars...
..
Thorri was father of two sons named Nór and Gór (Górr) and a daughter named Gói ('thin snow, track-snow').
The story of Nór
One year, at the time of Thorri's Sacrifice, Gói the daughter of King Thorri suddenly vanished. Thorri held a second feast the following month hoping to learn what had become of Gói. That sacrifice was afterward also observed regularly and known as Gói's Sacrifice and the name of the month was thence named Gói.When Gói was still not found after three years, her brothers Nór and Gór set out separately in search of her with many folk in their following, Nór and his folk going by land on skis while Gór went by ship and searched the islands and skerries.
Eventually Nór and his following came to the Kjölen Mountains (the Keel) and passed into was later to be called Norway, defeating any who opposed him. F relates in particular that Nór defeated the folk around what as later called the Trondheimsfjord
Trondheimsfjord
The Trondheimsfjord , an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, is Norway's third longest fjord at long. It is located in the west central part of the country, and it stretches from Ørland in west to Steinkjer in north, passing the city of Trondheim on its way...
, that Nór also took possession of the eastern lands near Lake Mjors (modern lake Mjøsa
Mjøsa
Mjøsa is Norway's largest lake, as well as one of the deepest lakes in Norway and in Europe as a whole, after Hornindalsvatnet. It is located in the southern part of Norway, about 100 km north of Oslo...
), then slew King Sokni, the eponym of Sokna Dale (modern Sogndal
Sogndal
Sogndal is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Sogndalsfjøra is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other main villages include Kaupanger, Kjørnes, and Fjærland...
) and Sognefjörd (modern Sognefjorden) and took possession of his kingdom. But B mentions instead the defeat of four kings named Véi, Vei, Hunding (Hundingr), and Heming (Hemingr).
Then, in Heidemark (approximately the modern region of Hedemarken in the more extensive province of Hedmark
Hedmark
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Akershus. The county administration is in Hamar.Hedmark makes up the northeastern part of Østlandet, the southeastern part of the country. It includes a long part of the borderline with Sweden, Dalarna County and Värmland County. The...
), Nór met with King Hrólf of the Hill (Hrólfr í Bergr). Hrólf was son of the giant Svadi (Svaði) from Dovre
Dovre
Dovre is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Dovre. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dovre....
Mountain in the north. According to B Hrólf's mother was Áshild (Áshildr) daughter of King Eystein of Heidemark. It was this Hrólf who had taken Gói captive and had then made her his wife. Nór and Hrólf came to terms (after a long single combat according to F). Hrólf kept Gói as his wife and Nór afterwards married Hrólf's sister (called Hödd in B) and became Nór's man.
Both accounts relate that Gór eventually joined Nór and the two brothers made an agreement that Nór would rule all the mainland but Gór would rule all islands around the mainland, that he would be lord over any island that was separated from the mainland by a channel through which a ship with a fixed rudder was able to pass. The mainland was then named Norway (Noregr) after Nór. Nór's new kingdom is now said to have been what is south-eastern Norway today, as it extended from Jötunheim mountains in the north to what was later known as Álfheim
Álfheim
Alfheim is one of the Nine Worlds and home of the Light Elves in Norse mythology and appears also in Anglo-Scottish ballads under the form Elfhame as a fairyland, sometimes modernized as Elfland .-In Old Norse texts:Álfheim as an abode of the Elves is mentioned only twice in Old Norse texts.The...
(roughly the modern Swedish Bohuslän
Bohuslän
' is a Swedish traditional province, or landskap, situated in Götaland on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the west, and the county of Østfold in Norway to the north...
) in the south, the southern border of Nór's land being what is now the Glomma
Glomma
The Glomma or Glåma is the longest and largest river in Norway. The long river has a drainage basin that covers a full 13% of Norway's area, all in the southern part of Norway.-Geography:...
river whose southwestern course is not very far inside the southeastern border of modern Norway.
The sons and grandsons and later descendants of Nór continually divided their inheritances among themselves so that Norway became filled with many small kingdoms and lordships.
Sons of Nór
According to B, Nór's sons by Hödd were Thránd (Þrándr) and Gard (Garðr). B later brings in another son of Nór named Raum (Raumr). Presumably either Raum had another mother than Hödd or Raum's name has accidentally dropped out from the earlier listing of Hödd's sons.Thránd
Thránd ruled Trondheim (Þrándheimr) which was named after him and refers approximately to present day county of Sør-TrøndelagSør-Trøndelag
- References :...
and the southern parts of Nord-Trøndelag
Nord-Trøndelag
is a county constituting the northern part of Trøndelag in Norway. As of 2010, the county had 131,555 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-least populated county. The largest municipalities are Stjørdal, Steinkjer—the county seat, Levanger, Namsos and Verdal, all with between 21,000 and...
, rather than to the city now called Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
.
Eireks saga víðförla
Eireks saga víðförla
Eireks saga víðförla is a legendary saga on a Norwegian who travels to Miklagard and then to India and beyond in search of Údáinsakr , and returns. It merges the Údáinsakr of Norse mythology with the notion of heaven in Christianity....
('The Saga of Eirek the Traveller') also brings in Thrand as the first king to regin of Trondheim. Thrand's ancestry is not given here, but he is the father of Eirek the Traveller (Eirekr inn víðfǫrli) the hero of the saga.
Hálfdanar saga Eysteinssonar
Hálfdanar saga Eysteinssonar
Hálfdanar saga Eysteinssonar is a legendary saga from early 14th century Iceland about Halfdan Eysteinsson. The main events appear to take place in the 9th century....
('Saga of Halfdan Eystein's son') states instead that Trondheim was named from King Thránd, the father of Eirek the Traveller, but also states that Thrand was son of King Sæmingr
Sæmingr
Sæmingr was a king of Norway according to Snorri Sturluson's euhemerized accounts. He was said to be the son of Odin or Yngvi-Freyr.According to the prologue of the Prose Edda, Sæmingr was one of the sons of Odin and the ancestor of the kings of Norway and of the jarls of Hlaðir. Snorri relates...
of Hálogaland
Hålogaland
Hålogaland was the northernmost of the Norwegian provinces in the mediaeval Norse sagas. In the early Viking Age, before Harald Fairhair, Hålogaland was a petty kingdom extending between Namdalen in Nord-Trøndelag and Lyngen in Troms.-Etymology:...
, son of Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
, and that Thránd's mother and Sæmingr's wife was Nauma after whom Naumu Dale was named. For more on Sæmingr see Sons of Odin
Sons of Odin
Various gods and men appear as Sons of Odin or Sons of Wodan/Wotan or Sons of Woden in old Old Norse and Old High German and Old English texts.-Thor, Baldur, and Váli:...
. Thrand's wife is here said to be Dagmær sister of Svanhvít the wife of Hrómund Grip's son, the protagonist of Hrómundar saga Gripssonar
Hrómundar saga Gripssonar
Hrómundar saga Gripssonar or The Saga of Hromund Gripsson is a legendary saga from Iceland. The original version has been lost, but its content has been preserved in the rímur of Hrómundr Gripsson published in Fernir forníslenzkar rímnaflokkar...
. The saga says that Eystein, son of Thrand and Dagmær, married Ása, a daughter of Sigurd Hart (the maternal grandfather of Harald Fairhair), and she bore him Halfdan, the hero of the saga. This places Thrand just three generations back from Harald Fairhair. But this saga seems to be a late and untraditional creation, dating only to the early 14th century.
Gard
Gard son of Nór was also called Gard Agdi (Garðr Agði), apparently as ruler of Agdir (Agðir): the modern counties of Vest-AgderVest-Agder
In the 16th century, Dutch merchant vessels began to visit ports in southern Norway to purchase salmon and other goods. Soon thereafter the export of timber began, as oak from southern Norway was exceptionally well suited for shipbuilding...
and Aust-Agder
Aust-Agder
is a county in Norway, bordering Telemark, Rogaland, and Vest-Agder. In 2002, there were 102,945 inhabitants, which is 2.2% of the total population in Norway. Its area is . The administrative center of the county is in Arendal....
. Gard Agdi's descendants ruled the southwestern regions of Norway. See Gard Agdi
Gard Agdi
Gard Agdi appears in the legendary genealogies of Hversu Noregr byggdist as one of the three sons of Nór, the legendary first king of Norway, and as ruler and ancestor of rulers over southwestern Norway...
for details.
Raum the Old
Raum inherited south-eastern Norway and also the northwestern valley of the Rauma river to the western sea which waters the region called Raums Dale (modern RomsdalRomsdal
Romsdal is the name of a traditional district in the Norwegian county Møre og Romsdal, located between Nordmøre and Sunnmøre. The district of Romsdal comprises Aukra, Fræna, Midsund, Molde, Nesset, Rauma, Sandøy, and Vestnes. It is named for the valley of Romsdalen, which covers part of Rauma.The...
). Raum in this account also ruled the land of Álfheim to the south. See Raum the Old
Raum the Old
Raum the Old is a legendary king in Norway in the Hversu Noregr byggdist and in Thorsteins saga Víkingssonar. He was said to have been ugly, as was his daughter, Bryngerd, who was married to King Álf. Indeed, in Old Norse, raumr means a big and ugly person...
for further details on Raum and his descendants.
Descendants of Gór
Gór had sons named Heiti and Beiti (and according to B two other sons named Meitir and Geitir). Heiti and Beiti often made war against the sons of Nór.Beiti the sea-king had one of his ships put on sledge runners and so passed in the ship over the snow-covered land starting from what was afterwards called Beitstad
Beitstad
Beitstad is a village and former municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. The village of Beitstad is located at the end of the Beitstadfjorden at the inner end of the Trondheimsfjord, about southwest of Vellamelen. It is a typical farming village that stretches from the bay and into the...
on Beitstadfjorden
Beitstadfjorden
Beitstadfjorden is the innermost arm of the Trondheimsfjord in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the municipalities of Steinkjer, Inderøy, Verran, and Mosvik. The fjord has a length of from southwest to northeast, and a width of about ....
from Beiti's named and passing north across Ellidæid (Elliðæið 'Galley-neck') to Naumu Dale (Naumudal) with his father Gór in the ship with his hand on the tiller. So, by the agreement that had been made between Nór and Gór, the land between the path of the ship and the sea became Beiti's.
The names of Beiti's descendants are missing from B. Heiti the sea-king was the father of Svadi (Svaði). Geitir was father of Glammi and Gylfi; and Meitir the sea-king was father of two sons named Mævil and Myndil (Myndill), Myndil being father of two sons named Ekkil (Ekkill) and Skekkil (Skekkill).
But F speaks only of Gór's son Heiti as the father of Sveidi (Sveiði) the father of Halfdan the Old, who confusingly is named identically to Halfdan the Old who is a descendant of Nór. But it is from Halfan the Old who is called a descendant of Gór from whom springs at last the Jarls of Orkney who are the subject of the Orkneyinga saga. See Halfdan the Old
Halfdan the Old
Halfdan the Old was an ancient, legendary king from whom descended many of the most notable lineages of legend...
to follow this lineage further.
Alternative spellings
Alternative Anglicizations are:- Glói: Gloi
- Gór: Gorr
- Hrólf: Hrolf, Rolf
- Nór: Norr
- Forniot, Forniotr
- Hlér: Hler ; : Kari
- Snær: Snaer, Snœr, Snow
- Véi: Vee.