Domalde

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Domalde was a Swedish king of the House of Ynglings, in Norse mythology. He was the son of Visbur.

The sacrifice of king Domalde at Uppsala as painted by Carl Larsson

Snorri Sturluson relats that Domalde's rule was marked by bad crops and starvation. The first autumn, the Swedes sacrificed oxen at the temple at Uppsala, but the next harvest was not better. The second autumn, they sacrificed men, but the following crops were even worse.

The third year many Swedes arrived at Gamla Uppsala, and the chiefs decided they had to sacrifice the king. They sprinkled the statues of the gods with his blood (see Blót) and the good harvests returned.

Snorri included a piece from Ynglingatal composed in the 9th century:

Hitt var fyrr at fold ruðu sverðberendr sínum drótni, ok landherr af lífs vönum dreyrug vápn Dómalda bar, þá er árgjörn Jóta dolgi Svía kind of sóa skyldi.[link]

It has happened oft ere now, That foeman's weapon has laid low The crowned head, where battle plain, Was miry red with the blood-rain. But Domald dies by bloody arms, Raised not by foes in war's alarms Raised by his Swedish liegemen's hand, To bring good seasons to the land.(Laing's translation [link])

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Sources

• Ynglingatal
• Ynglinga saga (part of the Heimskringla)
• Historia Norwegiae

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