Fjölnir

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Fjölnir, Fjölner or Fjolner was a Swedish king of the House of Yngling, at Gamla Uppsala.

Grottasöngr

Grottasöngr relates that he was the contemporary of Caesar Augustus. Fjölnir was a mighty king and the crops were bountiful and peace was maintained. At his time, king Fróði ruled in Lejre in Zealand. The two kings were great friends and they often visited each other, but their friendship was to cause them to inadvertently kill each other. Grottisong relates that when Frodi once visited Uppsala he bought two giantesses, Fenja and Menja, but they were to be his undoing (see Grottasöngr).

Ynglinga saga

Heimskringla relates that he was the son of Freyr himself and the giantess Gerd, but he was the first of his house who was not to be deified. Once Fjölnir went to see Frodi in Zealand and a great feast had been prepared to which many people were invited. Frodi had a large house where he stored a huge vessel full of very strong mead. Above the vessel there was an opening in the ceiling from which mead was poured into it, by men standing in the loft above. After the banquet, Fjölnir was taken to stay the night in an adjoining loft. However, at night he felt that all the mead he had drunk forced him to leave his bed and to seek his way out into the bushes to relieve himself. Since he was very drunk and very tired he stumbled through the wrong door and staggered across the floor above the vessel. He slipped and fell through the opening into the vessel of mead where he drowned.

Ynglingatal

Snorri also quoted some lines of Ynglingatal, composed in the 9th century:

Varð framgengt, þars Fróði bjó, feigðarorð, es at Fjölni kom; ok sikling svigðis geira vágr vindlauss of viða skyldi.

In Frode's hall the fearful word, The death-foreboding sound was heard: The cry of fey denouncing doom, Was heard at night in Frode's home. And when brave Frode came, he found Swithiod's dark chief, Fjolne, drowned. In Frode's mansion drowned was he, Drowned in a waveless, windless sea.(Laing's translation [link])

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Gesta Danorum

In Gesta Danorum, Book 1, Frodi corresponds to Hadingus and Fjölnir to Hundingus, but the story is a little different. It relates how King Hundingus of Sweden believed a rumor that King Hadingus of Denmark had died and held his obsequies with ceremony, including an enormous vat of ale. Hundingus himself served the ale, but accidentally stumbled and fell into the vat, choked, and drowned. When word of this came to King Hadingus of this unfortunate death, King Hadingus publicly hanged himself (see Freyr).

Ballad of Veraldur

Dumézil (1973, Appendix I) cites a Faroese ballad recorded in 1840 about Odin and his son Veraldur. It is believed that this Veraldur is related to Fjölnir and Freyr, as per Snorri's statement that Freyr was veraldar goð ("god of the world").

In this ballad Veraldur sets off to Zealand to seek the king's daughter in marriage despite Odin's warnings. The king of Zealand mislikes Veraldur and tricks him into falling into a brewing vat in a "hall of stone" where Veraldur drowns. When Odin hears the news, he decides to die and go to Asgard where his followers will be also be welcomed after death.

The tale is similar to that of the death of Fjölnir, son of Freyr, who accidentally fell into a vat of mead and drowned while paying a friendly visit to Fridfródi the ruler of Zealand.

Other Mentions

Fjölnir is also another name for Odin, found in Grímnismál when the god revealed himself to Geirröd, and in Reginsmál when he was standing on a mountain addressing Sigurd and Regin. Snorri also mentions it as an Odinic name in Gylfaginning.

Sources

• Ynglingatal
• Ynglinga saga (part of the Heimskringla)
• Historia Norvegiæ
• Gróttasöngr
• Gesta Danorum
• [Gimle: Hedniska ballader: Balladen om Oden och Veraldur (Frö)] (Text of the ballad of Veraldur).

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