#norse iron age naming conventions

[magnusmodig]

— The All-Fathers & . History of Asgard.

||. I'm thinking pretty long and hard about Asgard and my personal thoughts and headcanons about the culture and potential major events in Asgardian history, so I'm putting those thoughts officially together. As always, inspiration is taken from the marvel comics and norse mythology, though most are just myself filling in the blanks. All headcanons are subject to change, and shared with sister blog @mischiefmodig !

This is what my Thor will refer to as his planet and family's history when in conversations with other aliens, and with other MCU muses.

NOTE: If you are a duplicate Thor or Loki, please do not claim any idea written here as your own if it is not derived explicitly from canon. (Inspiration is fine but please link back to this post at least!) If you are an Asgardian character, yes, you can reference this timeline of events and broad strokes of history in your threads with me or mischiefmodig. Please do not reference this as canon.

Glossary:

Asgardian - A space-faring warrior race that hail from the dimension-planet Asgard, and the ruling populace of the Nine Realms.

Aesir - A sub-species of the Asgardian race uniquely limited to the royal family line, whose progenitor is Buri, the first King of Asgard, and All-Father of the Nine Realms.

Vanir - A sister race to the Asgardians who live in the realm of Vanaheim. The leader of the chief clan of the Vanir is Njörðr, the father of Frigga.

Magic - Synonymous with the scientific study of the natural world, and/or the highly advanced usage of science, including properties and theories. Includes both Sorcery and Dark Magic.

Sorcery - A branch of 'magic' that focuses solely on the natural world. Sorcery aims to utilize the natural elements and work within the limitations of the order of the universe. (e.g., you cannot use sorcery to raise the dead.) Can be taught.

Dark Magic - A branch of magic that aims to bend elements of the natural world to the user's will. This often results in a distortion of natural elements and overextending the limitations of the universe. (e.g., you can use dark magic to raise the dead.) Can be taught.

All-Force - The name of the cosmic, natural-born magic specific to the Aesir line. Each known Aesir has an affinity for a niche of magic that is personalized and specific to the user. Overuse of the All-Force demands a period of hibernation from its user called the All-Sleep. (This power may sometimes colloquially referred to by Asgardians with the naming convention of the current monarch. e.g., the Odin-Sleep, the Odin-Force.) Cannot be taught. (but can be briefly enchanted.)

A Foreword: Asgardians and the Sister Race.

A foreword: The race now known as 'Asgardian' and the race known as 'Vanir' once originated from the same planet. The race's original name has been lost to time.

The Vanir are virtually the same as Asgardians almost every way save for cultural and magical differences.

Due to the discrepency of space-time dilation and the differences between the planets (and galaxies of) Vanaheim and Asgard, there are technically also aging differences, but this is negated if a Vanir lives on Asgard. (Due to this discrepancy, Asgardians are, ironically, closer to the original species than the Vanir.)

The Vanir are more nomadic, have deep ties to sorcery (witches (aka seiðr), fates, etc.) and do not often dabble in technological advancement. This is especially true of and most strictly upheld towards Dark Magic.

"Witches" are commonly known as Völva/Vǫlva (f) and Seer (m) respectively and are great sorcerers, healers, and prophets of the Vanir clans. They are figures of great importance, and can be (but are not always) the leaders of the Vanir.

All-Father Buri and the Origins of Asgard.

Buri is born with exceptional power, and is the first Aesir known to history.

As a result of his leadership, strength and magical power, Buri gains a following and becomes leader of his people's clans.

Buri gifts Heimdall's ancestor with the gift of the All-Sight, which allows him to see across the many realms and keep watch for any threats to their people and their territories. This Ancestor was Buri's right hand man.

After a period of darkness and war, Buri defends his people and planet amidst a long standing feud with Ymir, the first King of Jotunheim. This would later be known as The Battle of the Gods during The Celestial Wars.

The Hidden Stronghold is built in defense of Asgard during The Celestial Wars.

After defeating the Frost Giants and assuming supremacy under his command, Buri begins the conquest of what would one day become the official territories of the Nine Realms. He establishes sovereignty over Midgard, Nidavellir, Vanaheim, and Jotunheim.

Buri uses the All-Force to manipulate light and the force of black holes, Buri creates a hidden pocket dimension out of Ginnungagap - a great chasm of deep space. Within that pocket dimension, Buri fortifies their home planet for all those who follow him to reside on. This planet, connected to Vanaheim and the rest of the conquered realms, becomes Asgard: the realm eternal, and the heart of the Nine Realms.

With Asgard in an unreachable position, Surtur gains strength enough to pose a threat to Vanaheim, Nidavellir, and the rest of the galaxy.

In an effort to establish a unified offensive, Asgard becomes allies with Alfheim and Svartalfheim, and is able to navigate a tenuous peace between the two elf realms, with Asgard acting as the two territories' supreme authority.

Buri discovers the various Waters of Sights, which are strictly guarded by the Rock Trolls who live in Nornheim/Urðarbrunnr.

After a five-year conflict known as the Troll Wars, Buri successfully establishes peace, and a reach in Nornheim.

Using the guidance of the Nornns, and the allegiance of the other realms, Muspelheim is conquered under Asgardian rule.

Those who would later become the Vanir distinguish themselves from Asgard by keeping strictly to Forn Siðr (the ancient ways). They are nonetheless in full alignment with their sister realm. (Eventually, the Vanir lose touch with most of their previous dwelling places, cities, temples, and some magics, becoming a nomadic, sorcery seeking race instead.)

Asgard and the Infinity Stones.

After establishing the Nine Realms and securing Asgard's position of power, Buri discovers and seeks out the Infinity Stones. This puts Buri in the same path as the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim, although the Dark Elves intentions with the Aether were unknown.

Borr, the first Prince of Asgard, is born.

Borr manifests the power of the great earth. (What is essentially earth-bending. His talents specifically create what is later known to be Gundershelm and the Glade of Crystals, as well as the nurturing the ash tree seen in the Hall of Knowledge, which was originally planted by Buri. The concept for the shield around the palace of Valaskaljalf is visually modeled after his power.)

Buri commissions the original draft of what would later be known as the Infinity Gauntlet from the Dwarves, although it goes mostly unused. A mock of the gauntlet is not forced until early into Borr's reign.

Malekith of the Dark Elves comes into power.

Buri hunts down and aims to retrieve various Infinity Stones. Notably: Space, Mind. He dies during battle while in pursuit and successful acquiring of the Space Stone.

Borr becomes the second King of Asgard, and All-Father of the Nine Realms. He continues the pursuit of the Infinity Stones in ode to his father's legacy, and is known as the Architect of Asgard.

Reign of All-Father Borr &. the Convergence.

Borr marries the sorceress Bestla.

Odin, the second Prince of Asgard is born.

Odin manifests powers of enchantments, specifically in the way of runes.

Various infinity stones are found, documented and studied, and lost again throughout this time by Borr and his followers.

During the pursuit of the Infinity Stones, Asgard instates itself as a peacekeeper of not only the Nine Realms, but beyond its intergalactic borders. It is a known and prominent power in what would later become Omnipotence City.

The Dark Elves begin to utilize the Reality Stone (whether they have always harbored it or recently reacquired it is unknown.)

The Dark Elf leader, Malekith, utilizes the Reality Stone - known as the Aether - to enact a war upon the realms in the hopes of extinguishing life across the universe to create a new world. This is known colloquially as The First Dark Elf Conflict.

Asgard engages with Svartalfheim in a series of long wars called the Aeon Wars.

Eventually, at the height of the Convergence (2988 B.C.) the Dark Elf Conflict of the Aeon Wars leads to the (near) complete destruction of the Dark Elves, and the extinction of all life on Svartalfheim (presumably caused by the Aether).

The Aether, under Asgardian protection, is locked and hidden away deep inside of Midgard under the express instruction of All-Father Borr.

Asgard experiences a cultural shift away from collecting the Stones. Instead, Asgardian sorcerers, scientists, researchers and historians pivot towards studying, preserving the history of, and ultimately separating the stones whilst keeping them all under Asgardian protection and/or supervision.

The Space Stone remains in the Asgardian vault, where it is under strict Valkyrie and Einherjar protection.

The construction of the Himinbjorg (the Bifrost bridge and observatory) begins to ensure safer and efficient travel between realms.

Heimdall is born.

Borr is grievously wounded in battle and dies of his wounds.

Odin prematurely assumes the throne as the third King of Asgard and All-Father of the Nine Realms.

Reign of Odin All-Father, and the Executioner of Worlds.

Heimdall is instated as the gatekeeper of Himingbjorg after full construction of the Bifrost is completed. With the Bifrost, Dark Magic is no longer necessary to travel in and outside of Asgard to the other realms.

Odin establishes a strict regime in which he suppresses various intergalactic conflict with races such as the Kree.

Omnipotence City is established as a gateway between all galactic powers, which Odin supports. Most notable are the Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Norse Pantheons, all of which dispute over a claim to planet Earth..

Odin and an unknown beau sire the first Princess of Asgard, Hela.

Hela shows exceptional talent with sorcery, similarly to her father. Odin pursues all knowledge, and encourages Hela's pursuit of all magic.

Hela uses her magic to create the Berserkers through the Berserker Staffs. Odin is is unaware of Hela's growing exploitation of Dark Magic.

Hela is named Crown Princess and Executioner to Odin All-Father.

Odin and Hela utilize their combined strengths to subjugate various skirmishes and oppositions in outskirt territories of the realms.

Asgardian territories expand to include extraneous planets such as planet Ria.

During a visit to Vanaheim in search of greater magical power, Odin meets Frigga, the daughter of the Vanir Seer, and falls in love with her during the beginning threshold of The Great Wars.

Various outside threats constitute in unrest throughout the realms. In secret, Hela begins her exploitation of Dark Magic to create a legion of Draugr, bastardizing the final resting places of Asgardian Einherjar.

Odin marries Frigga Njörðrdottir during a brief tide of peace.

Under the suggestion and guidance of Queen Frigga, Odin begins to pursue peace and diplomacy to end the Great Wars.

Hela successfully uses the Eternal Flames to raise her Draugr, and reveals her success to her father. With even greater power to fuel the mastery of Dark Magic that she possesses, Hela bids to utilize the Berserkers and the Draugr against King Laufey, when Jotunheim begins to seize more control. Odin forbids this process and condemns the bastardization of death. Hela refuses to engage with a diplomatic outcome.

When Hela threatens to seek the Infinity Stones (specifically: the Power Stone) as a fuel to her Draugr, Odin sends the Valkyrie are sent to stop her. All Valkyrie (save one) are slaughtered by Hela.

Odin is forced to use his runes, sorcery, (and possibly the Space Stone) to banish Hela to the Cave of Ages deep within Helheim/Niflheim.

Thor, the third prince of Asgard, is born.

Odin seals the Space Stone in Norway, under the protection of the norsemen.

The Frost Giants attempt to invade Midgard in a war of conquest and in pursuit of the Space Stone. Odin drives them back to Jotunheim with the Einherjar and Berserkers.

The last Great War continues until Odin breaks through Jotunheim defenses and finally defeats King Laufey. He loses an eye, the Casket of Eternal Winters is taken from the Frost Giants. Prince Loki is saved by Odin, who returns to Asgard.

Loki is announced as the second-born son of Odin All-Father.

Odin ushers in 1,000 years of peace across the Nine Realms.

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

Hi! I saw your tags in that post about identifying skeletal remains, and what is the book you mentioned about gender? Do you have any other you recommend about gender marks in burials or gender in history? This sounds amazing, now I want to read more about it!

Hey!

 Yeah, I was referring to Neil Price's Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings. I believe he also gets into it a little bit in his The Viking Way: Magic and Mind in Late Iron Age Scandinavia, but it's been a while since I've read it (still recommend as an overall text on magic in the time - also for anyone who has read my Grima stuff and thought: huh, that seidr shit sure is interesting). He's very good at saying archeologists can, at best, determine the sex of remains but gendering them is beyond the reach of science.

A small excerpt from Children of Ash and Elm to give you a flavour of his approach (any grammar or punctuations errors are mine):

However, in many cases the deceased were created an the resulting ashes are hard to sex reliably. More often, presercation conditions in the soil are unfavourable for the survival of bone in any state, and there are many graves without human remains at all (although they were evidently originally present). In these cases, for centuries archeologists have resorted to determining the sex of the dead through associated with supposedly gendered objects--this weapons in a grave are held to suggest a man, jewellery sets donate a woman, and so on. Beyond the obvious problem of conflating sex and gender, and also effectively sexing metal, these readings risk simply piling one set of assumptions on another in what forensic-decision-makers call a 'bias snowball' of cumulatively questionable interpretations. Clearly this is unsatisfactory, and at worst can lead to a potentially vast misreadying of Viking-Age gender from the literally tens of thousands of burials that have been analysed in this way over the years.

[...]

At Vivallen in Swedish Harjedalen, there was even a male-bodied person buried according to Sami rituals, in a Sami settlement, but wearing conventional Sami man's equipment over a Nordic woman's linen dress, complete with jewellery to match--a crossing of both gender and cultural norms.

Some additional resources to consider (there are more Neil Price pieces in this list since early medieval Scandinavian burial practices are a cornerstone of his research). It's a mix of books and journal articles as well as a mix of more "layman" friendly and more true-academic texts. For the journal articles, I'm not sure if you're associated with a secondary educational institution, but some local libraries will grant access to online academic journals, as an FYI.

(Apologies in advance for the lack of correct accents and other things on names (e.g., Th instead of the proper thorne), I'm working with a north American keyboard and doing this off the corner of my desk at work, so to speak)

---

Stfean Brink, Neil Price, The Viking World

Hilda Ellis, The Road to Hel: A Study in the Conception of the Dead in Old Norse Literature (this is a broad study of death rituals in the era, not really gender-archeology focused, but it's 100% worth the read and very thorough)

Anders Andren, Jens-Peter Schjodt, and John Lidow, Pre-Christian Religions of the North: Histories and Structures (Neil Price has a good essay/chapter contribution in here on death & mortuary behaviour)

Howard Williams, Death and Memory in Early Medieval Britain

Marianne Moen, Matthew J. Walsh, "Agents of Death: Reassessing Social Agency and Gendered Narratives of Human Sacrifice in the Viking Age," Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 2021

Leszek Slupecki, Rudolf Simek, Conversions: Looking for Ideological Change in Early Middle Ages (has some stuff of "deviant" burial customs and concepts of the "dangerous dead" - stuff I fucking wet myself over, honestly)

Andrew Reynolds, Anglo-Saxon Deviant Burial Customs

Joanne O’Sullivan, "Strung Along: Re-evaluating Gendered Views of Viking-Age Beads," Medieval Archaeology, 2015

Judtih Jesch, Women in the Viking Age (note: it's from the early 90's and very much reflects academic gender and feminist work at that time - still always worth reading older texts for the sake of good historiography alone. Also to see what has been explored before and why we might have new approaches, or to see wher current views originated etc)

Sarah Tralow and Liv Nilsson Stutz, The Oxford Handbook of the Archeology of Death and Burial

Duncan Sayer, Howard Williams, Mortuary Practices and Social Identities in the Middle Ages

Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson, Anna Kjellström, Torun Zachrisson, Maja Krzewińska, Veronica Sobrado, Neil Price, Torsten Günther, Mattias Jakobsson, Anders Götherström, Jan Storå, "A female Viking warrior confirmed by genomics," Wily Online (link to article, it's open access)

Jacob Bell, "Magic, Genderfluidity, and queer Vikings, ca. 750‐1050," History Compass, 2021

Isabelle Algrain, "Gender and diversity in archaeological contexts," Revista Arqueologia Pública, 2021

Thora Petursdottir, "Icelandic Viking Age graves: Lack in material--lack of interpretations?", Archeologia Islandica, 2009

Anna Wessman, "Death, Destruction and Commemoration: Tracing Ritual Activities in Finnish Late Iron Age Cemeteries," Finnish Antiquarian Society, 2010

Ahmad ibn Fadlan was a 10th century Muslim traveler/explorer who visited these areas and wrote about it. You can find various translations of his works around. He has a description of at least one burial and related practices. Also some fun descriptions of sexual/fertility rituals though he sadly "fades to black" before the good stuff starts.

----

I hope this helps! I am always very excited to talk about anything related to early medieval Scandinavia (also early modern Europe) and so always happy to get these asks <3 <3

[norsesuggestions]

Old Norse Names

when speaking about the meaning of names i do want to mention the meaning of my characters name!

so during the norse iron age, people had names that were totally understandble words for other old norse speakers. people are named things like these:

masculine names

Grimulv [grim wolf], Torbjörn [Thors Bear], Sten [Stone], Ingvar [Frey/Freyas Warrior], Östen [happy stone].

feminine names

Ingeborg [Freyas/Freys Fortress], Torgärd [Thors protected], Astrid [divine beauty], Ragnhild [the gods warrior].

my characters name  

Helga simple means holy/blessed. this is also obvious for any swedish speaker, cause the word helga is still in use in modern swedish, and is a grammatical form of holy/blessed (swedish speakers: think when some of us prounance the lyrics in the psalm Stilla Natt as “oh helga natt” forexample).

Therefore the Saint Olga, Olga being a version of the name Helga, is indeed called Holy Holy when you call her Saint Olga.

Helga is therefore named blessed. i picked the name for the blog cause irl me is named Olga. so i just picked what i would be called if i lived during the norse iron age!

sometimes i call her Helga Ulvsdotter. This is cause her father name is Ulf. which as discussed in previous post, is the old norse word for wolf. dotter=daughter.

Helga also lives in Svitjod. Svitjod was the old norse word for sweden (Svitjod is though not the same thing as the modern kingdom of sweden. sweden as a nation did not exist, but the old norse language did have an expression, Svitjod, for the region east of the Scandinavian Mountains on the Scandinavian Peninsula. but it a geographic term, not a term for a nation).

also she is the chief of Stuvsta. Stuvsta is the name of a real place in modern day sweden, and the name most likely is of norse iron age origin. The village is entiraly fictional though.

Click here for my source, in swedish, of norse iron age names

[ceasarslegion]

Alright. I’ve been studying film history all day in preparation for an exam tomorrow, and I’m sick of it. Time to talk about movies the way I Want To Talk About Movies

Those of y’all who’ve been around for the entire scope of my run on this hellsite know that the one hyperfixation that has been a constant for me is Marvel. It’s always there, waiting, watching... My favourite team is the X-Men, my favourite heroes: Wolverine, Quicksilver, Spider-Man, and Iron Man... name a Marvel movie and I’ve definitely seen it at least twice, and that was just in cinemas. I dare say Marvel is my special interest (Endgame doesn’t exist though)

Except for one. I never saw Logan again after the premiere I attended with some high school friends (gap years are a normal thing outside of North America you guys like what are y’all on going to uni straight out I fucking hate the American dream) and I don’t want to.

It was the best Marvel movie I ever saw. Hands down. Absolutely incredible. And I don’t ever want to see it again, because it fucking destroyed me. And in my opinion, that’s what made it perfect.

Buckle up, y’all, we’re getting into deep lore

When you think of a superhero movie, what do you think of? Actually, let’s narrow that down. When you think of an X-Men movie, what do you think of? Probably something like this, if not this exact scene:

Okay, let’s unpack: Apocalypse was by no metric the best team-up X-Men movie (I’d argue Days of Future Past for that title) but this scene kind of encapsulates the entire tone and storytelling style of the X-Men Cinematic Universe so far. And it’s just REALLY satisfying.

There’s danger. There’s so much danger. But it’s not really in the forefront of your mind, is it? The entire Xavier school’s about to blow up with every student, teacher, admin, and X-Man in it, and what do we get for playback but Pietro’s headphones playing Sweet Dreams from his walkman. We get spectacle as the entire world slows to a screeching halt to show how a mutant speedster as powerful as himself experiences the world. And we’ve already seen him in action in Days of Future Past, so we know he’s capable of saving everyone and absolutely will. That effectively eliminates all tension, because as the mansion explodes around him, it feels less like he’s running out of time and more like he’s moving along at a brisk pace. It feels like the explosion moves at his will, and we’re free to gawk at Pietro’s cocky antics once again.

Isn’t that what the X-Men movies are all about? An unapologetic embrace of how wacky and odd the comicverse is with a storytelling style to match? Danger feels far away, even the more serious plotlines like DoFP have this understanding that good always triumphs, the heroes are always good, and therefore the heroes will always triumph, no matter how great the adversity is. Jesus, even with Deadpool movies, you get this shit. I mean, remember the opening of Deadpool?

God, what a brilliant opening. This song is my go-to drunk karaoke song because of this, and I am a tenor. I didn’t say I cared about vocal matching.

Clearly, there’s a lot of violent shit going on here. And we know that Wade Wilson plays by his own rules in the comicverse, so it makes sense that he’d play by his own rules in his movies. But still, with all the filthy, uncensored danger in these movies it’s all lighthearted superhero wackiness. They always triumph, even though Wade Wilson is a total schmuck. But he’s a lovable schmuck, so we let that go. Wade always wins. That’s the superhero formula, as much as he makes fun of it.

Logan, though? Logan didn’t do that. With those two scenes in mind, I now implore you to watch the opening scene of Logan:

I... um. Holy shit. Directed by Martin Scorsese?? No, mans wouldn’t work on a Marvel movie if it made him a billionaire, that’s... just how it is. It feels like fucking whiplash. 

Logan isn’t necessarily a hero from this opening. We’re no stranger to the Wolverine berserker rage from past movies, but it’s always been directed righteously before. Now it had him carry out an execution because they damaged his car. He’s not heroic, he’s... old, and slow, and really hasn’t aged well. The tone here is brutal, and gritty, and altogether bleak. It feels more like a mob film than a wacky X-Men movie. I remember being in the cinema just slack-jawed and wide-eyed because what the FUCK

And it didn’t end there, because this film just got darker, and darker, and DARKER as it went on. Charles Xavier died a terrible death after a stint with dementia that completely broke him as the powerful psychic he was, Logan is broken from all the trauma of his life piled onto itself and then even more being shoved on top of that. Mutants are pretty much being hunted for sport, because the X-Men LOST. They LOST. It’s a superhero movie where the heroes lost, and that is the ultimate broken rule you can pull within this genre. Infinty War only teased at it, and boy howdy, did they do it badly. I walked out of Infinity War to a chorus of scoffed “yeah they’re not dead they’re a money-maker”s. I walked out of Logan a shell of a man.

It doesn’t end well, either. Logan doesn’t win. He gets the mutant children across the border, but there’s this sense that if the world is hunting mutants down then he’s only bought them a little more time. The violence is hauntingly realistic within the confines of the XCU, the hope that you’d expect from a big blockbuster superhero movie just isn’t there because Logan’s lost it, and maybe he was right to lose it. Because otherwise he’d be kidding himself.

I don’t wanna see Logan again because it made me too sad and hopeless. And I think that made it brilliant. I think that made Logan something great that was uniquely its own. This is a genre known for hope and resilience, and it gave us none of that. You go in expecting it subconsciously, even when you’ve seen the trailers, and you at least expect him to win, right? Logan’s not gonna lose, he’s Wolverine. Everything about this film is what I think the superhero genre could really use more of. I really like the wacky, out-there, scripted formulaic adventures because I get enough bullshit in real life and it’s nice to just have the fun misadventures of Peter Parker scaling the Washington Monument in Spider-Man: Homecoming sometimes. But those don’t really stick with me the way Logan did, even though I only saw it once when I was 18.

I love how Iron Man 3 explored and normalized PTSD in mainstream media. I love the father-son relationship between Peter and Tony: two characters who both lost father-figures, and one who never wanted to become his abusive father. I love how Thor: Ragnarok felt like a norse mythology fanfiction comedy adventure in space. I love how Black Panther gave an unrepresented group a hero who’s not just a lackey, but a powerful king worth like 200 trillion dollars who protects his people through a cultural tradition. But Logan really felt like it challenged every established convention of the superhero genre and pulled a “no, you move” on it. A lot of people cite The Dark Knight to be the most brilliant superhero movie, but in my opinion, that spot belongs to Logan.

I’d call it cinematic art, but Martin Scorsese might put me on his hit list.

[valadhxfndr]

[  T  H  E    V  R  E  L  D  R  ]

what of Gleipnir that remained came within the Aes’ grasp and to the dwarves of the forge the Son of Odin learned to kneel and to plea, Vidarr did:      “maketh me what can             bind the Wolf again”

LORE:

            The VRELDR is an Asgardian artifact bestowed to the Prince Vidarr once the saga of his fate had turned to unravel itself unto him. With what was left of Fenrir’s chains, the legendary GLEIPNIR, Vidarr had come to travel into Nidavellir in secret to beseech the dwarves to reforge it once again for his own use; and with the essence and Uru, the Vreldr was born. Like any Asgardian artifact weapon—especially ones made with the mystical metal—the Vreldr is just as indestructible and could withstand errant forces and attacks and are just as effective to even thwarting or negating them. Most notably, it also resonates with Vidarr’s mind; able to execute what feats it could do with the Aesir’s will just as how Mjolnir had been efficient under its wielder’s command. But unlike Mjolnir, the Vreldr isn’t one to resonate on who is worthy to wield it; it is Vidarr and Vidarr’s alone—more so since he was very much willing to offer a part of his soul to make it as it was. They are bound. As the God of Oaths, it is a testament to his own vow—or perhaps the symbolic chains of his own destiny; to vanquish the Great Wolf and usher in the New Age of the Nine ------ it was where its name came from after all. Valað. Vegur. FATE’S PATH. And as poetic as paths go, Vreldr can come in many ways; in essence, the Vreldr is an array of scale-like shards that link and build themselves into VARIOUS FORMS. 

            In its hidden form, Vidarr’s forearms are riddled with snaking scars all around as a reminder of the weapon’s impression into his being, only to be summoned into manifestation or fade away when its use had been made. In its most basic form, the Vreldr appears as a scaly bracer as seen in the fourth, but willed enough and it could grow additional scales and turn itself into a cestus-like bindings. Called JÖRÐKVÖRNNR, or Earth Grinder, it is probably a configuration of the Vreldr that Vidarr uses most of all. As it is indestructible, his forearms and most of his fingers could be efficient shields even from magical forces while at the same time, it gives Vidarr ease to subdue enemies especially if they do not need to be killed.  ÁRSTÍGRR, or the River Course, is its closest derivative; the Vreldr turns from a cestus to a full on gauntlet where his clawed fingers could be better capable of more ravaging attacks and practically stop weapons with a simple grasp. But the Wolf Hymn or the ÚLFURSÁLMR could probably be his signature configuration. With it, the scales of the Vreldr link themselves and turn into bladed whips that with his will, is capable of dexterity akin to an actual appendage. And though it’s reach is debatably unknown, it still has limits. Nonetheless, this form is probably the one that gave Vidarr is reputation of being a wide-reaching god. Steady the length of the links, and the SKISTÓLLNR comes into form; the Cloud Pillar is the polearm configuration of the Vreldr and its sharp edges could either form it into a spear or they could curl into a torque to form a staff instead. With such a form, the Himnustóllnr is sometimes mistaken as the Gridavollr: his mother’s mystical staff.

            The Vreldr is also capable of building itself into more conventional weapons. From the most basic form of its scales, Vidarr is very much adept to hurl them as throwing knives—to which with its magical properties could might as well consider it as magical bolts; even more menacing if he hurls the entire form of the Vreldr into a massive flurry of flying knives to which it gets its namesake: JÁRNRIGNR, the Iron Rain. The Shield Betrayer, or SKJÖLDSVIKR, is the lengthier version of it. Basically a dagger. It is called as such because it manifests itself as a hidden blade that runs from underneath Vidarr’s forearms. The pair of daggers serve as better alternates if Vidarr doesn’t have his karambits. Though any longer they’d be a pair of swords. The twin swords Blood Sipper, or BLÓÐFLÍSAR, almost look like a pair gladiuses. And these blade forms, just as was already shown in the iteration of the Cinematic Universe, could also be enhanced with the bite of their mystical glow.

            Finally, the HIMINNSIGLR is the Vreldr’s most peculiar configuration. Rightfully called as the Sky Sail, the Vreldr imbues Vidarr with a single span of a wing that resembles the make of Vreldr’s scales. It’s configuration is more of a symbolic formality as though logically ill-envisioned, this form gives the Aesir his ability to properly fly. Though among such basic skill, Vidarr can flap it and send shards flying, or even curl it into himself to repel attacks. The story arc that leads to it could yield many versions, but the main point is that the form only came from an essence of flight that Vidarr imbued into the weapon and as it was not in the Vreldr’s original array of configurations, its manifestation serves conflict among others; the Himinnsiglr cannot be used with other forms at the same time—save for Vreldr’s idle bracer form.

NOTES:

it sounds grand and stuff and while even Vidarr is known to be second to Thor when it comes to power and given his myth lore as the literal Vanquisher of the End, i’d still say that there could be limits. i mean, i think great magicks and forces and cosmic elements might still post a challenge and everything can still be debated on and discussed between partners and i’m still trying to see some general consensus as far as Asgardian artifacts go between different characters

basing things of with Mjolnir is kind of a safe bet though i’d still try my best to cherry pick and add and take away as far as logic and proper characterization and balance is concerned, especially since even Mjolnir got some crazy crazy talents going on (seriously tho xD matter conversion? even psychometry? this hammer’s onto some weird shit lmao). Upgrades and even concepts such as the God Blast is definitely in consideration though for now they are rough ideas so i chose not to include them yet.

while the adventure to obtain Himinnsiglr is a story arc that can be plotted and written, the acquisition of Vreldr itself is a potential story arc as well since it can also yield conflict and emotion-filled threads, especially with other Asgardians and Norse Gods, given the danger that Vidarr had gone through to make them. no seriously, he was shifty post binding. that poncho thing? more bracers? he was suddenly wearing them just so they wouldn’t know immediately what he had done. it’s like that kid that was trying to hide his new tats from his family.

[aion-rsa]

Loki Collectibles: Key God of Mischief Comics to Own for Marvel Fans

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When you really think about it, there is probably no comics character more responsible for more amazing runs of Marvel books than Asgard’s God of Mischief, Loki Laufeyson. This is partly due to the secretly high concentration of outstanding Thor runs through the ages, but, as you’ll see, Loki is largely responsible on page for the birth of the shared Marvel Comics Universe, which puts their horns in a lot of different comics pies. 

Loki is about to be hotter than ever, which means that key single issues from his comics history are going to become even more collectible than before…and sound investments if you’re hoping to own some pieces of comics history that will appreciate in value over time.

Journey Into Mystery #85

Just two issues prior to this one, Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby had relaunched a Twilight Zone-ey anthology book into Marvel’s home for big, booming Norse god superheroics.

Journey Into Mystery #85 continued the development of that world, and brought Thor’s trickster brother into the Marvel U. This is a fairly straightforward Marvel silver age book, with a silly plot and some stunning, boldly imaginative art from King Kirby. The costumes and characters aren’t quite settled in iconography yet, but much of what Loki will become is here in these pages. 

Journey Into Mystery #85 is massively collectible already, and will only be worth more as the show makes him more popular, but it’s also an indelible piece of comics history: Lee and Kirby are really cranking up the Marvel universe here, and you can see the green shoots of the inventiveness and brilliance that makes Kirby the greatest ever on some of these pages. If you’ve got a couple thousand bucks lying around, that is – in addition to being the first appearance of Loki, Journey Into Mystery #85 is the first appearance of Odin, Heimdall, and Balder as well. You’re looking at spending at least $2,000 for a copy, and probably a couple times that if you want one in decent shape.

Buy Journey Into Mystery #85 here.

Avengers #1

There came a day like no other, and that day set the stage for the Marvel Universe as we know it. Avengers #1 is the true birth of the shared Marvel comics world, the first time Marvel characters stopped being guest stars in other books and started existing within them, just off screen. And it’s all because of Loki. Imprisoned on the Isle of Silence by their brother, Loki uses their magic to trick the world into thinking the Hulk is rampaging. That brings together four heroes new to the world: Thor, Ant-Man, Wasp and Iron Man. Those four team up to defeat the God of Mischief, throw him in a lead tank, and then agree to work together moving forward. And the rest was history. 

Avengers #1 was always highly collectible, but it’s also extremely popular, so you’ll have lots of chances to snag a copy if you can’t afford to spend $30,000 on an authentic, quality copy from the 1960s. The book has been reprinted several times, most recently in 2016, with its original cover. And there are convention exclusive reprints with J. Scott Campbell covers (sketch and colored) that can be had for only $30.

Buy Avengers (1963) #1 here.

Thor #353

Walter Simonson may be the definitive Thor storyteller in Marvel history. His behemoth run was the foundation text for arguably the best MCU film, Thor: Ragnarok, and saw him give the defining takes on just about all of Asgard, from Thor himself all the way to minor, secondary villains like Skurge the Executioner or Lorelei. But not many characters did better under Simonson’s watch than Loki. Thor #353 is one of many high points of this run, featuring Loki and Thor fighting alongside Odin to stop Surtur’s rampage. 

Compared to earlier entries on this list, the Simonson run as a whole is MUCH more collector friendly. Thor #353 can be had in perfect condition for cheaper than many new books. In fact, you’re as likely to find this issue as part of a lot of Simonson Thor comics as you are to find it alone. And that’s great – the whole run is worth your time.

Buy Thor #353 here.

Thor (2007) #5

It’s hard to believe now, but there was a period in the early 2000s when Marvel just stopped publishing Thor comics. They ended one run with a magnificent Ragnarok, let Asgard lie dormant for almost 3 years, and then brought the Norse gods back in a big way, and nobody was more changed by that return than Loki. She returned from the post-Ragnarok nothingness as a woman in this issue, written by J. Michael Straczynski and dazzlingly drawn by Olivier Coipel. Expect this to be referenced in the new series.

Thor #5 is almost certainly underpriced as of publication. You can find copies of the regular cover for close to cover price, while the issue’s lone variant by J. Scott Campbell is going for in the $25-$40 range. This is almost certain to go up because of the show, and if Loki spends any serious screen time as a woman, it should go up by a lot. Now might be a good time to get in on the ground floor. 

Buy Thor (2007) #5 here.

Journey Into Mystery #622

No run of Loki stories has likely had a greater influence on the MCU’s take on Loki than what Kieron Gillen did with him, starting at the end of the big Siege crossover, Loki dies at the hands of The Sentry, and is immediately resurrected as a preteen version of himself. From there on, Kid Loki becomes one of the most beloved Marvel comics characters of the past decade: tricky, razor smart, self-aware, and ambiguous.

This issue in particular, with excellent pencils from Doug Brathwaite, is an incredible deep dive on who Loki is and what role they serve in the story of Asgard, and the combination of quality and intermedia importance is helping this issue do some numbers online – the second printing in particular, featuring a photo cover of Tom Hiddleston fully be-horned in his movie Loki getup, is going for between $75 and $100. That will probably calm down some after the show, but I’d bet not by a ton, considering where the story might go.

Buy Journey Into Mystery #622 here.

Young Avengers #1

Gillen’s time shepherding Kid Loki continues as the trickster teen assembles yet another cadre of Avengers. It features a team of Marvel sidekicks and legacy heroes echoing their predecessors – the children of Vision and Scarlet Witch (Wiccan and Speed) and Wiccan’s boyfriend Hulkling; Kate Bishop, the second and better Hawkeye; kid Loki; Noh-Varr, the Marvel Boy from an alternate reality; depowered mutant genius Prodigy; and alternate reality ass kicker Ms. America. 

So between it’s likely importance to the future of the MCU (this team is almost guaranteed to be the foundation of the inevitable Young Avengers MCU entry) and the staggeringly gorgeous art from Jamie McKelvie, this book is a must buy. Fortunately, there are lots of options – Marvel knew this would be a hit when it launched, so they had multiple variant covers (from both Skottie Young and Scott Pilgrim’s Bryan Lee O’Malley, as well as the now-traditional blank sketch variant). You can find original covers for a little over cover price, and variants in the $10-$25 range. The second printing of the first issue – with a black, white and blue sketch version of the O’Malley variant – can be found in that range too.

Buy Young Avengers (2013) #1 here.

Loki: Agent of Asgard #1

If Kieron Gillen’s story is about what Loki means to the story of the Marvel Universe, Al Ewing’s Loki: Agent of Asgard is about what Loki means to their own story. As Young Avengers wrapped, Kid Loki was destroyed and replaced by a Hiddlestonier older version, one obsessed with establishing their own heroism. So they cut a deal: the ruling All-Mother triumvirate in Asgard would wipe old Loki stories from Asgardian records in exchange for Loki completing missions on their behalf on Earth. Agent of Asgard is half heist comic, half deep character piece, with an evil old version of Loki being the series’ recurring villain. Ewing and artist Lee Garbett turn in a witty, fun book that has some of the finest Loki character work in all ten realms. 

Prices on this book have risen steeply of late, likely in anticipation of everything with Loki’s name on it getting hot. As such, you’ll be hard pressed to find a copy of even the first printing going for less than $15, and the real heavy hitter here – the sketch variant of Frank Cho’s Jim Steranko homaging Loki cover – is up over $200.

Buy Loki: Agent of Asgard #1 here.

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #8

In this issue of Ryan North and Erica Henderson’s top-tier Marvel run, New York is under attack from Ratatoskr, the trash talking squirrel who runs messages up and down the World Tree. Squirrel Girl battles Ratatoskr’s rumor mongering with the help of Loki, Odinson, Jane Foster Thor, and SG’s roommate, Nancy Whitehead, who it turns out is the author of a great deal of Asgardian fan fiction. Only with all the Norse Gods replaced by cats. Loki, of course, finds this hilarious, and spends the rest of the story with Cat Thor’s head, and it is utterly delightful for everyone except their very frustrated brother. 

It’s not an impactful moment in Loki’s history. It does nothing to the MU’s metanarrative, and until they decide to bring in the Netflix properties and use Squirrel Girl as Jessica Jones and Luke Cage’s au pair like they did in the comics, this will have nothing to do with the MCU. So you can find this for cheaper than cover price, or as part of lots that are cumulatively MUCH cheaper than cover price. And that’s great: these Squirrel Girl stories were terrific. They’re worth every penny at twice the price.

Buy Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2015) #8 here.

Vote Loki #1

Christopher Hastings and Langdon Foss do something interesting with Loki here: instead of using him to comment on the Marvel Universe, they use them to comment on ours. Vote Loki was a send up of American electoral politics, mocking the…ever-changing nature of the American electorate by having Loki campaign for President as an open, avowed, amoral liar. I’ll be honest, there are moments where this one still lands a little shakily, but it’s certainly improved since its unfortunate release timing (in the middle of the 2016 election). It’s smart and fun, and from the looks of the Loki trailer, probably important. 

Like everything else with Loki in the title, the market has gone a little crazy for these of late. The main covers are going for multiple times the cover price, and the variants (particularly the Valerio Schiti incentive cover for the first issue) up in the 3 and 4 figures. Wild for a book that’s this new.

Buy Vote Loki #1 here.

Thor #4

Some of these books are here because they’re brilliant investigations of comic storytelling, or deeply personal character studies of complex, multifaceted comics characters with a half century of history. And some are on here because they have a scene where Thanos tells the Norse goddess of death “It’s not you, it’s me” in the middle of a sham wedding in Hel. Thor #4 is almost at the big War of the Realms, the culmination of Jason Aaron’s nearly ten years writing Thor, and it’s an absolute blast. If you read the excellent Aaron run from start to finish, this will be one of your favorite issues. 

If you get this issue’s James Harren variant – obtainable at less than $10 – you’ll be very happy with yourself for doing it.

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Buy Thor (2018) #4 here.

The post Loki Collectibles: Key God of Mischief Comics to Own for Marvel Fans appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3wgMw73

[swipestream]

Sensor Sweep: Drakar, Grey Knights, Witcher 2

Science Fiction (Wired): Conventional wisdom holds that science fiction was written almost exclusively by men until the advent of feminism in the 1960s and ’70s. But when Lisa Yaszek, who teaches science fiction studies at Georgia Tech, went digging through old magazines, she discovered a very different story.

        Tolkien (Daily Mail): In a 1937 letter to an Oxford colleague, Professor John Ronald Reuel Tolkien confessed that he didn’t much care for The Hobbit, one of his already popular works that was about to go into its second printing.

He wrote: ‘I don’t much approve of The Hobbit myself, prefering my own mythology (which is just touched on) with its consistent nomenclature … and organized history, to this rabble of Eddaic-named dwarves out of Voluspa, newfangled hobbits and gollums (invented in an idle hour) and Anglo-Saxon runes.’

  Authors (Davy Crockett’s Almanac): If you really want to know Robert E. Howard, you’re out of luck. But the closest you’ll ever get (barring the invention of a time machine) is this lengthy memoir by his almost-girlfriend Novalyne Price.

The two became friends when she took a teaching job at the high school in Cross Plains, Texas in August 1934, and spent a lot of time together until July of the next year, when he found out she was dating his friend Truett Vinson. But their friendship continued, albeit less frequently, until he shot himself in June 1936.

  Authors (Adventures Fantastic): John D. MacDonald was born on this date, July 24, in 1916.  I’ve written about him before (see here, here, and here).

Although he’s probably best remembered today as the author of the Travis McGee series of men’s adventure thrillers, MacDonald learned his chops in the pulps, albeit during the tail end of the pulp era.

  Games (Follow Me and Die): As an RPG content producer, I’ve spent a lot of money on fancy tools, some that require more money when versions are updated, etc. Check out episode 77 of my podcast where I discuss this topic*.

Several years ago, I was very big into Linux and free and open source software. I’m still a proponent of free and open source software, I just had issues in the past finding Linux based solutions for some of my workflows.

  Publishing (Original Edition Fantasy): Call for Articles!

I’m putting together a one-shot homage to classic 80’s Dragon magazine. It will be called Drakar and have the look, feel, and layout of that era. Including articles, ads, even humor!

In order to fill this up I’m looking for articles from the OSR. It can be an original article, an excerpt from your homebrewed RPG or campaign. This issue is going to be generally Norse Mythology themed, but just like those old magazines it will be a hodge-podge of cool stuff, so anything you enter that is RPG related will work. No bias towards any particular system.

        Miniatures (Tower of Zenopus): I really really like the Grey Knights lore in 40K I remember them being an interesting unit in Rogue trader and then in Epic where they were a single unit you might take if fighting Chaos but not an army on their own. Then came 5th edition when they received a separate Codex and suddenly they were a whole separate force with some really nice miniatures all their own. It’s a great look, a great theme, and a great concept for an elite strike force in the game.

  Authors (DMR Books): I consider REH to be one of the greatest fantasists of all time and I am not alone.  I have admired and been inspired by both his prose and his poetry but I also appreciate where his writings have led me.   If I had never read Howard, I might never have read the horror of Clark Ashton Smith, the histories of Harold Lamb or the adventures shrouded in the mysteries of the East penned by Talbot Mundy.  If you take a look at the books listed in Robert E. Howard’s personal library, you will find thirteen works by Talbot Mundy, so I think I can say that he was an influence on REH.

        RPG (Black Gate): Funny how some of us predicted video games would virtually wipe out RPGs and board games, and yet here we are. We have entered a golden age of tabletop gaming. So many new games, with great graphics, great playing pieces, and game mechanics that expand on systems that have been tried, tested, and improved on for decades.

I’m certainly not the first to make this observation, but much of this game renaissance must be thanks to funding platforms like Kickstarter. No longer limited to what a few big corporations deemed were mass-marketable enough to release to retail outlets, we could now team up with a few hundred or a few thousand other people who wanted what we did and JUST PAY TO MAKE IT HAPPEN OURSELVES.

  Fiction (Gravetapping): In the late 1960s and early 1970s Michael Crichton published eight thrillers under the pseudonym John Lange.  The Lange novels are something very different than the science fiction Michael Crichton became famous for writing. They are thrillers more in the vein of Desmond Bagley, Jack Higgins, and Gavin Lyall, and I like them much more than Crichton’s big bestsellers.

  Celluloid (Future War Stories): Since the first hunting stories where told around a fire, humans have been captivated by tales of combat and heroism. That just who we are at our core and those primitive stories have been upgraded due to the progress of technology and scientific understanding to forge the genre of science fiction. Today, tales of space warriors battling among the stars with laser swords and ray-guns are commonplace within the realm of popular entertainment. When most think of science fiction combat scenes from sci-fi on TV, in anime, video games, or in popular films; they imagine those large-scale space battles with starships trading colorful bolts of killer light.

  Games (Player None): The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings (2011), based on the works of Andrzej Sapkowski, developed and published by CD Projekt RED

Geralt of Rivia wakes up shackled in a dungeon. He is there to be interrogated by one Vernon Roache, the head of the special forces of Temaria. The reason for this visit in the darkest of dungeons is told in flashbacks during the tutorial of the game: Geralt is under suspicions of killing the king of Temaria, Foltest. He is innocent to the crime, as the killer is a skilled assassin Letho, a bear of a man, who is working with Scoia’tael guerillas who are more than happy to aid a human causing havoc among his own people.

  Celluloid (Running Iron Report): The Lighthorsemen is a movie about the Australian Light Horse regiments and their famous charge on Beersheba in Palestine in World War I. The taking of Beersheeba turned the Ottoman Turks out of their defensive line in Palestine and marked a turning point in the campaign in the Middle East.

For the purposes of this essay; the charge is almost an anticlimactic moment.

I wish that a different way could be found to teach history in our schools. History teaching incorporating the Australian Light Horse would be a lot more exciting than memorizing meaningless acts and dates. The “Australian Light Horse” — now there is phrase to stir the blood of any young man.

    Sensor Sweep: Drakar, Grey Knights, Witcher 2 published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames

[norsesuggestions]

9 realms of norse mythology

as told by someone who is bad at maths, and also just realised that iron age people too appear to be bad at math. or rather enjoys saying nine realms as a poetic conventions more than. erm describing exactly nine realms.

Asgård: boring as fuck. like honestly the gods seems unable to even stay in that damn realm a single legend. clearly asagård is not to rec. do not visit. Points 2/10

Vanaheim: wtf is this place? Freya, Frey and Njord is from there anyway so that is nice. otherwise. no idea. points ??? (impossible to give points. mystery place)

Utgård: apperntly a evil place of giants and beasts. but also. Loki and Thor keeps going. everyone spends all their adventours here. tbh this sounds like the best place in the 9 realms. 9/10 (losing 1 points cause dangerous)

Jutonheim: the difference between ugård and jutomheim is cryptic. jutonheim appears to be a region in utgård. or. maybe the oppsite. anyway same thing true as with utgård. 9/10

Nifelhel/Hel: good!!! death kingdom ruled by the daughter of loki Hel. Don’t be confused by her name. she does not rule over hell, it is just confusingly similar sounding. her death kingdom is hall with a feast. sounds totally ok. 10/10

Midgård: where humans live!! perfectly allright. nothings special though. has one good thing. JÖRMUNGANDR the midgård encircling serpant!! otherwise meh. 5/10

Muspelheim: on fire. literally. would not visit 0/10

Myrkheim/Nidavellir: home of the elves. the elves make all the cool jewellary, enchanted chains and epic weapons of the asagods. basically the source of all important shiny in the 9 realms. tbh would move there. although i get the feeling they are like tolkien noldor. lives in underground palaces and make shiny. and just like noldor, avoid stealing their shiny! such things ends badly 9/10

alfheim: another place were elf lives (? the fuck is norse mythology elves anyway. there seems to be no agreement in this subject. basically the beings of alfheim and myrkheim are referenced to as several different mythological beings. dwarves, elves, gods, spirits??? wtf is going on. we will never know). hrm. ANYWAY. Frey chilled there. sounds much more hippie than myrkheim. but i got angry at trying understand which kind off being lived there. therefore it gets NULL POINTS.

Winner: Utgård/Jutonheim and Myrkheim.

Loser: Muspelheim. fuck that place. i am not really sure it is actually a realm anyway. my very unsourced feeling tm calls that it is a kenning, not the name for a seperate realm. but i base that on nothing but spite

[norsesuggestions]

becausedamnsun replied to your post “becausedamnsun replied to your post “There is a myth with Røskva and...”

I'm from Denmark, and the one with the corssdressing is also a big hit here or at least it was for me. But I have never heard the stories from Uppsala. But I was also the kid after julekalenderen Jul i Valhal that went full on nerd in the nordic mythology.

oh the ones about the kings of uppsala is one of snorres stories. it is  when he lists mythological kings, he beginns in “the kingdom of sweden/svitjod” (which ofcourse really make no sense for iron age scandinavia haha because there were no kingdom of sweden during the iron age, but he is writing from his medieval icelandic pov). WELL anyway, in he starts the listing of mythological kings in uppsala, sweden (which is right next to Stockholm btw. so basically places some mythic king in the power centre of sweden when snorre were alive). 

well anyway, he list these kings as “ynglingätten”, and then he just keeps going, and starts listing relationships with norwegian kings AND well his final destination is ofcourse to connect all these mythological royal families with iceland lol. 

but basically he takes us on a little poetic mythological trip of the nordic countries. and we know, he is not like, just totally making up all these myths on the spot, because the places he mention in sweden, are indeed real place names for locations in sweden which he has put vaguelly on the right spot.

and this knowledge of obscure small villages in the swedish, can not just be explained with snorre owning a map, because we are often talking small small places. THAT being said, ofcourse, the kings he talk about are mythological, and there were no such thing as a swedish kingdom during the iron age. but ya know, east-south scandinavia still existed haha, even if there were no swedish kingdom!

this stories were also often repeated by swedes of like, the 16th-19th century, who took them as the truth, and used it to distance sweden from danish rule after the union of kalmar. which is also why i must point out they are not real haha. some swedes that have had *cough* old-fashioned *chough* history education, are not aware of that these swedish kings are just... mythological, not real.

Snorre wrote the saga of the ynglingeätten in heimskringla. the story is called “the yngling saga”. here is a excerpt from it.

Snorre goes on to describe the gods. Snorre follow a common medieval convention here, were he tries to explain all pre-christian gods of europe as being real life kings. which is why, Odin suddenly here is king of Swithjod (Svitjod/Sweden). this was most likely NOT how the story were originally told haha.

Odin died in his bed in Swithiod; and when he was near his death

he made himself be marked with the point of a spear, and said he

was going to Godheim, and would give a welcome there to all his

friends, and all brave warriors should be dedicated to him; and

the Swedes believed that he was gone to the ancient Asgaard, and

would live there eternally.  Then began the belief in Odin, and

the calling upon him. 

still we are in the realm of myth, but now suddenly a real place shows up! Upsal (most likely referncing uppsala fields/uppsala the settlement):

Frey took the kingdom after Njord, and was called drot by the

Swedes, and they paid taxes to him. He was, like his father,

fortunate in friends and in good seasons. Frey built a great

temple at Upsal, made it his chief seat, and gave it all his

taxes, his land, and goods.  Then began the Upsal domains, which

have remained ever since.

FINALLY THAT YNGVE SHOW UP!! ALSO, THERE IS SIBLING RIVARLY! and people mentioned are not only literal gods anymore. also snorre here starts listing names, and family relations, in that classic way too long way of norse sagas:

Alric's sons, Yngve and Ali, then succeeded to the kingly power

in Sweden.  Yngve was a great warrior, always victorious;

handsome, expert in all exercises, strong and very sharp in

battle, generous and full of mirth; so that he was both renowned

and beloved. 

Alf was a silent, harsh, unfriendly man, and sat at

home in the land, and never went out on war expeditions.  His

mother was called Dageid, a daughter of King Dag the Great, from

whom the Dagling family is descended. King Alf had a wife named

Bera, who was the most agreeable of women, very brisk and gay.

One autumn Yngve, Alric's son, had arrived at Upsal from a viking

cruise by which he was become very celebrated.  He often sat long

in the evening at the drinking-table; but Alf went willingly to

bed very early. 

Queen Bera sat often till late in the evening,

and she and Yngve conversed together for their amusement; but Alf

soon told her that she should not sit up so late in the evening,

but should go first to bed, so as not to waken him.  She replied,

that happy would be the woman who had Yngve instead of Alf for

her husband; and as she often repeated the same, he became very

angry.

One evening Alf went into the hall, where Yngve and Bera

sat on the high seat speaking to each other.  Yngve had a short

sword upon his knees, and the guests were so drunk that they did

not observe the king coming in. 

King Alf went straight to the high seat, drew a sword from under his cloak, and pierced his brother Yngve through and through.  Yngve leaped up, drew his short sword, and gave Alf his death-wound; so that both fell deadon the floor. Alf and Yngve were buried under mounds in Fyrisvold. Thus tells Thjodolf of it: --

  "I tell you of a horrid thing,

    A deed of dreadful note I sing --

    How by false Bera, wicked queen,

    The murderous brother-hands were seen

    Each raised against a brother's life;

    How wretched Alf with bloody knife

    Gored Yngve's heart, and Yngve's blade

    Alf on the bloody threshold laid.

    Can men resist Fate's iron laws?

    They slew each other without cause."

ah the years swedish archeologists spend looking for this dudes grave mound in uppsala lol. but anyway, now the majority of swedish archeologists consider this mythological, and that those historical archeologists desperatly looking for real life proofs of these stories were a bit..... to obsesses with finding a “glorious past of sweden.”

Sources

translation used of “the saga of ynglingätten”

http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/heim/02ynglga.htm

about ynglings saga, swedish wiki article. rec this for being a pretty good wiki article, if you do not get a headache from reading all that swedish! (which i would not blame you for, trying to adapt to danish and norwegian spelling rules, can sometimes be lots of work)

https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ynglinga%C3%A4tten