The prologue to Snorri's
Edda and the alternative list discussed above both include the following: •
Sigi. He was made the ancestor of the Völsung lineage (see
Völsunga saga), who were
Burgundian kings according to Snorri. •
Skjöld. He was ancestor of the Danish
Skjölding dynasty. In Snorri's
Ynglinga Saga in the
Heimskringla, Skjöld's wife is the goddess
Gefjön and the same account occurs in most, but not all, manuscripts of the
Edda. But Saxo makes Skjöld the son of Lother son of
Dan. And in English tradition, Skjöld (called Scyld or Sceldwa) is son of
Sceafa or of
Heremod when a father is named. •
Yngvi. A son of Odin in the prologue to the
Edda but identified with Frey son of Njörd in the
Ynglinga Saga. In both accounts, this figure is made ancestor of the
Yngling dynasty in Sweden (from which later kings of
Norway also traced their descent). (A
Faroese ballad recorded in 1840 names Odin's son as Veraldur, this Veraldur being understood as another name of Frö, that is of
Frey.) •
Sæming. Sæming is ancestor of a line of Norwegian kings. Snorri's
Ynglinga Saga relates that after the giantess
Skaði broke off her marriage with Njörd, she "married afterwards Odin, and had many sons by him, of whom one was called Sæming" from whom
Jarl Hákon claimed descent. Snorri then quotes a relevant verse by the poet
Eyvindr skáldaspillir. However, in his preface to the
Heimskringla, Snorri says that Eyvindr's
Háleygjatal which reckoned up the ancestors of Jarl Hákon brought in Sæming as son of Yngvi-Frey. Snorri may have slipped here, thinking of the Ynglings. As to the many sons, it is possible that some of the otherwise unknown sons in the previous section may be sons purportedly born by Skadi. According to
Herrauds saga: •
Gauti. Gauti's son Hring ruled
Östergötland (East
Götaland), so Gauti appears to be the eponym of the
Geatas in
Beowulf. Some versions of the English royal line of Wessex add names above that of Woden, purportedly giving Woden's ancestry, though the names are now usually thought be in fact another royal lineage that has been at some stage erroneously pasted onto the top of the standard genealogy. Some of these genealogies end in Geat, whom it is reasonable to think might be Gauti. The account in the
Historia Britonum calls Geat a son of a god, which fits. But
Asser, in his
Life of Alfred, writes instead that the pagans worshipped this Geat himself for a long time as a god. In Old Norse texts, Gaut is itself a very common byname for Odin.
Jordanes, in
The origin and deeds of the Goths, traces the line of the Amelungs up to Hulmul son of
Gapt, purportedly the first Gothic hero of record. This
Gapt is felt by many commentators to be an error for
Gaut or
Gauti. According to
Hervarar saga ok Heidreks konungs ("The Saga of Hervor and King Heidrek") versions H and U: •
Sigrlami. He was son of Odin and king of
Gardariki. His son
Svafrlami succeeded him. Svafrlami forced the dwarves
Dvalinn and
Durin to forge for him a superb sword,
Tyrfing. They did so and cursed it. In version R, Sigrlami takes on the role of Svafrlami and his parentage is not given. In the prologue to the
Edda, Snorri also mentions sons of Odin who ruled among the continental
Angles and
Saxons and provides information about their descendants that is identical, or very close, to traditions recorded in the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Snorri here may be dependent on English traditions. The sons mentioned by both Snorri and the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle are: •
Vegdagr/Wægdæg/Wecta. According to Snorri, Vegdeg ruled East
Saxony. In the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the
Wecta form of the name heads the lineage of the kings of
Kent (of whom
Hengest is traditionally the first), and the Wægdæg form of the name heads the lineage of the kings of
Deira. The
Anglian collection of Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies places the name Wægdæg in both pedigrees, while Snorri relates a single descent through Vegdeg and his son that later splits into two branches leading to the Kent and Deira ancestors. •
Beldeg. According to Snorri's prologue, Beldeg was identical to
Baldur and ruled in
Westphalia. There is no independent evidence of the identification of Beldeg with Baldur. From Beldeg, the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle traces the kings of
Bernicia and
Wessex.
Historia Brittonum derives the kings of Deira from Beldeg rather than from Wægdæg. Other Anglo-Saxon genealogies mention: •
Weothulgeot or
Wihtlæg. According to the genealogies in the
Anglian collection, Weothulgeot was ancestor to the royal house of
Mercia and the father of Wihtlæg. According to the
Historia Brittonum, Weothulgeot was father of Weaga, who was father of Wihtlæg. But the two
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle versions of this genealogy include neither Weothulgeot nor Weaga, but make Wihtlæg himself the son of Woden. In all versions, Wihtlæg is father of Wermund, father of
Offa of Angel. According to the
Old English poem
Widsith, Offa ruled over the continental Angles. Saxo, though not mentioning Wihtlæg's parentage, introduces Wihtlæg as a Danish king named Wiglek, who was the slayer of Amleth (
Hamlet). •
Casere (
Kjárr). He was made ancestor to the royal house of
East Anglia and is thought to represent none other than
Julius Caesar. •
Winta. He was made ancestor to the royal house of
Lindsey/
Lindisfarne. This genealogy is found only in the
Anglian collection, not in the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. •
Seaxnēat. Made ancestor of the kings of Essex. He is mentioned as Saxnôte alongside Uuôden (
Wodan) and Thunaer (
Thunor) in the
Old Dutch/Saxon Baptismal Vow. He was originally at the top of the Essex pedigree, and only later was made son of Woden to harmonize with the other Anglo-Saxon royal pedigrees. ==Froger==