Fornjót


Fornjót is a jötunn in Norse mythology, and the father of Hlér, Logi and Kári. It is also the name of a legendary king of "Finnland and Kvenland".

Name

The etymology of the Old Norse name Fornjótr remains unclear. It is often interpreted as forn-jótr, or as for-njótr. Alternative meanings such as Forn-njótr or Forn-þjótr have also been proposed.
According to Peter Erasmus Müller, Fornjótr could be interpreted as the "original owner" of Norway.

Attestations

Eddas

, a Norwegian skald of the late 9th–early 10th century AD cited in Ynglinga tal, apparently uses the kenning "son of Fornjót" as a synonym of 'fire', and another skald only known under the name Svein appears to use the kenning "ugly sons of Fornjót" to mean the 'wind'.
How should the wind be periphrased? Thus: call it son of Fornjót, Brother of the Sea and of Fire, Scathe or Ruin or Hound or Wolf of the Wood or of the Sail or of the Rigging.

Thus spake Svein in the Nordrsetu-drápa:
First began to fly
Fornjót's sons ill-shapen.

In the þulur, Fornjót is also included in a list of jötnar.

Sagas

In the Orkneyinga saga and in Hversu Noregr byggdisk, Fornjót is portrayed as a king ruling over Gotland and Jutland, "which is called Finnland and Kvenland ". Some editors alter "Gotland" or "Jutland" to "that land". In those two sources, Fornjót has three sons: Logi, Kári, and Hlér, "whom we call Ægir" according to Fundinn Noregr.

Ancestor of the House of Yngling

This is the mythic Yngling family tree based on Historia Norwegiæ, Ynglinga saga, Beowulf and other Old Norse sources. The names of Swedish kings are shown in bold.
Notes:
  1. Nerthus is often suggested to be the same woman as Njörðr's unidentified sister, by whom he begat Frey and Freyja.
  2. The Lokasenna and the Skáldskaparmál identify Gymir with Fornjot's son Ægir, but Rudolf Simek contests this.
  3. Assuming Narfi is identical with Narfi.
  4. Þornbjörg appears in Gautreks saga and in Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar.
  5. Ingeborg appears in the Tyrfing Cycle, e.g. Orvar-Odd's saga and Hervarar saga.
  6. Áli's inclusion here is based on Beowulf, the oldest source.
  7. Eanmund is only attested in Beowulf.