Ancient Norwegians said that Hálogaland was named after a royal named Hölgi. The Norse form of the name was Hálogaland. The first element of the word is the genitive plural of háleygr is unknown. Thorstein Vikingson's Saga, 1, describes it as a compound of Hial, "Hel" or "spirit," and "loge", "fire". The Gothic historian Jordanes in his work De origine actibusque Getarum, written in Constantinople, mentions a people "Adogit" living in the far North. This could be an old form of háleygir and a possible reference to the petty kingdom of Hålogaland. Alex Woolf links the name Hålogaland to the aurora borealis — the "Northern Lights" —, saying that Hålogaland meant the "Land of the High Fire", loga deriving from logi, which refers to fire. In the medieval accounts of Ynglingatal and Skáldskaparmál, "Logi" is described as the personification of fire, a fire giant, and as a "son of Fornjót". In the medieval Orkneyinga saga and the account of Hversu Noregr byggðist, Fornjót is described as king of "Gotland, Kænland and Finnland". The royal lineages sprung from his children are discussed in these and other medieval accounts. The beginning of the Þorsteins saga Víkingssonar discusses King Logi who ruled the country north of Norway. Because Logi was larger and stronger than any other man in land, his name was lengthened from Logi to Hálogi, meaning "High-Logi". Derived from that name his country became called Hálogaland, meaning "Hálogi's land". Eventually the spelling of the name shaped to the modern-day Hålogaland. The Hversu Noregr byggðist is an account of the origin of various legendary Norwegian lineages. It traces the descendants of the primeval ruler Fornjót down to Nór, who is here the eponym and first great king of Norway, who unites the Norwegian lands. The Hversu account then gives details of the descendants of Nór and of his brother Gór in the following section known as the Ættartölur. The Hversu account is closely paralleled by the opening of the Orkneyinga saga. In 873 AD, according to the Egil's saga the Kvens and Norse cooperate in battling against the invading Karelians. The chapter XVII of Egil's saga describes how Thorolf Kveldulfsson from Namdalen, located in the southernmost tip of the historic Hålogaland, goes to Kvenland again: Based on medieval documents, the above meeting took place during the winter of 873–874. Hålogaland's rather close vicinity to Kvenland is also demonstrated in the geographical chronicle Leiðarvísir og borgarskipan'' by the Icelandic Abbot Níkulás Bergsson, who provides descriptions of lands around Norway:
Hålogaland figures extensively in the Norse sagas, and in the Heimskringla, especially the Ynglinga Saga and Háleygjatal. It was inhabited by the race of Hölgi who was the eponymous hero of Hålogaland. In the saga, Heimskringla, a man called Gudlög led a number of Norwegian pirates that were fought by the Swedish kingJorund and king Godgest of Hålogaland was given a horse by the Swedish king Adils. The first earl of Lade, Håkon Grjotgardsson, ruler of Trøndelag, came from Hålogaland, and sought to extend his kingdom southwards. Here, he met with Harald Fairhair, and joined him. Archaeologists have uncovered the Chieftain House at Borg in Lofoten, a large Viking Era building believed to have been already established around the year 500. Archaeological studies commenced here in 1983 and in 1986–89, a joint Scandinavian research project was conducted at Borg. Excavations brought to light remains of the largest building ever to be found from the Viking Era in Norway, 83 meters long and 9 meters high. The chieftain's seat at Borg is estimated to have been abandoned around AD 950. Today the site is the location of the Lofotr Viking Museum.
Geography
Hålogaland is a drowned coastline containing extensive mountainous fjords and islands. It was an excellent refuge for Viking ships as well as a way station for voyagers to the White Sea, which offered access to Russia. Even in modern times, Narvik was an important World War II objective. In 2008, the name was proposed as the possible name of an independent Northern Norway.
