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(Ynglinga, c. 15).

      A description of the leading events in the life of each of the remaining mythical or semi-mythical rulers named in the genealogies is given in the Ynglinga, but we have only thought it necessary to place before the reader these few typical examples, as the scope of the work will not admit of a fuller treatment of the subject; though some extracts have been incorporated in the Chapter on Customs, &c.

      The Northern chiefs traced their ancestry from this Odin of the North, whose influence had become so great with King Gylfi that two of his sons, as we have seen, married the latter’s daughters.

      When reading the Saga literature we are particularly struck by the frequent references made to pedigrees in which the people of the North took great pride. There are three great genealogical branches through which the Northern chiefs traced their descent from Odin.

      “All who are truly wise in events know that the Tyrkjar and Asia-men settled in the northern lands. Then began the tongue which has since spread over all lands. The leader of these people was called Odin, and to him men trace their families”¹⁰⁵ (Sturlaug’s Saga (Fornaldarsögur, 111), c. 1).

      These genealogical branches are:—1. The Ynglinga; or that of Hálfdán the black, the nephew of Rögnvald Jarl. 2. The Háleygja; or that of Hakon Jarl the great. 3. The Skjöldunga; or that of Harald Hilditönn or the Danish branch.

      If we could admit that these genealogies are more or less correct, and if we struck an average by generations (of thirty years) the result would make Odin live about the beginning of the Christian era; if a longer average of life is allotted, he would have lived some centuries before that date. But of course the genealogies must be treated as in the main mythical.

      The Ynglingatal,¹⁰⁶ a genealogical poem,¹⁰⁷ composed for Rögnvald Heidumhœri (the uncle of Harald Fairhair), traces the family of Rögnvald through thirty generations up to Odin, and being probably composed a little after 900, it would make Odin live about 100 before Christ.

      Ari in ch. 12 of Islendingabók traces his family through thirty-seven degrees up to Yngvi Tyrkja King.

      These are the names of the forefathers of the Ynglingar and Breidfirdingar (Men of Breidifjord):—

      1 Yngvi Tyrkjaking.

      2 Njörd Sviaking.

      3 Frey.

      4 Fjölnir, who died at Frid-Fródi’s.

      5 Svegdir.

      6 Vanlandi.

      7 Vísbur.

      8 Dómaldi.

      9 Dómar.

      10 Dyggvi.

      11 Dag.

      12 Alrek.

      13 Agni.

      14 Yngvi.

      15 Jörund.

      16 Aun the old.

      17 Egil Vendikráka.

      18 Ottar.

      19 Adils at Uppsalir.

      20 Eystein.

      21 Yngvar.

      22 Braut-önund.

      23 Ingjald the evil.

      24 Ólaf, wood-chopper (tretelgja).

      25 Hálfdán Whiteleg Upplendingaking.

      26 Godrod.

      27 Ólaf.

      28 Helgi.

      29 Ingjald, the son of the daughter of Sigurd, son of Ragnar Lodbrok.

      30 Oleif the white (king in Dublin).

      31 Thorstein the red.

      32 Glei Feilan, the first of them who settled in Iceland.

      33 Thórd gellir.

      34 Eyjólf, who was baptized in his old age when Christianity came to Iceland.

      35 Thorkel.

      36 Gellir, the father of Thorkel and Brand and Thorgils, Ari’s father.

      As another example of these genealogies we give that of

      The Skjoldunga Branch.

       ¹⁰⁸

      The following passage from the ‘Later Edda,’ which refers to this branch, may help the curious to fix the dates of these chiefs. According to it Odin the hero lived some years before the beginning of the Christian era.

      “Skjöld (Shield) was the son of Odin, from whom the Skjöldungar are descended. He dwelt in and ruled over the lands now called Danmörk, which were then called Gotland. Skjöld had a son, Fridleif, who ruled the lands after him.

      Fridleif’s son Fródi got the kingship after his father, about the time when the Emperor Augustus made peace all over the world; then Christ was born. As Fródi was the most powerful of all kings in the Northern lands, all who spoke the Danish (Dansk) tongue¹⁰⁹ attributed the peace to him, and the Northmen called it the Peace of Fródi. No man did harm to another, even if he met the slayer of his father or his brother bound or loose; no thieves or robbers were then found, so that a gold ring lay for a long time in Jalangr-heath (i.e., was not taken by any one)” (‘Later Edda.’ Skáldskaparmal, c. 43).

      CHAPTER VIII.

       THE STONE AGE.

       Table of Contents

      Prehistoric ages of man—Use of metal unknown—First traces of man—Weapons of flint, bone, &c.—Graves of the Stone Age—Introduction of domestic animals—The cromlech or dolmen always near the sea—Gallery or passage graves—The passage grave of Karleby—Stone coffin graves—Sepulchral chambers—Objects of the Stone Age.

      We have now given accounts of the literature which contains the earliest records of the people of the North. Let us pause and study for a while its archæology, which will throw considerable light also on its inhabitants and their customs.

      It is now generally recognised by archæologists that all people who have advanced to a certain degree of civilisation have passed through three periods of development, which according to the material of which their implements, weapons, and utensils were made, have been named the stone, the bronze, and the iron age. We have very abundant evidence that the people of the North passed through these three stages, and indeed had reached the iron age before they came within the ken of history. Beginning with the stone age, let us see what we can learn of the civilisation of the North from the various articles which were in use during the three stages.

      The finds in the North have been classified under the name “grave,” “bog,” and “earth” finds; that is, objects found in graves, bogs, or in the ground. In the latter case they are often hidden under stones, in obedience to the injunctions of Odin. Those of the iron age are found as far as 69° North latitude.

      The custom of burying different objects with the dead, and also that of throwing objects and weapons into springs or bogs, or of hiding them in the ground, has helped in a most remarkable manner to give us an idea of the industries and daily life of the people there at a remote period.

      In the earliest age the use of metal was unknown, the weapons were made of stone, horn, and bone,¹¹⁰ and towards the close of this age pottery was made.

      The first traces of man in some parts of the present Scandinavia are the kjökkenmöddinger (kitchen refuse heaps), consisting of oyster and mussel shells, bones of fish, birds, and mammals, such as the deer, bear, boar, beaver, seal, ure-ox, wolf, fox, &c., &c., with remains of clay vessels. Among and near these

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