Vanlandi
Legendary King of Sweden
title: "Vanlandi" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["semi-legendary-kings-of-sweden", "witchcraft-in-sweden"] description: "Legendary King of Sweden" topic_path: "geography/sweden" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanlandi" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Legendary King of Sweden ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox royalty"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| succession | Legendary King of Sweden |
| predecessor | Sveigðir |
| successor | Visbur |
| spouse | Drífa |
| issue | Visbur |
| house | House of Yngling |
| house-type | Dynasty |
| father | Sveigðir |
| mother | Vana |
| place of burial | By the Skúta river |
| :: |
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Skuttungeån_(Skutå).JPG" caption="Vanlandi was burned by the river Skúta/Skytaa/Skutån ("shooting creek"). In the summer, the creek hardly merits the name, and today it is called ''Skuttungeån''."] ::
| succession = Legendary King of Sweden | image = | caption = | reign = | coronation = | full_name = | predecessor = Sveigðir | successor = Visbur | spouse = Drífa | issue = Visbur | house = House of Yngling | house-type = Dynasty | father = Sveigðir | mother = Vana | birth_date = | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | date of burial = | place of burial = By the Skúta river
Vanlandi or Vanlande (Old Norse: "Man from the Land of the Vanir") was, according to Norse mythology, a Swedish king who ruled at Uppsala as part of the House of Yngling. He was the son of Sveigðir, whom he succeeded as king.
Vanlandi married a woman named Drífa from Finnland but later abandoned her. In retaliation, Drífa sought revenge by enlisting a sorceress to curse him. As a result, Vanlandi was hag-ridden to death. He was succeeded by his son, Visbur.
Attestations
Snorri Sturluson wrote of Vanlandi in his Ynglinga saga (1225) (note that the translator has rendered Finnland as Finland): ::data[format=table]
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Snorri also quoted some lines from Ynglingatal composed in the 9th century:
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The Historia Norwegiæ presents a Latin summary of Ynglingatal, older than Snorri's quotation: ::data[format=table]
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The even earlier source Íslendingabók cites the line of descent in Ynglingatal and also gives Vanlandi as the successor of Svegðir and the predecessor of Visbur: v Svegðir. vi Vanlandi. vii Visburr. viii Dómaldr.
Geography
Geographical note: According to the article Skuttunge in Nationalencyklopedin, the creek Skutá lent its name to the village of Skuttunge and the parish of Skuttunge (sv). The area contains not only raised stones but also 45 grave fields, most dating from the Iron Age, including a dolmen. The creek is now named after the village.
The area has undergone significant post-glacial rebound, rising approximately 0.5 meters every 100 years. This process has greatly altered the position of the coastline, lakes, rivers, and human settlements over time.
Notes
References
- McKinnell, John (2005). Meeting the Other in Norse Myth and Legend. DS Brewer.
Sources
- Ynglingatal
- Ynglinga saga (part of the Heimskringla)
- Historia Norwegiae
References
- McKinnell (2005:70).
- "''Ynglinga saga'' at ''Norrøne Tekster og Kvad''".
- [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/heim/02ynglga.htm Laing's translation at the Internet Sacred Text Archive]
- [http://www.northvegr.org/lore/heim/001_03.php Laing's translation at Northvegr] {{webarchive. link. (2007-03-12)
- [http://www.home.no/norron-mytologi/sgndok/kvad/yngli.htm A second online presentation of ''Ynglingatal'']
- [http://www.northvegr.org/lore/heim/001_05.php Laing's translation at Northvegr] {{webarchive. link. (2007-03-11)
- Storm, Gustav (editor) (1880). ''Monumenta historica Norwegiæ: Latinske kildeskrifter til Norges historie i middelalderen'', Monumenta Historica Norwegiae (Kristiania: Brøgger), p. 98
- [http://www.heimskringla.no/original/islendingesagaene/islendingabok.php Guðni Jónsson's edition of Íslendingabók] {{webarchive. link. (2007-05-08)
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