Ingvi Freyr: Thoughts and Speculation

Yngvi Frey

Ingvi is a historical and mythological figure that is considered by many to be an aspect of the Vana God Freyr. There are many indications that the connection between these two may indicate that Freyr himself was called by the name Ingvi, or atleast that Ingvi was a direct descendent of the God himself. Ingvi, or Ing, is considered to be the progenitor of a legendary dynasty of Swedish kings from which the historically documented lineage of Norwegian kings are descended. He is also the forebear of the Ingvaeones, one of the early germanic tribes which occupied coastal areas of the North Sea. It is important to note here that the Ingvaeones are a seperate cultural group from the similar sounding Angles, which would later colonized England (Anglo-Saxons). The Anglo Saxons did include Ingvaeones, as well as a blend of several other tribes.

As the name Ingvi appears in such a variety of forms historically, it is often easy to become confused. Here is an exerpt from Wikipedia of just a few of the documented instances of the use of the name Ingvi and it's various forms...

Yngvi is a name of the god Freyr, perhaps intended as Freyr's true name while Frey 'Lord' is his common title. In the Ynglinga saga and in Gesta Danorum, Frey is euhemerized as a king of Sweden. In the Ynglinga saga, Yngvi-Frey reigned in succession to his father Njörd who in turn succeeded Odin. Yngvi-Frey's descendants were the Ynglings.

In the Íslendingabók Yngvi Tyrkja konungr 'Yngvi king of Turkey' appears as father of Njörd who in turn is the father of Yngvi-Freyr, the ancestor of the Ynglings.

In the Skjöldunga saga Odin came from Asia and conquered Northern Europe. He gave Sweden to his son Yngvi and Denmark to his son Skjöldr. Since then the kings of Sweden were called Ynglings and those of Denmark Skjöldungs (Scyldings).

In Historia Norwegiæ, Ingui is the first king of Sweden, and the father of Njord, the father of Freyr: Rex itaque Ingui, quem primum Swethiæ monarchiam rexisse plurimi astruunt, genuit Neorth, qui vero genuit Froy; hos ambos tota illorum posteritas per longa sæcula ut deos venerati sunt. Froyr vero genuit Fiolni, qui in dolio medonis dimersus est,[...].

In the introduction to Snorri Sturluson's Edda Snorri claims again that Odin reigned in Sweden and relates: "Odin had with him one of his sons called Yngvi, who was king in Sweden after him; and those houses come from him that are named Ynglings." Snorri here does not identify Yngvi and Frey though Frey occasionally appears elsewhere as a son of Odin instead of a son of Njörd. See Sons of Odin.

In the Skáldskaparmál section of Snorri Sturluson's Edda Snorri brings in the ancient king Halfdan the Old who is the father of nine sons whose names are all words meaning 'king' or 'lord' in Old Norse and nine other sons who are the forefathers of various royal lineages, including "Yngvi, from whom the Ynglings are descended". But rather oddly Snorri immediately follows this with information on what should be four other personages who were not sons of Halfdan but who also fathered dynasties and names the first of these as "Yngvi, from whom the Ynglings are descended". In the related account in the Ættartolur ('Genealogies') attached to Hversu Noregr byggdist, the name Skelfir appears instead of Yngvi in the list of Halfdan's sons. For more details see Scylfing

One of the most personally fascinating bits of information about Ingvi is his parentage. Of course we know that Freyr himself was the son of Njord, the Vanic sea god. However,the story of Yngvi's parentage raises some interesting questions not only about the god Freyr, but the Aesiric god Heimdall.

As the story goes, Ingvi was one of three sons spawned by the God MANNUS. The name Mannus itself simply translates as "Man" or "human." These three sons each became the ancestral leader of three seperate germanic tribe, the Ingvaeones, Irminones, and Istvaeones.

Sons of Mannus

Now the interesting part comes in when one researches the mythological stories of Heimdall, guardian of Bifrost Bridge. Of particular interest is the Rigspula. In this story, Heimdall decides to take a journey into Midgard, under an assumed name, Rigr or simply Rig. As Rig, he is invited to dine three times with three seperate couples along the seashore. With each one he spends three nights abed with them as well. After he leaves, each wife becomes pregnant with a son, and these three sons spawn three classes or castes of the human race. Compare the story of Heimdall to that of Mannus, and the similarities are quite striking.

The similarities here between the story of Heimdall and Mannus, coupled with certain descriptions within the Eddas which compare Hemdall's "brightness" to that of the Wanes, has led some to speculate as to whether Heimdall may have originally been a Vana God.

I personally cannot say if I beleieve this or not. Heimdall has always struck me as a little different than the other Aesir, yet I am reticent to claim that he is Vanir simply because of a couple small epithets and a mysterious personality and heritage.

I feel this has been a shabby introduction to the figure of Ingvi, but in my mind there is no doubt that Ingvi and Freyr are one in the same. For me, the name Ingvi may simply be a signifier of the name Freyr took in traveling to Midgard, much as both Heimdall and Freyja took various names as they traveled to disguise themselves.

Heimdall as Rig with couple

For those more interested in Ingvi, I would recommended reading the Yngling Saga, as well as the "Frey, God of the World" by Ann Groa Sheffield, which contains extensive examination of the many guises of the god Freyr.



IN FRITH,
CENA