Kings of Sweden

The first mention of a king in Sweden is by Tacitus in his work Germania c.100 AD. There are few records before the 11th century making it hard to prove earlier kings from the sagas. The first historical king of Sweden is Erik Segersäll. The genealogy is traced to Odin himself (as are the Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies). Odin is euhemerised as an Asian noble with a genealogy going back to the Trojans. King Fjölnir, the 4th generation after Odin, in the Grottisongr is named a contemporary of Caesar Augustus, placing him late in the 1st century BC. The kings following Fjölnir based on internal chronology would then span the 1st to 7th centuries AD. The later Yngling kings of the Vendel Period (6th to 7th century) may well correspond to historical rulers, even if biographical detail from the Heimskringla has to be considered legendary; the kings Egil, Ottar and Ale are also attested in Beowulf. After Ingjald, Snorri does not relate any further stories of Swedish kings, and follows the descendants of the house to Norway.