Halfdan the Old

Halfdan the Old (Old Norse: Hálfdanr gamli and Hálfdanr inn gamli) was an ancient, legendary king from whom descended many of the most notable lineages of legend. A second Halfdan the Old is the purported great-grandfather of Ragnvald Eysteinsson.

The eddic poem Hyndluljód states in verses 14–16:

"Of old the noblest     of all was Áli,

Before him Halfdan,     foremost of Skjöldungs [Skjǫldungar];
Famed were the battles     the hero fought,
To the corners of heaven     his deeds were carried.

"Strengthened by Eymund [Eymundr],     the strongest of men,
Sigtrygg [Sigtryggr] he slew     with the ice-cold sword;
His bride was Álmveig [Álmveigr],     the best of women,
And eighteen boys     did Álmveig bear him.

"Hence come the Skjöldungs,     hence the Skilfings,
Hence the Ödlings [Ǫðlingar],     hence the Ynglings,
Hence come the free-born,     hence the high-born,
The noblest of men     that in Midgard dwell:

Though Halfdan is himself called a Skjöldung in verse 14, in verse 16 the Skjöldungs are named instead as one of the families that sprang from Halfdan's marriage with Álmveig.

Snorri Sturluson explains in the Skáldskaparmál:

There was a king named Halfdan the Old, who was most famous of all kings. He made a great sacrificial feast at mid-winter, and sacrificed to this end, that he might live three hundred years in his kingdom; but he received these answers: he should not live more than the full life of a man, but for three hundred years there should be in his line no woman and no man who was not of great repute. He was a great warrior, and went on forays far and wide in the Eastern Regions: there he slew in single combat the king who was called Sigtrygg. Then he took in marriage that woman named Alvig the Wise, daughter of King Eymund of Hólmgard [Hólmgarðr]: they had eighteen sons, nine born at one birth. These were their names:

the first, Thengil [Thengill], who was called Thengil of Men;

the second, Ræsir;
the third, Gram [Gramr];
the fourth, Gylfi;
the fifth, Hilmir;
the sixth, Jöfur [Jǫfurr];
the seventh, Tyggi;
the eighth, Skyli or Skúli;

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