Fornjót (Old Norse:Fornjótr) is ajötunn inNorse mythology, and the father of personified natural forces:Hlér ('sea'),Logi ('fire') andKári ('wind').^[1][2] He is also portrayed as the ancestor of the royal dynasty ofYnglings, ruling over the mythic northern lands ofFinnland ("land of theSámi") andKvenland.^[3] The principal study of this figure is byMargaret Clunies Ross.^[4]

The etymology of theOld Norse nameFornjótr remains unclear.^[5][2] It is often interpreted asforn-jótr ('ancient or primordialjötunn'), or asfor-njótr ('original owner', or 'destroyer').^[5][1] Alternative meanings such asForn-njótr ('one-who-enjoys-sacrifices') orForn-þjótr ('ancient screamer') have also been proposed.^[5][2]

According toPeter Erasmus Müller (1818), Fornjótr could be interpreted as the "original owner" (primus occupans vel utens) of Norway.^[6]

AnOld English cognate ofFornjótr may appear in a plant-name attested in theCleopatra Glossary (asforneotes folm) and inBald's Leechbook asfornetes folm.Folm means 'hand, palm', and, lacking a better explanation, scholars have suggested thatfornetes is an Old English form of the nameFornjótr, such that the plant's name meant 'Fornet's palm'. The plant denoted by this name has not been certainly identified, butPeter Bierbaumer argued for a species of marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza), partly on account of the supposed similarity of their tubers to hands.^{[7][4]: 49–50}

Þjóðólfr of Hvinir, a Norwegianskald of the late 9th–early 10th century AD cited inYnglinga tal(29), apparently uses thekenning "son of Fornjót" as a synonym of 'fire', and another skald only known under the name Svein appears to use the kenning "ugly sons of Fornjót" to mean the 'wind'.^[2]

How should the wind be periphrased? Thus: call it son of Fornjót, Brother of the Sea and of Fire, Scathe or Ruin or Hound or Wolf of the Wood or of the Sail or of the Rigging.

Thus spake Svein in theNordrsetu-drápa:

First began to fly
Fornjót's sons ill-shapen.

In theþulur, Fornjót is also included in a list ofjötnar.^[2]

In theOrkneyinga saga and inHversu Noregr byggdisk (How Norway Was Settled), Fornjót is portrayed as a king ruling overGotland andJutland, "which is called Finnland (the land of theSámi) andKvenland [the Finnish-settled part of northern Norway]". Some editors alter "Gotland" or "Jutland" to "that land".^[3] In those two sources, Fornjót has three sons: Logi ('fire'), Kári ('wind'), and Hlér ('sea'), "whom we callÆgir" according toFundinn Noregr.^[1][3]

Fornjótr appears as an ancestor-figure of the kings of Norway in several sources.^[4] Here follows two family trees of Fornjótr's descendants. The first is the genealogy as depicted inHversu Noregr byggðist. The second is one possible rendering of a mythicYngling family tree based onHistoria Norwegiæ,Ynglinga saga,Beowulf and otherOld Norse sources, some of which name Fornjótr; the names of Swedish kings in this second family tree are shown in bold.

• de Vries, Jan (1962).Altnordisches Etymologisches Worterbuch (1977 ed.). Brill.ISBN 978-90-04-05436-3.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• Lindow, John (2001).Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-983969-8.
• Orchard, Andy (1997).Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. Cassell.ISBN 978-0-304-34520-5.
• Simek, Rudolf (1996).Dictionary of Northern Mythology. D.S. Brewer.ISBN 978-0-85991-513-7.

• Jötnar
• Orkneyinga saga characters

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