Nór (Old NorseNórr) is according to theOrkneyinga Saga the eponymous founder ofNorway.

Nór ofNorway appears in “Fundinn Nóregr” (‘Norway Founded’), hereafter called F, which begins theOrkneyinga saga, and inHversu Noregr byggðist (‘How Norway was Settled’), hereafter called B. Both sources are found in theFlatey Book. The term is described differently in different sources.^[1]

Nór was one of the sons of KingThorri ('frozen snow'), and a grandson of KingSnær ('snow'). King Nór marries Hedda (Höddu) daughter of Svaða Jótun that may be seen as descending from theScyldings, from the Kings ofLejre, the stronghold of the descendants ofDan in Denmark.

Although not matching, there are some correspondences between the sources. In the B-source (Hversu Noregr byggðist) Nór is married Höddu, granddaughter of a King Östen, on her mother Åshild's side. Her and her brother Hrolf of Berg's father, Svaða Jótun appears in a number of obscure genealogies^[which?] as a descendant from Dan, through Hjörvard Halgison, also named Åsathor Oðinnson who married Helga Friðleifsson; Friðleif was born toFróði King of Denmark, descendants ofSkjöldr, eponymous ancestor of theScyldings.

One year, at the time ofThorri's Sacrifice, Gói the daughter of King Thorri suddenly vanished. Thorri held a second feast the following month hoping to learn what had become of Gói. That sacrifice was afterward also observed regularly and known as Gói's Sacrifice and the name of the month was thence named Gói.

When Gói was still not found after three years, her brothers Nór and Gór set out separately in search of her with many folk in their following, Nór and his folk going by land on skis while Gór went by ship and searched the islands and skerries.

Eventually Nór and his following came to the Kjölen Mountains (the Keel) and passed into was later to be called Norway, defeating any who opposed him. F relates in particular that Nór defeated the folk around what was later called theTrondheimsfjord, that Nór also took possession of the eastern lands near Lake Mjors (modern lakeMjøsa), then slew King Sokni, the eponym of Sokna Dale (modernSogndal) and Sognefjörd (modernSognefjorden) and took possession of his kingdom. But B mentions instead the defeat of four kings named Véi, Vei, Hunding (Hundingr), and Heming (Hemingr).

Then, in Heidemark (approximately the modern region of Hedemarken in the more extensive province ofHedmark), Nór met with King Hrólf of the Hill (Hrólfr í Bergr). Hrólf was son of the giant Svadi (Svaði) fromDovre Mountain in the north. According to B Hrólf's mother was Áshild (Áshildr) daughter of King Eystein of Heidemark. It was this Hrólf who had taken Gói captive and had then made her his wife. Nór and Hrólf came to terms (after a long single combat according to F). Hrólf kept Gói as his wife and Nór afterwards married Hrólf's sister (called Hödd in B) and became Nór's man.

Both accounts relate that Gór eventually joined Nór and the two brothers made an agreement that Nór would rule all the mainland but Gór would rule all islands around the mainland, that he would be lord over any island that was separated from the mainland by a channel through which a ship with a fixed rudder was able to pass. The mainland was then named Norway (Noregr) after Nór. Nór's new kingdom is now said to have been what is south-eastern Norway today, as it extended fromJötunheim mountains in the north to what was later known asÁlfheim (roughly the modern SwedishBohuslän) in the south, the southern border of Nór's land being what is now theGlomma river whose southwestern course is not very far inside the southeastern border of modern Norway.

The sons and grandsons and later descendants of Nór continually divided their inheritances among themselves so that Norway became filled with many small kingdoms and lordships.

According to B, Nór's sons by Höddu were Thránd (Þrándr) and Gard (Garðr). B later brings in another son of Nór named Raum (Raumr). Presumably either Raum had another mother than Höddu, or Raum's name has accidentally dropped out from the earlier listing of Höddu's sons.

Thránd ruled Trondheim (Þrándheimr) which was named after him and refers to the southern two-thirds of the modernTrøndelag county, rather than to the city now calledTrondheim.

Eireks saga víðförla ('The Saga of Eirek the Traveller') also brings in Thrand as the first king to regin of Trondheim. Thrand's ancestry is not given here, but he is the father of Eirek the Traveller (Eirekr inn víðfǫrli) the hero of the saga.

Hálfdanar saga Eysteinssonar ('Saga of Halfdan Eystein's son') states instead that Trondheim was named from King Thránd, the father of Eirek the Traveller, but also states that Thrand was son of KingSæmingr ofHálogaland, son ofOdin, and that Thránd's mother and Sæmingr's wife was Nauma after whom Naumu Dale was named. For more on Sæmingr seeSons of Odin. Thrand's wife is here said to be Dagmær sister of Svanhvít the wife of Hrómund Grip's son, the protagonist ofHrómundar saga Gripssonar. The saga says that Eystein, son of Thrand and Dagmær, married Ása, a daughter of Sigurd Hart (the maternal grandfather ofHarald Fairhair), and she gave birth to Halfdan, the hero of the saga. This places Thrand just three generations back from Harald Fairhair. But this saga seems to be a late and untraditional creation, dating only to the early 14th century.

Gard son of Nór was also called Gard Agdi (Garðr Agði), apparently as ruler of Agdir (Agðir): the modern counties ofVest-Agder andAust-Agder. Gard Agdi's descendants ruled the southwestern regions of Norway.

Raum inherited south-eastern Norway and also the northwestern valley of the Rauma river to the western sea which waters the region called Raums Dale (modernRomsdal). Raum in this account also ruled the land of Álfheim to the south. SeeRaum the Old for further details on Raum and his descendants.

Gór had sons named Heiti and Beiti (and according to B two other sons named Meitir and Geitir). Heiti and Beiti often made war against the sons of Nór.

Beiti the sea-king had one of his ships put on sledge runners and so passed in the ship over the snow-covered land starting from what was afterwards calledBeitstad onBeitstadfjorden from Beiti's named and passing north across Ellidæid (Elliðæið 'Galley-neck') to Naumu Dale (Naumudal) with his father Gór in the ship with his hand on the tiller. So, by the agreement that had been made between Nór and Gór, the land between the path of the ship and the sea became Beiti's.

The names of Beiti's descendants are missing from B. Heiti the sea-king was the father of Svadi (Svaði). Geitir was father of Glammi and Gylfi; and Meitir the sea-king was father of two sons named Mævil and Myndil (Myndill), Myndil being father of two sons named Ekkil (Ekkill) and Skekkil (Skekkill).

But F speaks only of Gór's son Heiti as the father of Sveidi (Sveiði) the father of Halfdan the Old, who confusingly is named identically to Halfdan the Old who is a descendant of Nór. But it is from Halfdan the Old who is called a descendant of Gór from whom springs at last the Jarls ofOrkney who are the subject of theOrkneyinga saga. SeeHalfdan the Old to follow this lineage further.

TheChronicon Lethrense (Chronicle ofLejre), written about 1170, introduces a primeval King Ypper ofUppsala whose three sons wereDan who afterwards ruledDenmark,Nori who afterwards ruledNorway, and Östen who afterwards ruled theSwedes. The account then speaks only of the descendants of Dan.

Alternative Anglicizations are:

• Glói:Gloi
• Gór:Gorr
• Hrólf:Hrolf,Rolf
• Nór:Norr
• Forniot,Forniotr
• Hlér:Hler ; :Kari
• Snær:Snaer,Snœr,Snow
• Véi:Vee.

• Medieval history of Norway
• Kings in Norse mythology and legends
• Founding monarchs in Europe
• Legendary progenitors
• Legendary monarchs

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