In Norse legend, Valland is the name of the part of Europe which is inhabited by Celtic and Romance peoples. [1] The element Val- is derived from * Walhaz , a Proto-Germanic word whose descendants were used in various Germanic languages to refer to the inhabitants of the Western Roman Empire.
In the genealogy section of Flateyjarbók , there are two kings of Valland named Auði and Kjárr, who may have been a late reflection of Julius Caesar and the Roman Emperors in Norse mythology: [2]
Auði hafði Valland ok var faðir Fróða, föður Kjárs, föður Ölrúnar. | Auði ruled Valland and was the father of Fróði, the father of Kjár, the father of Ölrún. [4] |
Kjárr and his daughter Ölrún also appear in the Völundarkviða , where she is a Valkyrie who marries the hero Egil:
Þar váru tvær dætr Hlöðvés konungs, Hlaðguðr svanhvít ok Hervör alvitr, in þriðja var Ölrún Kjársdóttir af Vallandi. [5] | Two of them were daughters of King Hlothver, Hlathguth the Swan-White and Hervor the All-Wise, and the third was Olrun, daughter of Kjar from Valland. [6] |
It is mentioned in Illuga saga Gríðarfóstra that Hringr, the king of Denmark and son of Sköld dagsson, was married to Sigrid, who was the daughter of Vilhálm - or William - king of Valland. [7]
In the Heimskringla by Snorri Sturluson, Valland is mentioned several times as the Old Norse name for Gaul. It was the country where Rollo carved out Normandy:
In Hrómundar saga Gripssonar , the hero Hrómund slays an undead witch-king named Þráinn who had been the king of Valland.
Hann átti drottningu, er Sigríðr hét. Hún var dóttir Vilhjálms konungs ór Vallandi. He had a queen, who was called Sigrid. She was King William of Valland's daughter.