Yngvi Freyr | Guardian of Peace and Norse God of Fertility

Yngvi-Freyr the God of Kings in Sweden, has a multitude of complex stories and associations around him. I wanted to do a bit of a deep dive into what we know about him, because it's quite a bit more than people think.

Further Reading
- Myth and Religion of the North - EOG Turville-Petre
- Gods and Myths of Northern Europe - HRE Davidson
- Viga-Glum's Saga - Unknown
- Prose Edda - Snorri
- Heimskringla - Snorri
- Handbook of Norse Mythology - John Lindow

music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

00:00 - Intro
00:27 - The Aesir & The Vanir
02:09 - The Origins of Freyr
03:09 - Freyr the God of Kings - Ynglings & Uppsala Temple
03:56 - Reframing the Gods as People
05:37 - Freyr & Death (Heimskringla)
07:10 - The Personality of Freyr
07:32 - The Peace Deity (Viga-Glum's Saga)
08:31 - Freyr as the World God in Sweden
09:39 - Freyr the Fertile - Nerthus & Tacitus
10:46 - Gunnar's Wagon - Freyr Fights a Christian
13:02 - Freyr & Gerdr - Freyr is an Arm Man
14:29 - Alfheim
15:06 - Gullinbursti the Golden Boar & The Saga of Hrolf Kraki
16:20 - The Peace God - Dude, Wheres my Sword?
17:10 - Are Freyrs Sword and Sutrs Flaming Sword the Same?
18:16 - Freyr the Complex Deity

[eejay]

Ocean: *going on about how there was a high level of Freyr veneration in Sweden*

Me, a swede: *grew up in an area named roughly Freyr's groove in translation to english*

Me: Yeah, that tracs.

[helygg]

Here we go, once more into the freyr.

[emiliobustamante]

One of the most interesting things for me about Yngvi Freyr is that he helps dispel the cliche/trope that viking norse people were all violent and uncivilized, considering that they held a such high esteem a god associated with times of peace and prosperity (that combined with Odin's quest to aquire knowledge beign central to his character or Tyr's association with law, justice and the proto democratic thing)

[ragingwitch]

Complex deities are definitely the coolest and this is such a good example of why you should dive into the research: there's always more than meets the eye.

[JasonMacRaven]

I feel like, "Peace, Love, and Rock n Roll" should be Yngvi-Freyr's mantra.

[taramcdonough]

I wear an armband that says “Freyr Freyja Viki” in younger futhark. Freyr and Freyja Bless. I feel like it covers a lot of bases of blessings I would want from the Gods. I like thinking about Freyr every day as I put it on.

[zmudilago]

I have an image of Freyr (Frej in swedish) on my desk, and he is the god I have the closest relationship to. In my experience, he is uplifting, awe-inspiring and powerful in his energy. Thank you for a good video.

[Rex]

Wonderful video! Modern culture overlooks him often, probably because we aren't agricultural based like our ancestors. But I still pray to him to protect nature when I visit the forests or state/national parks.

[LampseekerForevermore]

Freyr is actually my central deity, though I’m gay so the fertility part more translates into the herbs, fruit, and vegetables I grow.

[rebeccahahn]

Wait... Had to hit paws a moment. How is it "strange" that a female fertility deity is associated with cats? Have you ever been around a cat in heat? I can think of few better examples of "getting some tail" than the house cat, including that litters of kittens can have multiple fathers (I'm thinking of some happy dwarves here...) and cats can produce 9 - 15 offspring yearly for most of their lifetime compared to human females (who at most generally can't exceed 20; how's that for fertility?). Cats will also adopt members of other families and species to raise as their own, and litter and raise kittens with the help of sisters, mother, aunts, etc. in a comeownity setting.

The cat is the purrfect companion for Freya.

[Scar-jgbn]

I was drawn to Freyr initially because he's a god of peace and growth, which I prefer over aggressive gods in most instances. He is one of the main deities whom I venerate. Thanks for doing a video on him! I mainly worship the Vanir. 😊

[JTD]

I have a large bioactive enclosure for my Ball Python, long story short. A Mushroom has decided to sprout up inside my enclosure (a good thing for soil) it's bright yellow and likes humidity. I have named it Freyr, because it also looks like a phallus

[natem]

Honestly, I'm convinced that half the modern images we see of Surtr are just fanart of Sargeras and vice versa.

There's no way that reference doesn't land in gaggle of heathen nerds.

[hfreyschildren]

YEAH FREYR ❤️❤️❤️
* goes back to watching*

[lucideandre]

Christians: make fun of pagans for worshipping human men reported to have extraordinary powers as gods

Also Christians: proudly worship a human man reported to have extraordinary powers as a god

[hyakinthoskouros]

Thank you! I have recently began bonding with Yngvi Freyr. Happy for this synchronicity

[howardSramberg]

These last few months have been incredible and that's no small thanks to happening upon your channel. Thank you for boosting my spiritual journey and so many others'!




That jotun Beli made it out but alas Freyr was too much to Heimdall.

[Sakuraclonek]

I love this video and it has made me appreciate Freyr more. Honestly I was cocksure that Freyr would be a complicated Deity to cover, but not this hard! Great work as always Ocean.

[DLBlymire]

Freyr and Freyja are my main gods (Thor is the most important of the Aesir to me). I'd love to hear more about your ideas on vanatrú or the worship of vanir, elves, and landwights.

[jonathanarmes]

Discovered your channel while researching for a D&D campaign. I'm running for a group that is effectively the einherjar A-Team. Came to the channel for the myths, stayed for the social commentary. Thanks for everything.