- Fyrisvellir
Fyrisvellir, Fyris Wolds or Fyrisvallarna was the marshy plain ("vellir") south of
Gamla Uppsala where travellers had to leave the ships and walk to theTemple at Uppsala and thehall of the Swedish king.The name is related to, or derived from,
Old Norse "Fyrva" which meant "to ebb" and it referred to the partially inundated soggy plains that today are dry farmland and the modern town ofUppsala .In mediaeval times, a royal estate called "Førisæng", "Fyris meadow", was located near this field. The small lakes "Övre Föret", "the Upper Fyri", and "Nedre Föret", "the Lower Fyri", are remains of this marsh and retain a modern form of "Fyri" (the -"t" suffix is the definite article, which lake names always take in Swedish).
The field went alongside what was renamed the "Fyris river" (Fyrisån) in the 17th century to make the connection between the river and the
Saga s more obvious.In
Scandinavian mythology , the battle betweenHaki andHugleik took place on these wolds, as well as that between Haki andJorund .It was also the location of the
Battle of the Fýrisvellir betweenEric the Victorious and his nephewStyrbjörn the Strong , in the 980s.According to a story about
Hrólf Kraki found in many texts, Hrólf spread gold on this plain as he and his men were fleeing the Swedish kingAdils . The king's men then dismounted to collect the gold.In
skald ic poetry gold was often referred to with thekenning "the seed of the Fyris Wolds".
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