Alf the Old

Overview

Alf the Old is not the protagonist of an independent heroic episode in Hyndluljoth, but the Instein’s father whom Hyndla names while tracing Ottar’s descent. The record stays within a readable close-kin line, showing how the poem treats ancestry as proof in a wager rather than turning one night’s recital into the sole genealogy across traditions.

Key facts

Relationships

• Insteinfather

  The poem calls Instein Alf the Old’s son.

• Ulffather

  The poem calls Alf the Old Ulf’s son.

Story appearances

• Hyndluljoth: Ottar’s Ancestry WagerFigure, mount, or wager in Hyndluljoth

  Hyndluljoth names this figure as Instein’s father in Ottar’s lineage.

Ancient sources

MythWeave distinguishes ancient-source evidence from later adaptations and modern interpretation.

• Anonymous; translated by Henry Adams Bellows, The Poetic Edda: Hyndluljoth, Stanzas 1–29: Freyja, Hyndla, Ottar’s wager and close ancestry; excluding the appended Short Voluspo.