Ottar
The young man who needs Hyndla’s ancestral recital to support a claim to inherited wealth.
Overview
Ottar speaks little in the poem yet sits at the centre of its night journey. Freyja says he and Angantyr wagered over inherited wealth and descent, then asks Hyndla to recall his close kin and heroic bloodlines. Hyndla sees him travelling with Freyja and offers a hostile explanation; the poem does not decide that charge as fact. Ottar makes genealogy into something urgently needing proof rather than a static list of names.
Key facts
Ancestry becomes a wager
In stanza 9, Freyja says Ottar wagered with Angantyr over his father’s wealth and his descent.
Trusted the goddesses
In stanza 10, Freyja says Ottar built her a stone shrine and often reddened it with animal blood for the goddesses.
Relationships
- Hyndlaidentifies as the companion
Hyndla names the companion as Ottar the young, son of Instein.
- Ottar’s Ancestry Wagerstakes ancestry in
Freyja says Ottar wagers over his father’s wealth and ancestry.
- Hyndlarecites the lineage of
Hyndla names Ottar’s parents and ancestors in sequence.
- Insteinfather
The poem calls Ottar Instein’s son.
- Hledismother
The poem calls Hledis Ottar’s mother.
- Ottar’s Ancestry Wagersupports the wager with lineage
The poem treats recalled descent as proof Ottar must provide.
Story appearances
- Hyndluljoth: Ottar’s Ancestry WagerFigure, mount, or wager in Hyndluljoth
The young man who needs Hyndla’s ancestral recital to support a claim to inherited wealth.
Ancient sources
MythWeave distinguishes ancient-source evidence from later adaptations and modern interpretation.