Svan the Red

Overview

Svan the Red is not the protagonist of an independent heroic episode in Hyndluljoth, but the Saefari’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

• Saefarifather

  The poem calls Svan the Red the father of Saefari.

Story appearances

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

  Hyndluljoth names this figure as Saefari’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.