Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – For many years, some researchers maintained that the South Sámi population arrived in Central Norway no earlier than the 18th century, with Norwegian farmers settling the area first. This view is referred to as the “hypothesis of late immigration.”

Researchers at NTNU have now examined medieval written sources and identified clear evidence of a South Sámi presence in Central Norway from a much earlier period.

Harald Fairhair in front of the Sámi king Svåse’s gamme, a traditional Sámi dwelling, on Dovrefjell. Painting by Ragnvald Einbu from 1924.

Peter Sigurdson Lunga and Emil Mård Vaadal Eliasson, members of NTNU’s Middelalderdidaktikk (Medieval Didactics) research group, confirm these findings.

Both researchers are historians at NTNU’s Department of Teacher Education. They recently published a special issue of Historisk Tidsskrift (Historical Journal) on South Sámi traces from the Middle Ages, in collaboration with researchers from Germany and the Netherlands.

“A key finding across several of the articles is that a South Sámi presence is, in fact, well-documented in written sources from the Middle Ages. This stands in stark contrast to the ‘hypothesis of late immigration’ that many researchers previously championed,” says Lunga, who leads the research group.

“South Sámi history was a living presence in the consciousness of the learned and the literate population during the Middle Ages. This serves as strong evidence that they were physically present and played an important role,” says Lunga.

From Folklore To Royal Family Trees

The researchers examined texts from Norway, Iceland, and the Orkney Islands, written between the 12th and 14th centuries. They identified Sámi names and other concrete evidence, including references in mythological origin stories.

The narratives concern their ancestry and geographical origins.

The researchers focus on origin stories that emphasize South Sámi representation. Previously, scholars dismissed the presence of the South Sámi in medieval texts as merely fantastical or fairy-tale elements.

“The period from 1250 to 1650 is a gap in the research; no systematic study has been conducted regarding the South Sámi during this time. Relevant questions simply haven’t been asked. We’re examining the purpose of these origin myths and what they reveal about the era in which they were recorded,” says Eliasson.

“The Sámi play a central role in these origin myths,” Lunga says. “They appear quite naturally within the written sources.”

The most well-known Sámi character in the Norwegian sagas of the kings is Snøfrid Svåsedatter—the woman with whom Harald Fairhair, Norway’s first king, reportedly fell head over heels in love and subsequently married. According to the accounts, Snøfrid was the most beautiful woman in existence. The tales of Harald Fairhair recount that he married the daughters of many prominent men across the country to forge alliances. Snøfrid and Harald Fairhair are the subjects of this postage stamp, designed by Sverre Morken for the Norwegian postal service in 2008.

He noticed the frequent mentions of the Sámi and concluded that they were likely physically present and perceived as significant. “The Sámi also appear in Icelandic genealogical chronicles because, in reality, they were part of these family lineages,” he says.

Genealogies Of Kings And Powerful Clans

Certain traits and kinship ties were considered particularly important in the genealogies of kings and powerful families during the Viking Age and the early Middle Ages. Among the traits that supported a family’s high status were:

• that the lineage descended from the gods
• connections to, and kinship with, the Sámi, who possessed mastery over magic
• ancestors who came from abroad

Lunga writes in his analysis: “…in the 13th century and later, it was believed that a long line of Norwegian and Icelandic noble families had Southern Sámi among their ancestors.” Norse chieftain families could use Sámi ancestry – whether genuine or constructed – to bolster the high status of their lineage.

Eliasson says: “We see clear traces of intermarriage, and several powerful families have distinct Sámi elements in their genealogies. We also see Sámi traces in royal genealogies, such as that of Harald Fairhair.”

“Not that long ago, having a Sámi background was a source of shame in Norway. But during the Viking Age and the Middle Ages, this was something people took pride in,” says Lunga.

Jotuns And The Sámi

In Norse mythology, the gods known as Æsir lived in Asgard at the center of the world. Utgard, on the periphery, was home to the Jotuns and other supernatural, troll-like beings. The Norse often mapped these mythological geographies onto the real world, seeing parallels between their myths and the peoples and landscapes they encountered.

The Sámi dressed differently from other Norwegians and often lived in remote areas such as mountains and high plateaus, similar to the Jotuns.

The Jotuns were associated with natural forces like wind, water, fire, ice, and snow, as well as supernatural powers. They embodied the wild and magical elements of the Nordic landscape.

The Jotun woman Skadi was the goddess of skiing and hunting. One theory suggests that Skadi, with her skiing and hunting prowess, symbolizes the Sámi people. The drawing Skadi Hunting in the Mountains appears in Mary H. Foster’s book, Asgard Stories: Tales from Norse Mythology (1901).

While the Jotuns and the gods clashed, they also formed alliances and interacted. The gods descended from the Jotuns, whose world contained knowledge essential to the gods.

Because the Jotuns were considered the gods’ ancestors and held knowledge of natural and supernatural forces, the Sámi came to hold a significant place within these ancestral lineages.

According to Eliasson, the Sámi were seen as possessing knowledge of witchcraft and magic and as providing economic value through their access to skins and expertise in crafting practical, attractive winter clothing.

Harald Fairhair and Snøfrid

According to myth, Norway’s elite and kings were linked to the Jotuns. Old texts sometimes describe the same individual as both a Jotun and a Finn (Sámi). Svåse, a Sámi figure in Snorri Sturlasson’s saga of Harald Fairhair, exemplifies this.

Snøfrid Svåsedatter is the most prominent Sámi figure in the Norwegian royal sagas. She is known for “bewitching” and marrying Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway. Accounts describe her as the most beautiful woman of her era.

Snøfrid’s father, Svåse the Finn-king, was also called Svåse the Jotun. He lived in Dovre and became the ancestral figure of the Dovre dynasty.

The story first appears in the medieval Ågrip manuscript and later in Snorri’s Sagas. Ågrip is the oldest surviving Old Norse work on Norway’s kings and their genealogies, dating to the 12th century.

The unknown author shows strong local knowledge of Nidaros and its surroundings, giving more attention to events in Trøndelag than elsewhere.

Brothers Nor And Gor

The Norse origin myth of brothers Nor and Gor describes Norway’s founding. They are regarded as the mythical ancestors of Norway’s kings.

The Founding of Norway saga (Fundinn Noregr) states that Nor and Gor are descendants of Snø the Old and the giant Fornjot, king of Finland and Kvenland.

The brothers’ sister, Goe, disappears, prompting Nor and Gor to search for her. Gor travels south through the Baltic Sea to Denmark, while Nor heads west to Central Norway. As they journey, they conquer land and eventually divide the kingdom: Nor takes the mainland, and Gor receives the islands.

Nor eventually finds Goe with King Rolv in Berget, who is the son of the Jotun Svåse from Dovre. After an inconclusive duel, Nor and Rolv agree to an arranged marriage: Rolv marries Goe, and Nor marries Rolv’s sister.

Thus, both Nor and his sister, Goe, marry into a powerful Jotun family in Central Norway.

Nor’s new in-laws and his ancestors in the eastern Winter Dynasty are described with Sámi characteristics and inhabit landscapes with Sámi references, such as wintry names, distant regions, and Jotun associations. These elements have been used to identify Sámi traits.

The Dovre Dynasty

Another element that reinforces the Sámi dimension in the myth of Svåse is the connection to Dovrefjell. This area holds a central place in South Sámi history.

Harald Hårfagre and Snøfrid Svåsedatter. The painting that hangs at Tofte guesthouse in Dovrefjell was the starting point for the Norwegian postal stamp motif.

Old Norse sources describe Dovrefjell as an “outer zone” beyond civilization, governed by nature and supernatural forces.

Near Dovrefjell, a day’s journey from ancient Sámi settlements by Aursjøen lake, Harald Fairhair is said to have hosted the banquet where he met Snøfrid Svåsedatter.

“We can assume that Svåse and his kin represented a Sámi presence in the Dovre region. The myth positions the South Sámi as indigenous to the South Sámi territory,” says Eliasson.

Clues In Names

Several personal names indicating Sámi ancestry are found among the descendants of the “Finn-king” Møttul, as mentioned in the Landnámabók (Book of Settlements): Finn, Finnvard, Kolfinna, Tind, and Grima.

Møttul is mentioned in Norwegian, Danish, and Icelandic sources. In the Old Norse worldview, he occupies a role similar to Svåse: a figure outside the Scandinavian kingdoms who occasionally intervenes through magic.

Fagrskinna identifies Møttul as the magic-wielding foster father of “Mother of Kings” Gunnhild (Gunnhild Kongemor), who married the Norwegian king Eirik Bloodaxe.

“Much like Svåse, Møttul is likely not a historical figure; nevertheless, he appears to have played a significant role in the genealogies of Icelandic families, as well as in the lineage of the Norwegian royal dynasty,” says Lunga.

Collaboration With Saemien Sijte Museum

“We intend to continue our research and have developed a new project focusing on the South Sámi in the Middle Ages. This is being carried out in collaboration with Saemien Sijte, a South Sámi museum and cultural centre,” says Lunga.

Archaeological discoveries of South Sámi settlement sites date back many centuries and indicate that the Sámi have inhabited these areas since the Middle Ages, if not earlier.

“Numerous finds have been made, such as the remains of traditional Sámi dwellings and hearths; however, many of these discoveries have yet to be precisely dated. Archaeologists state that significant gaps in our knowledge here still exist, but that these could easily be filled if given priority,” says Eliasson.

Source: Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Written by Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com Staff Writer