Alvaldi
Norse mythical character

Alvaldi (also Ölvaldi; Old Norse 'all-powerful') is a jötunn in Norse mythology, presented as the father of Þjazi.
Saturn's moon Alvaldi is named after him.
Name
The Old Norse name Alvadi means 'all-powerful'. The name Ölvadi, found in Skáldskaparmál, appears to be a variant form referring to the same character.
Attestations
In Hárbarðsljóð (Lay of Hárbarðr), Alvadi is mentioned as the father of the jötunn Þjazi.
In Skáldskaparmál (Language of Poetry), he is named Ölvadi and portrayed as the father of Þjazi, Gangr and Iði. Described as "very rich in gold", Ölvadi divides the inheritance among his sons in such a way that each may take the same mouthful of gold. According to philologist Rudolf Simek, the story is probably the remnant of an old myth.
References
Bibliography
Orchard, Andy (1997). Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend.
“Alvaldi” enters the record as norse mythical character. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Alvaldi, Norse and mythical can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Alvaldi” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Alvaldi, Norse and mythical provides the most credible route into that argument.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2021358. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1997.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Alvaldi”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Alvaldi primary sources, Alvaldi archive and Alvaldi research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Alvaldi”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Alvaldi” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.