Faravid

Who is Faravid?

Faravid was a legendary King of Kvenland who is mentioned in the Icelandic Egils saga from the early 13th century. According to the saga, Faravid made an alliance with Norwegians to fight against Karelian invaders. The saga mentions him in a 9th-century context, but this is too early to be credible as far as the Karelian attack is concerned. However, the surviving version of the saga was written only in 1240, with possible later influences. It is impossible to say whether the story is true or that he was borrowed to the story from an other real-life context.

"Faravid" itself is not a Finnic name, but not of Germanic origin either. It has sometimes been speculated that it could have been a Norse translation of names Kaukomieli or Kaukamoinen, known from Finnish folklore.