Did 3 Odin’s become 1 in the Saga’s?
If you study the genealogical tables you'll notice a chronological gap of 200 years. According to (Lars Ulwencreutz) regency length Odin ruled around the time of Christ birth, but if you count generations in german and british lesser Kings genealogical tables you'll come to the conclusion that Odin must have lived 250-300 A.D.
This is a hypothetical problem, but if you assume that Odin actually lived and ruled as a King, which is most likely, then this time gap becomes a nuisance. If you read the genealogical tables of Odin's sons and the tables of his ancestors and have the story of his life in the back of your head, then a possibility opens.
One of Odin's names were Geat/Gaupt, and in Europe he was called Woden/Wotan. In the genealogical table of Odin's ancestors there is in fact a Geat, and there are the right amount of generations to fill the gap of 200 yrs. From this Geat comes two sons, Godulf and Hulmul, Hulmul is often mentioned as a son of Odin. Could this mean that the Odin that is the forefather of several royal families in Europe is NOT the same as the forefather of Ynglinga's family? It is very possible, and in that case ”our” Odin is older than Europes and is also his great great great great great grandfather.
There are, besides Odin III more ancestors of Odin. See the genealogical table of Odin's ancestors: #40: Sceaf / Sesker / Odin (Odin I). #49: Geat / Gapt / Jat (Odin II) which is the one most likely to have settled in Fornsigtuna. #55: Woden / Wotan / Woden / Odin / Sigge (Odin III) which is the one that many royal families count as their forefather. They should in other words be named and numbered Odin I-III. If you also study the genealogical table in Johannes Magnus book ”Alla götars och svears kungar” (All the goths and swedes/sviar/svears Kings) you'll notice that he added more than one Odin, but only one of them is marked as King.
Considering by-names, and that they had the same name, and the fact that a thousand years passed before history was written down could very well explain the mix-up. If this is correct then the timegap is no longer there. On the other hand we would have to rethink Odin's life. He was supposed to have wandered to Uppland from Europe from the old Asgård by the Black Sea on the Ukranian side. Along the way he had a few sons that he placed on Royal thrones. Now, how does that match up with above reasoning? Not at all...but, if you consider that it was Geat/Gapt/Odin (Odin II) that wandered to Uppland without populating Europe with several Kings, and that descendants of Odin emigrated during the migration period, a possibility opens.
They could have went all the way to old Asgård, and it's possible that they have maintained some contact with the homeland. Maybe they counted themselves to one of the gothic tribes that indeed ruled all the way down to the Black Sea, and then Odin/Wotan/Woden (Odin III) had these sons along the way back home during the gothic return migration in 250-300A.D. These 3 Odins may have fused together to 1 Odin in the sagas.
Read more about the swedish Kings starting with Odin in this book (only in swedish) Lars Ulwencrantz book "Från Oden till Wasa" (From Odin to Wasa)
