The
Svear were an ancient people of
Scandinavia, dwelling on the eastern coast of
Sweden in the area of
Uppsala and
Stockholm, in the area around the shores of Lake
Mälaren, the ancestral home of the original
Swedes. They gave their name to the nation of Sweden, which in the
Swedish language is
Sverige, from
Svea riket, the kingdom of the Svear. In literature, the Svear are named in the
Old English epic Beowulf as
Sweonas, and by the Roman author
Tacitus under the name
Sueones in his
Germania.
See also: Svealand, Lands of Sweden