Ranrike (Old Norse Ránríki) was the old name for a part of Viken, corresponding to the northern half of the traditional Swedish province of Bohuslän (roughly the physical Álfheim of Scandinavian mythology). It is sometimes said to have derived its name from the goddess of the sea, Ran. When folklore and culture is concerned the usage has been revived to refer to northern Bohuslän.
Jordanes
The Gothic scholar Jordanes mentioned two nations named the Ragnarici and the Rani who lived in Scandza (Scandinavia). They seem both to refer to the population of Ranrike. One of their kings, Rodwulf of the Rani, had left his kingdom to join Theodoric the Great in Ravenna.
Heimskringla
In his Heimskringla, Snorri Sturluson relates how it first accepted the Swedish king Erik Emundsson as its ruler, only to be punished by the Norwegian king Harald Fairhair who spent a winter terrorizing the province from the sea.
