How old is the kingdom of Arendelle according to the movies, books, and comics of the franchise?
Hello Anon and thank you for your question!
There are basically two main but wildly opposing theories about the age of the Kingdom or Arendelle:
1 - It is a "young" kingdom formed less than a century before Frozen. This is supported by some of the novels making references to Runeard and his people "arriving in Arendelle and building themselves a castle".
Excerpts from the Frozen II The Junior Novel Prologue and Dangerous Secrets, ch. 6.
2 - It is an "old" kingdom many centuries old. Some of the novels make references to Aren of Arendelle, a legendary hero and ruler from "the time before time" who settled by the Arenfjord with his people and founded the kingdom. This idea which is very much in line with the history of Arendelle's real-life Nordic neighbours Norway, Denmark and Sweden. Several books and comics make references to ancient relatives of Anna and Elsa and there being at least "ten rulers of Arendelle" who would not exist without it being a kingdom centuries old.
Excerpt from Polar Nights, ch. 10.
A list of known royals and relatives of Anna and Elsa from our 2023 project "Anna and Elsa’s lost family members".
The idea of Runeard as "the founder and builder of the castle" seems to originate around the time of the release of Frozen II and related novels (Forest of Shadows and Dangerous Secrets). Both novels contain some vague references about Runeard and his role in the construction of the castle and possibly in the founding of the kingdom itself (it's not said directly). It's very likely that Runeard's role in Arendelle's history was more fleshed out in some early draft of the movie script but as changes were made, these details were watered down and only traces remain in some books.
In the later novel Polar Nights, nothing is mentioned about Ruenard's connections to Arendelle's past and instead, Aren is credited as the ruler of "Arendelle of old", suggesting Arendelle did in fact pre-date Runeard's rule.
In the anthology-novel All is Found, in the chapter A Midsummer's Song and Dance, there are some references to Runeard being responsible for building the castle but nothing is said about him being the founder of the kingdom.
Our takeaway from this conflicting information is that Disney authors and editors have not been given clear instructions about how to treat the history of Arendelle. It's also impossible to say whether the filmmakers will preserve any of these ideas in Frozen III and Frozen IV.
Below, you will find links to our previous articles on the matter. To make a long story short, depending on the source, Arendelle could have formed as a kingdom as late as the mid/late 18th century or as early as the 6th century AD or even earlier! It depends heavily how you choose to interpret the very limited information we have about Arendelle's history.
Anna and Elsa’s lost family members
Frozen: The History of Arendelle (in collaboration with geekritique)
Arendelle: Speculations about history
