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Faroe Islands postage stamp - Gullveig's Execution

Gullveig (seemingly "gold drink" or "gold might") is, in Norse mythology, a mysterious goddess or giantess who became the igniting source for the War of the Gods. In the Poetic Edda, the poem Völuspá has a stanza where Gullveig is said to have been burned three times in Odin's hall, to have been three times born, and to live yet. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... Shortcut: WP:NPOVD Articles that have been linked to this page are the subject of an NPOV dispute (NPOV stands for Neutral Point Of View; see below). ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ... Norse, Viking or Scandinavian mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian peoples, including those who settled on Iceland, where most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled. ... Look up Poetic Edda in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Völuspá (The Prophecy of the Seeress) is the first poem in the Poetic Edda. ... Numbers are significant in Norse mythology although not to the extent which they are in some traditions e. ... For other meanings of Odin, Woden or Wotan see Odin (disambiguation), Woden (disambiguation), Wotan (disambiguation). ...

Völuspá

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Gullveig is only mentioned in the Völuspá, stanza 21. The seeress, after her account of the coming of the Norns, continues: Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... The Norns spin the threads of fate at the foot of Yggdrasil, the tree of the world. ...

The war I remember, the first in the world,

When the gods with spears had smitten Gullveig,

And in the hall of Hor had burned her,

Three times burned, and three times born,

Oft and again, yet ever she lives.

Heid they named her who sought their home,

The wide-seeing witch, in magic wise;

Minds she bewitched that were moved by her magic,

To evil women a joy she was.

Hár 'High' is a common name for Odin. Heid means 'gleaming' and as a noun 'honor'. It is a common given name for seeresses or witches in the sagas notably in the Landnámabók, in the Hrólfs Saga Kraka and in Örvar-Odds Saga. Seið is a particular type of magic, often looked on pejoratively. Instead phrase translated here "worked seið in a trance" is sometimes interpreted instead as something like "drove mad the gods with seið. The Anglo-Saxon scholar Benjamin Thorpe translated it as: Old English (also called Anglo-Penis[1], Englisc by its speakers) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ... Benjamin Thorpe (1782 - July, 1870) was an English Anglo_Saxon scholar. ...

Heidi they called her,

whithersoe´r she came,

the well-forseeing Vala:

wolves she tamed,

magic arts she knew,

magic arts practised;

ever was she the joy

of evil people.

It is generally assumed that the two stanzas are connected and that Heiðr is another name for Gullveig. The poem continues with a council apparently about who should pay "wergild" for Gullveig and that leads into a war with the Vanir. Heiðr (from the Old Norse adjective meaning bright or the noun meaning honour) is the seeress and witch (völva) mentioned in one stanza of Völuspá, related to the story of the Æsir-Vanir war: Heith they named her who sought their home, The wide-seeing witch, in... Weregild (Alternative spellings: wergild, wergeld, weregeld, etc. ... Vanir is the name of one of the two groups of gods in Norse mythology, the other and more well known being the Æsir. ...

Commentators speculate variously on this passage, but with general agreement that in part it speaks about the corrupting power of gold and generally understanding that mistreatment of this Gullveig was the reason for the resultant war between the Æsir and Vanir. Gullveig is usually taken to be one of the Vanir.

Because the poem was preserved in very poor shape, Eddic editors tried to sort the stanzas. Sophus Bugge and many Eddic scholars maintains that the stanza about "Heid" describes the Seeress who is reciting the poem, and put it at the beginning of the poem. Therefore in some editions of the Poetic Edda, the part about Gullveig has only one stanza. Sophus Bugge (1833-1907) was a Norwegian philologist, known for his work on the runic alphabet and the Eddas. ... Look up Poetic Edda in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The war I remember, the first in the world,

When the gods with spears had smitten Gullveig,

And in the hall of Hor had burned her,

Three times burned, and three times born,

Oft and again, yet ever she lives.

On the host his spear did Odin hurl,

Then in the world did war first come;

The wall that girdled the gods was broken,

And the field by the warlike Wanes was trodden.

Then sought the gods their assembly-seats,

The holy ones, and council held,

Whether the gods should tribute give,

Or to all alike should worship belong.

Then sought the gods their assembly-seats,

The holy ones, and council held,

To find who with venom the air had filled,

Or had given Ódr's bride to the giants' brood.

In swelling rage then rose up Thor,

Seldom he sits when he such things hears,

And the oaths were broken, he words and bonds,

The mighty pledges between them made.

The Wanes are the Vanir. As the poem described, they apparently won the war of the gods. Ódr's bride is goddess Freyja. All Eddic scholars agreed that there is a lost stanza between the two meetings.

Speculation and hypotheses

Gullveig's brief mention in surviving texts has resulted in a number of scholars and others speculating on the nature of the figure.

Dumézil

Georges Dumézil (1966 and 1973) believed that the first war was based on a mythical Indo-European pattern that also emerges in the Roman legend of the war between the warlike Romans (comparable to the Æsir) and wealthy Sabines (comparable to the Vanir) and that the Gullveig element corresponded to the role of Tarpeia in Roman tradition. In one common version Tarpeia betrayed the citadel to the Sabines in exchange for what they had on their left arm, meaning their gold bracelets. However the Sabines, while taking advantage of Tarpeia's treachery, fulfilled their part of the bargain by striking her with their shields, which were also on their left arms, until she died. Georges Dumézil (March 4, 1898 - October 11, 1986) was a French comparative philologist best known for his analysis of sovereignty and power in Indo-European religion and society. ... The ancient quarters of Rome. ... The Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambologna The tribe of the Sabines (Latin Sabini - singular Sabinus) was an Italic tribe of ancient Italy. ... The Tarpeian Rock (rupes Tarpeia) was a steep cliff of the southern summit of the Capitoline Hill, overlooking the Roman Forum in Ancient Rome. ...

Dumézil also proposed that a related tradition occurs in Saxo Grammaticus' account (Gesta Danorum, Book 1) of Frigg's theft of the gold from Odin' statue and her adultery. Odin (either from disgust or shame) goes into exile and a certain Mit-othin to some extent gains Odin's position, until Odin returns and drives Mit-othin away. Saxo, etching by the Danish-Norwegian illustrator Louis Moe (1857 – 1945) Saxo Grammaticus (estimated. ... Bishop Asgar, etching by the Danish-Norwegian illustrator Louis Moe (1857—1945) Gesta Danorum (Deeds of the Danes) is a work of Danish history, by 12th century author Saxo Grammaticus (Saxo the Grammarian). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark. ...

"Loki finds Gullveig's Heart" illustrated by John Bauer for Our Fathers' Godsaga by Viktor Rydberg

Image File history File links Size of this preview: 541 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (735 × 814 pixel, file size: 106 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Loki finds Gullveigs Heart illustrated by John Bauer in 1911 for Our Fathers Godsaga by Viktor Rydberg Loke finner Gullveigs hjärta illustrerad av John... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 541 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (735 × 814 pixel, file size: 106 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Loki finds Gullveigs Heart illustrated by John Bauer in 1911 for Our Fathers Godsaga by Viktor Rydberg Loke finner Gullveigs hjärta illustrerad av John... Tyr and Fenrir, by John Bauer (1911) The Changeling, by John Bauer (1913) Trolls with an abducted princess, by John Bauer (1915) John Bauer (1882–1918) was a Swedish illustrator best known for Bland Tomtar och Troll (Among Elves and Trolls), an annual Christmas book for children published in Sweden. ...

Rydberg

Viktor Rydberg proposed a connection between the Gullveig stanza of Völuspá to two stanzas in Völuspá hin skamma (found in some editions of the Poetic Edda as the last section of the poem Hyndluljóð): Rydberg in 1876. ... Völuspá hin skamma, Völuspá the Less or the Short Völuspá, is an Old Norse poem which survives as a handful of stanzas in Hyndluljóð, in the Poetic Edda, and as one stanza in the Gylfaginning section of Snorri Sturlusons Prose Edda. ... Look up Poetic Edda in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Hyndluljóð or Lay of Hyndla is an Old Norse poem often considered a part of the Poetic Edda. ...

The wolf did Loki       sire on Angrboda,
And Sleipnir he bore       to Svadilfari;
The worst piece of witchcraft       seemed the one
Sprung from the brother       of Byleist then.
A heart ate Loki—       in the embers it lay,
And half-cooked found he       the woman's heart—
With child from the woman       Lopt soon was,
And thence among men       came every troll-woman. It has been suggested that Loki and the dwarfs be merged into this article or section. ... Angrboda (Old Norse Angrboða Harm-foreboding) appears in Norse Mythology as a giantess. ... The Tängvide image stone is thought to show Odin entering Valhalla riding on Sleipnir Sleipnir is also a Japanese web browser. ... In Norse mythology, Svadilfari was a magical stallion, owned by a hrimthurs (rime giant) disguised as a human stonemason, who built the walls of Asgard and whose name is uncertain. ... For other uses, see Troll (disambiguation). ...

(Loki is often called "brother of Blyeist" and "Lopt" in other texts.)

If the burned heart of a woman that was eaten by Loki is Gullveig's heart, then Gullveig may live still through a race of troll-women whom Loki then bore. "Troll-women" might refer to malevolent seeresses and witches in general. The word flagð is well established as meaning 'troll-woman, female monster, ogress, giantess, witch'. But it is sometimes here taken metaphorically to mean she-wolves, or all wolves, even monsters in general.

The Lesser Völuspá also refers to Heid and Hrossthjóf (a name otherwise unknown) as the children of Hrímnir in a context that suggests Hrímnir is a giant.

Rydberg took the account of Loki eating the heart as a recaptulation of the previous stanza and so identified Gullveig with Angrboda, the mother of Fenrir. To make this work Rydberg glosses flagð 'troll-woman' as referring to trolls of either gender and includes Fenrir among them. (However Snorri Sturluson in his Edda knew Angrboda only as "a giantess of Jötunheimr" and mother by Loki of Fenrir, Jörmungandr, and Hel and provides no indication that Loki gave birth to any of these himself.) Angrboda (Old Norse Angrboða Harm-foreboding) appears in Norse Mythology as a giantess. ... Fenrir may refer to: Fenrisulfr, a Norse mythological wolf. ... A Gloss–word, phrase, (or syllable), is the dictionary entry for that word. ... Fenrir may refer to: Fenrisulfr, a Norse mythological wolf. ... A statue of Snorri Sturluson by Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland was erected at Reykholt in 1947. ... The term Edda (Plural: Eddas or Icelandic plural: Eddur) applies to the Old Norse Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, both of which were written down in Iceland during the 13th century, although some of the poems included in them may be centuries older. ... In the late 19th century, this Norwegian mountain district was named Jotunheimen after Jötunheimr of Norse mythology. ... Thor goes fishing for the Midgard Serpent in this picture from an 18th century Icelandic manuscript. ... Indy Norse mythology, Hel is the queen of Helheim, the Norse underworld. ...

Rydberg also identifies his Gullveig/Angrboda with the old woman of Ironwood mentioned in Völuspá stanza 49 as raising the kindred of Fenrir, a normal interpretation. More daring is his identification of Gullveig, Angrboda or Woman-of-Ironwood with Aurboda, the wife of Gymir and mother of Gerd and also with the giantess Hyrrokin 'Fire-smoked', who is said to be slain by Thor in a list in the þulur. Accordingly Rydberg believes Gullveig was finally slain by Thor's hammer. Rydberg then notes that in the Svipdagsmál Aurboda is also the name of one of Menglöd's nine serving women (Menglöd is often thought to be a variant of Freyja), that Heid was the name of Hrímnir's daughter, and that in the Völsunga saga Hljóð is both daughter of the giant Hrímnir and a maidservant of Frigg. (This Hljóð marries the hero Volsung and becomes father of the hero Sigmund). Rydberg takes all these as further variants of Gullveig. Rydberg further identifies his extended Gullveig with Grendel's dam in Beowulf. Skírnir tries to woo Gerd for Freyr as related in Skírnismál. ... Nafnaþulur is a listing in poetry of various categories, such as gods, giants, people and objects, in Snorri Sturlussons Prose Edda. ... Svipdagsmál or The Lay of Svipdag is an Old Norse work, a part of the Elder Edda, comprised of two poems, The Spell of Groa and The Lay of Fjolsvith. ... Frigg spinning the clouds, by J C Dollman In Norse mythology, Frigg (Eddas) or Frigga (Gesta Danorum) was said to be foremost among the goddesses,[1] the wife of Odin, queen of the Æsir, and goddess of the sky. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Grendel is one of three antagonists, along with Grendels mother and the dragon, in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf (c. ... This article is about the epic poem. ...

Müllenhoff

A different hypothesis created by the Eddic editor Müllenhoff, and later adopted by some modern scholars like Gabriel Turville-Petre^[1] is that Gullveig is a name for the goddess Freyja. Edward Oswald Gabriel Turville-Petre F.B.A. (known as Gabriel) (March 25, 1908 – February 17, 1978) was Professor of Ancient Icelandic Literature and Antiquities at University of Oxford. ... A statue of Freyja at DjurgÃ¥rden, Stockholm, Sweden. ...

In Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda tale Gylfaginning, Freyja sheds tears of red gold for her husband Ódr in his absence and who is mother of Gersemi and Hnoss, whose names both mean "Treasure". Freyja is often associated with a love for jewelry and treasure in surviving representations. A statue of Snorri Sturluson by Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland was erected at Reykholt in 1947. ... The Younger Edda, known also as the Prose Edda or Snorris Edda is an Icelandic manual of poetics which also contains many mythological stories. ... Ódr (ON: Óðr). ...

In Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla, in the Ynglinga Saga, chapter 4, Snorri relates that it was Freyja who introduced seið among the Æsir as it was in use and fashion among the Vanir. Therefore, all Vanir practice seið. In chapter 7 Snorri relates that Odin also knew seið: A statue of Snorri Sturluson by Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland was erected at Reykholt in 1947. ... Heimskringla is the Old Norse name of a collection of sagas recorded in Iceland around 1225 by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (1179-1242). ...

…but it was not thought respectable for men to practise it; and therefore the priestesses were brought up in this art.

References

For general references see Norse Mythology. Norse, Viking or Scandinavian mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian peoples, including those who settled on Iceland, where most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled. ...

• Dumézil, Georges (1966). La Religion romaine archaique suirvi d'un appendice sur la religion des Etrusques Paris. Editions Payot. Trans. Krapp, Philip (1996). Archaic Roman Religion. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Republished 1970, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-8018-5482-2 ISBN 0-8018-5483-0 (hdbk); ISBN 0-8018-5480-6 ISBN 0-8018-5481-4 (pbk).
• Dumézil, Georges (1973). "The Gods: Æsir and Vanir", Gods of the Ancient Northmen, trans. Einar Haugen. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-03507-0.

• Völuspá
• Prose Edda
• Ynglinga saga

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