![Frigg by Doepler](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Frigg_by_Doepler.jpg)
Frigg (;
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
: ) is a
goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
, one of the
Æsir
The Æsir (Old Norse: ) are the gods of the principal pantheon in Norse religion. They include Odin, Frigg, Höðr, Thor, and Baldr. The second Norse pantheon is the Vanir. In Norse mythology, the two pantheons wage war against each other, res ...
, in
Germanic mythology
Germanic mythology consists of the body of myths native to the Germanic peoples, including Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, and Continental Germanic mythology. It was a key element of Germanic paganism.
Origins
As the Germanic language ...
. In
Norse mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...
, the source of most surviving information about her, she is associated with marriage, prophecy, clairvoyance and motherhood, and dwells in the wetland halls of
Fensalir
In Norse mythology, Fensalir (Old Norse "Fen Halls"Orchard (1997:43).) is a location where the goddess Frigg dwells. Fensalir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda'' ...
. In wider Germanic mythology, she is known in
Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
as , in
Langobardic
Lombardic or Langobardic is an extinct West Germanic language that was spoken by the Lombards (), the Germanic people who settled in Italy in the sixth century. It was already declining by the seventh century because the invaders quickly adopted ...
as , in
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
as , in
Old Frisian
Old Frisian was a West Germanic language spoken between the 8th and 16th centuries along the North Sea coast, roughly between the mouths of the Rhine and Weser rivers. The Frisian settlers on the coast of South Jutland (today's Northern Friesl ...
as ''Frīa'', and in
Old Saxon
Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, was a Germanic language and the earliest recorded form of Low German (spoken nowadays in Northern Germany, the northeastern Netherlands, southern Denmark, the Americas and parts of Eastern Europe). It i ...
as , all ultimately stemming from the
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages.
Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...
theonym
A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), "god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity.
Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and u ...
*''
Frijjō
''*Frijjō'' ("Frigg-Frija") is the reconstructed name or epithet of a hypothetical Common Germanic love goddess, the most prominent female member of the ''* Ansiwiz'' (gods), and often identified as the spouse of the chief god, *''Wōdanaz'' ('' ...
''. Nearly all sources portray her as the wife of the god
Odin
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
.
In Old High German and
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
sources, she is specifically connected with
Fulla
Fulla (Old Norse: , possibly 'bountiful') or Volla (Old High German, 'plenitude') is a goddess in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, Fulla is described as wearing a golden band and as tending to the ashen box and the footwear owned by the g ...
, but she is also associated with the goddesses
Lofn
In Norse mythology, Lofn (Old Norse: , possibly "comforter,"Orchard (1997:104). "the comforter, the mild,"Simek (2007:190). or "loving"Byock (2005:168).) is a goddess. Lofn is attested in the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century by Snorri St ...
,
Hlín
In Norse mythology, Hlín () is a goddess associated with the goddess Frigg. Hlín appears in a poem in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century by Snorri S ...
,
Gná, and ambiguously with the Earth, otherwise personified as an apparently separate entity
Jörð
Jörð ( non, Jǫrð, lit=earth) is the personification of earth and a goddess in Norse mythology. She is the mother of the thunder god Thor and a sexual partner of Odin. Jörð is attested in Danish historian ''Gesta Danorum'', composed in t ...
(Old Norse: 'Earth'). The children of Frigg and Odin include the gleaming god
Baldr
Baldr (also Balder, Baldur) is a god in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, Baldr (Old Norse: ) is a son of the god Odin and the goddess Frigg, and has numerous brothers, such as Thor and Váli. In wider Germanic mythology, the god was kno ...
.
The English weekday name
Friday
Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth day ...
(ultimately meaning 'Frigg's Day') bears her name.
After
Christianization
Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...
, the mention of Frigg continued to occur in
Scandinavian folklore
Nordic folklore is the folklore of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. It has common roots with, and has been mutually influenced by, folklore in England, Germany, the Low Countries, the Baltic countries, Finland and Sapmi. ...
. During modern times, Frigg has appeared in popular culture, has been the subject of art and receives veneration in
Germanic Neopaganism
Heathenry, also termed Heathenism, contemporary Germanic Paganism, or Germanic Neopaganism, is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religious studies classify it as a new religious movement. Developed in Europe during the early 20th centu ...
.
Name and origin
Etymology
The
theonym
A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), "god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity.
Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and u ...
s ''Frigg'' (Old Norse), ''Frīja'' (
Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
), ''Frīg'' (
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
), ''Frīa'' (
Old Frisian
Old Frisian was a West Germanic language spoken between the 8th and 16th centuries along the North Sea coast, roughly between the mouths of the Rhine and Weser rivers. The Frisian settlers on the coast of South Jutland (today's Northern Friesl ...
), and ''Frī'' (
Old Saxon
Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, was a Germanic language and the earliest recorded form of Low German (spoken nowadays in Northern Germany, the northeastern Netherlands, southern Denmark, the Americas and parts of Eastern Europe). It i ...
) are
cognate
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...
s. They stem from the
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages.
Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...
feminine noun ''*
Frijjō
''*Frijjō'' ("Frigg-Frija") is the reconstructed name or epithet of a hypothetical Common Germanic love goddess, the most prominent female member of the ''* Ansiwiz'' (gods), and often identified as the spouse of the chief god, *''Wōdanaz'' ('' ...
'', which emerged as a
substantivized feminine of the adjective
*''frijaz'' ('free') via
Holtzmann's law
Holtzmann's law is a Proto-Germanic sound law originally noted by Adolf Holtzmann in 1838. It is also known by its traditional German name ''Verschärfung'' (literally: "sharpening"). (A similar sound law which has affected modern Faroese, called ...
. In a clan-based societal system, the meaning 'free' arose from the meaning 'related'. The name is indeed etymologically close to the
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
''priyā'' and the
Avestan
Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...
''fryā'' ('own, dear, beloved'), all ultimately descending from the
Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...
stem *''priH-o-'', denoting 'one's own, beloved'. The Proto-Germanic verb ''*frijōnan'' ('to love'), as well as the nouns *''frijōndz'' ('friend') and *''friþuz'' or *''frijađwō'' ('friendship, peace') are also related.
An
-a suffix has been sometimes applied by modern editors to denote femininity, resulting in the form ''Frigga''.
[See for example .] This spelling also serves the purpose of distancing the goddess from the English word ''
frig
Frig may refer to:
* Frig (Anglo-Saxon goddess), a love goddess in Anglo-Saxon paganism
* Frig (interjection), an English word
* ''Frig'' (film), a French film
* Len Frig (born 1950), Canadian ice hockey defenceman
See also
* Frigg (disambig ...
''. Several
place names
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
refer to Frigg in what are now Norway and Sweden, although her name is altogether absent in recorded place names in Denmark.
Origin of Frigg
The connection with and possible earlier identification of the goddess
Freyja
In Norse paganism, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chario ...
with Frigg in the
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages.
Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...
period (
Frigg and Freyja origin hypothesis The Frigg and Freyja common origin hypothesis holds that the Old Norse goddesses Frigg and Freyja descend from a common Proto-Germanic figure, as suggested by the numerous similarities found between the two deities. Scholar Stephan Grundy comments t ...
) is a matter of scholarly debate. Like the name of the group of gods to which Freyja belongs, the
Vanir
In Norse mythology, the Vanir (; Old Norse: , singular Vanr ) are a group of gods associated with fertility, wisdom, and the ability to see the future. The Vanir are one of two groups of gods (the other being the Æsir) and are the namesake of the ...
, the name ''Freyja'' is not attested outside of
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
. This is in contrast to the name of the goddess ''Frigg'', who is attested as a goddess common among the Germanic peoples, and whose name is reconstructed as
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages.
Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...
*''
Frijjō
''*Frijjō'' ("Frigg-Frija") is the reconstructed name or epithet of a hypothetical Common Germanic love goddess, the most prominent female member of the ''* Ansiwiz'' (gods), and often identified as the spouse of the chief god, *''Wōdanaz'' ('' ...
''. Evidence does not exist for the existence of a common Germanic goddess from which Old Norse ''Freyja'' descends, but scholars have commented that this may simply be due to the scarcity of surviving sources.
Regarding a Freyja–Frigg common origin hypothesis, scholar
Stephan Grundy
Stephan Scott Grundy (June 28, 1967 – September 29, 2021),
''The Wild Hunt'', October 5, 20 ...
comments that "the problem of whether Frigg or Freyja may have been a single goddess originally is a difficult one, made more so by the scantiness of pre-
Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...
references to
Germanic goddesses
Germanic may refer to:
* Germanic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group identified by their use of the Germanic languages
** List of ancient Germanic peoples and tribes
* Germanic languages
:* Proto-Germanic language, a reconstructed proto-language o ...
, and the diverse quality of the sources. The best that can be done is to survey the arguments for and against their identity, and to see how well each can be supported."
Origin of ''Friday''
The English weekday name ''
Friday
Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth day ...
'' comes from Old English ''Frīġedæġ'', meaning 'day of Frig'. It is cognate with Old Frisian ''Frīadei'' (≈ ''Fri(g)endei''),
Middle Dutch
Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or c. 1550, there was no overarch ...
''Vridach'', and
Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
''Frîatac'', which was borrowed into Old Norse as ''Frjádagr''. All of these terms derive from Late Proto-Germanic *''Frijjōdag'' ('Day of Frijjō'), a
calque
In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language wh ...
of Latin ''Veneris dies'' ('Day of
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
'; cf. modern Italian ''venerdì'', French ''vendredi'', Spanish ''viernes'').
Attestations
''Origo Gentis Langobardorum'' and ''Historia Langobardorum''
The 7th-century ''
Origo Gentis Langobardorum'', and
Paul the Deacon
Paul the Deacon ( 720s 13 April in 796, 797, 798, or 799 AD), also known as ''Paulus Diaconus'', ''Warnefridus'', ''Barnefridus'', or ''Winfridus'', and sometimes suffixed ''Cassinensis'' (''i.e.'' "of Monte Cassino"), was a Benedictine monk, s ...
's 8th-century ''
Historia Langobardorum
The ''History of the Lombards'' or the ''History of the Langobards'' ( la, Historia Langobardorum) is the chief work by Paul the Deacon, written in the late 8th century. This incomplete history in six books was written after 787 and at any rate ...
'' derived from it, recount a founding myth of the
Langobards
The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774.
The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...
, a Germanic people who ruled a region of what is now Italy (see
Lombardy
Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
). According to this legend, a "small people" known as the ''
Winnili
The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774.
The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written ...
'' were ruled by a woman named
Gambara
Gambara (Brescian: ), not to be confused with Gambarana, is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. Bordering communes are Asola (MN), Fiesse, Gottolengo, Isorella, Ostiano (CR), Pralboino, Remedello and Volongo (CR ...
who had two sons,
Ybor and Agio. The
Vandals
The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century.
The ...
, ruled by
Ambri and Assi Ambri may refer to:
*Ambrì
Ambrì is a Swiss village in the municipality of Quinto, Leventina District, Canton of Ticino.
Geography
Ambrì is located in the Leventina Valley, upon the southwestern shore of Ticino river and below the Lepont ...
, came to the Winnili with their army and demanded that they pay them tribute or prepare for war. Ybor, Agio, and their mother Gambara rejected their demands for tribute. Ambra and Assi then asked the god Godan for victory over the Winnili, to which Godan responded (in the longer version in the ''Origo''): "Whom I shall first see when at sunrise, to them will I give the victory."
Meanwhile, Ybor and Agio called upon Frea, Godan's wife. Frea counseled them that "at sunrise the Winnil
should come, and that their women, with their hair let down around the face in the likeness of a beard should also come with their husbands". At sunrise, Frea turned Godan's bed around to face east and woke him. Godan saw the Winnili, including their whiskered women, and asked "who are those Long-beards?" Frea responded to Godan, "As you have given them a name, give them also the victory". Godan did so, "so that they should defend themselves according to his counsel and obtain the victory". Thenceforth the Winnili were known as the ''Langobards'' (
Langobardic
Lombardic or Langobardic is an extinct West Germanic language that was spoken by the Lombards (), the Germanic people who settled in Italy in the sixth century. It was already declining by the seventh century because the invaders quickly adopted ...
"long-beards").
Second Merseburg Incantation
![Wodan heilt Balders Pferd by Emil Doepler](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Wodan_heilt_Balders_Pferd_by_Emil_Doepler.jpg)
A 10th-century manuscript found in what is now
Merseburg
Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...
, Germany, features an invocation known as the
Second Merseburg Incantation. The incantation calls upon various continental Germanic gods, including Old High German Frija and a goddess associated with her—
Volla, to assist in healing a horse:
''Poetic Edda''
In the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled during the 13th century from earlier traditional material, Frigg is mentioned in the poems ''
Völuspá
''Vǫluspá'' (also ''Völuspá'', ''Vǫlospá'' or ''Vǫluspǫ́''; Old Norse: 'Prophecy of the völva, a seeress'; reconstructed Old Norse: ) is the best known poem of the ''Poetic Edda''. It tells the story of the creation of the world and ...
'', ''
Vafþrúðnismál
''Vafþrúðnismál'' (Old Norse: "The Lay of Vafþrúðnir") is the third poem in the ''Poetic Edda''. It is a conversation in verse form conducted initially between the Æsir Odin and Frigg, and subsequently between Odin and the jötunn Vafþrú ...
'', the prose of ''
Grímnismál
''Grímnismál'' (Old Norse: ; 'The Lay of Grímnir') is one of the mythological poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. It is preserved in the Codex Regius manuscript and the AM 748 I 4to fragment. It is spoken through the voice of ''Grímnir'', one of ...
'', ''
Lokasenna
''Lokasenna'' (Old Norse: 'The Flyting of Loki', or 'Loki's Verbal Duel') is one of the poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. The poem presents flyting between the gods and Loki. It is written in the ljóðaháttr metre, typical for wisdom verse. ''Lo ...
'', and ''
Oddrúnargrátr
''Oddrúnargrátr'' (''Oddrún's lament'') or ''Oddrúnarkviða'' (''Oddrún's poem'') is an Eddic poem, found in the Codex Regius manuscript where it follows ''Guðrúnarkviða III'' and precedes ''Atlakviða''.
The main content of the poem is th ...
''.
Frigg receives three mentions in the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''Völuspá''. In the first mention the poem recounts that Frigg wept for the death of her son
Baldr
Baldr (also Balder, Baldur) is a god in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, Baldr (Old Norse: ) is a son of the god Odin and the goddess Frigg, and has numerous brothers, such as Thor and Váli. In wider Germanic mythology, the god was kno ...
in
Fensalir
In Norse mythology, Fensalir (Old Norse "Fen Halls"Orchard (1997:43).) is a location where the goddess Frigg dwells. Fensalir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda'' ...
. Later in the poem, when the future death of Odin is foretold, Odin is referred to as the "beloved of Frigg" and his future death is referred to as the "second grief of Frigg". Like the reference to Frigg weeping in Fensalir earlier in the poem, the implied "first grief" is a reference to the grief she felt upon the death of her son,
Baldr
Baldr (also Balder, Baldur) is a god in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, Baldr (Old Norse: ) is a son of the god Odin and the goddess Frigg, and has numerous brothers, such as Thor and Váli. In wider Germanic mythology, the god was kno ...
.
[See, for example, .]
![Frigg and Odin in Grímnismál by Frølich](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Frigg_and_Odin_in_Gr%C3%ADmnism%C3%A1l_by_Fr%C3%B8lich.jpg)
Frigg plays a prominent role in the prose introduction to the poem, ''
Grímnismál
''Grímnismál'' (Old Norse: ; 'The Lay of Grímnir') is one of the mythological poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. It is preserved in the Codex Regius manuscript and the AM 748 I 4to fragment. It is spoken through the voice of ''Grímnir'', one of ...
''. The introduction recounts that two sons of king
Hrauðungr, Agnar (age 10) and Geirröðr (age 8), once sailed out with a trailing line to catch small fish, but wind drove them out into the ocean and, during the darkness of night, their boat wrecked. The brothers went ashore, where they met a
crofter
A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable, and usually, but not always, with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer, especially in rural area ...
. They stayed on the croft for one winter, during which the couple separately fostered the two children: the old woman fostered Agnar and the old man fostered Geirröðr. Upon the arrival of spring, the old man brought them a ship. The old couple took the boys to the shore, and the old man took Geirröðr aside and spoke to him. The boys entered the boat and a breeze came.
The boat returned to the harbor of their father. Geirröðr, forward in the ship, jumped to shore and pushed the boat, containing his brother, out and said "go where an evil spirit may get thee." Away went the ship and Geirröðr walked to a house, where he was greeted with joy; while the boys were gone, their father had died, and now Geirröðr was king. He "became a splendid man." The scene switches to Odin and Frigg sitting in
Hliðskjálf
In Norse mythology, Hliðskjálf is the high seat of the god Odin allowing him to see into all realms.
''Poetic Edda''
In ''Grímnismál'', Odin and Frigg are both sitting in Hliðskjálf when they see their foster sons Agnarr and Geirröðr, ...
, "look
nginto
all the worlds." Odin says: "'Seest thou Agnar, thy foster-son, where he is getting children a giantess
ld Norse ''gȳgi''">gȳgi.html" ;"title="ld Norse ''gȳgi">ld Norse ''gȳgi''in a cave? while Geirröd, my foster son, is a king residing in his country.' Frigg answered, 'He is so inhospitable that he tortures his guests, if he thinks that too many come.'"
Odin replied that this was a great untruth and so the two made a wager. Frigg sent her "waiting-maid"
Fulla
Fulla (Old Norse: , possibly 'bountiful') or Volla (Old High German, 'plenitude') is a goddess in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, Fulla is described as wearing a golden band and as tending to the ashen box and the footwear owned by the g ...
to warn Geirröðr to be wary, lest a wizard who seeks him should harm him, and that he would know this wizard by the refusal of dogs, no matter how ferocious, to attack the stranger. While it was not true that Geirröðr was inhospitable with his guests, Geirröðr did as instructed and had the wizard arrested. Upon being questioned, the wizard, wearing a blue cloak, said no more than that his name is ''
Grímnir''. Geirröðr has Grímnir tortured and sits him between two fires for 8 nights. Upon the 9th night, Grímnir is brought a full drinking horn">List of names of Odin">Grímnir''. Geirröðr has Grímnir tortured and sits him between two fires for 8 nights. Upon the 9th night, Grímnir is brought a full drinking horn by Geirröðr's son, Agnar (so named after Geirröðr's brother), and the poem continues without further mention or involvement of Frigg.
In the poem ''
Lokasenna
''Lokasenna'' (Old Norse: 'The Flyting of Loki', or 'Loki's Verbal Duel') is one of the poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. The poem presents flyting between the gods and Loki. It is written in the ljóðaháttr metre, typical for wisdom verse. ''Lo ...
'', where
Loki
Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...
accuses nearly every female in attendance of promiscuity and/or unfaithfulness, an aggressive exchange occurs between the god Loki and the goddess Frigg (and thereafter between Loki and the goddess Freyja about Frigg). A prose introduction to the poem describes that numerous gods and goddesses attended a banquet held by
Ægir
Ægir (anglicised as Aegir; Old Norse 'sea'), Hlér (Old Norse 'sea'), or Gymir (Old Norse less clearly 'sea, engulfer'), is a jötunn and a personification of the sea in Norse mythology. In the Old Norse record, Ægir hosts the gods in his halls ...
. These gods and goddesses include Odin and, "his wife", Frigg.
''Prose Edda''
Frigg is mentioned throughout the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century by
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...
. Frigg is first mentioned in the ''Prose Edda''
Prologue
A prologue or prolog (from Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "word") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ...
, wherein a
euhemerized
Euhemerism () is an approach to the interpretation of mythology in which mythological accounts are presumed to have originated from real historical events or personages. Euhemerism supposes that historical accounts become myths as they are exagge ...
account of the Norse gods is provided. The author describes Frigg as the wife of Odin, and, in a case of
folk etymology
Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...
, the author attempts to associate the name ''Frigg'' with the Latin-influenced form ''Frigida''. The Prologue adds that both Frigg and Odin "had the gift of prophecy."
In the next section of the ''Prose Edda'', ''
Gylfaginning
''Gylfaginning'' (Old Norse: 'The Beguiling of Gylfi' or 'The Deluding of Gylfi'; c. 20,000 words; 13th century Old Norse pronunciation ) is the first part of the 13th century ''Prose Edda'' after the Prologue. The ''Gylfaginning'' deals with th ...
'',
High
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift ...
tells
Gangleri (the king
Gylfi
In Norse mythology, Gylfi (Old Norse: ), ''Gylfe'', ''Gylvi'', or ''Gylve'' was the earliest recorded king in Scandinavia. He often uses the name Gangleri when appearing in disguise. The traditions on Gylfi deal with how he was tricked by the god ...
in disguise) that Frigg, daughter of
Fjörgynn (Old Norse ''Fjörgynsdóttir'') is married to Odin and that the
Æsir
The Æsir (Old Norse: ) are the gods of the principal pantheon in Norse religion. They include Odin, Frigg, Höðr, Thor, and Baldr. The second Norse pantheon is the Vanir. In Norse mythology, the two pantheons wage war against each other, res ...
are descended from the couple, and adds that "the earth [''
Jörð
Jörð ( non, Jǫrð, lit=earth) is the personification of earth and a goddess in Norse mythology. She is the mother of the thunder god Thor and a sexual partner of Odin. Jörð is attested in Danish historian ''Gesta Danorum'', composed in t ...
in''] was [Odin's] daughter and his wife." According to High, the two had many sons, the first of which was the mighty god Thor.
![Frigg and Fulla 1874](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Frigg_and_Fulla_1874.jpg)
Later in ''
Gylfaginning
''Gylfaginning'' (Old Norse: 'The Beguiling of Gylfi' or 'The Deluding of Gylfi'; c. 20,000 words; 13th century Old Norse pronunciation ) is the first part of the 13th century ''Prose Edda'' after the Prologue. The ''Gylfaginning'' deals with th ...
'', Gangleri asks about the ''
ásynjur'', a term for Norse goddesses. High says that "highest" among them is Frigg and that only
Freyja
In Norse paganism, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chario ...
"is highest in rank next to her." Frigg dwells in
Fensalir
In Norse mythology, Fensalir (Old Norse "Fen Halls"Orchard (1997:43).) is a location where the goddess Frigg dwells. Fensalir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda'' ...
"and it is very splendid." In this section of ''Gylfaginning'', Frigg is also mentioned in connection to other ''ásynjur'':
Fulla
Fulla (Old Norse: , possibly 'bountiful') or Volla (Old High German, 'plenitude') is a goddess in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, Fulla is described as wearing a golden band and as tending to the ashen box and the footwear owned by the g ...
carries Frigg's ashen box, "looks after her footwear and shares her secrets;"
Lofn
In Norse mythology, Lofn (Old Norse: , possibly "comforter,"Orchard (1997:104). "the comforter, the mild,"Simek (2007:190). or "loving"Byock (2005:168).) is a goddess. Lofn is attested in the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century by Snorri St ...
is given special permission by Frigg and Odin to "arrange unions" among men and women;
Hlín
In Norse mythology, Hlín () is a goddess associated with the goddess Frigg. Hlín appears in a poem in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century by Snorri S ...
is charged by Frigg to protect those that Frigg deem worthy of keeping from danger; and
Gná is sent by Frigg "into various worlds to carry out her business."
In section 49 of ''Gylfaginning'', a narrative about the fate of Frigg's son Baldr is told. According to High, Baldr once started to have dreams indicating that his life was in danger. When Baldr told his fellow Æsir about his dreams, the gods met together for a
thing
Thing or The Thing may refer to:
Philosophy
* An object
* Broadly, an entity
* Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant
* Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuses ...
and decided that they should "request immunity for Baldr from all kinds of danger." Frigg subsequently receives promises from the elements, the environment, diseases, animals, and stones, amongst other things. The request successful, the Æsir make sport of Baldr's newfound invincibility; shot or struck, Baldr remained unharmed. However,
Loki
Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...
discovers this and is not pleased by this turn of events, so, in the form of a woman, he goes to Frigg in Fensalir.
There, Frigg asks this female visitor what the Æsir are up to assembled at the
thing
Thing or The Thing may refer to:
Philosophy
* An object
* Broadly, an entity
* Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant
* Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuses ...
. The woman says that all of the Æsir are shooting at Baldr and yet he remains unharmed. Frigg explains that "Weapons and wood will not hurt Baldr. I have received oaths from them all." The woman asks Frigg if all things have sworn not to hurt Baldr, to which Frigg notes one exception; "there grows a shoot of a tree to the west of
Val-hall. It is called
mistletoe
Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant.
...
. It seemed young to me to demand the oath from." Loki immediately disappears.
![Baldr's Death by Frølich](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Baldr%27s_Death_by_Fr%C3%B8lich.jpg)
Now armed with mistletoe, Loki arrives at the thing where the Æsir are assembled and tricks the blind
Höðr
Höðr ( non, Hǫðr ; often anglicized as Hod, Hoder, or Hodur) is a god in Norse mythology. The blind son of Odin and Frigg, he is tricked and guided by Loki into shooting a mistletoe arrow which was to slay the otherwise invulnerable Baldr.
...
, Baldr's brother, into shooting Baldr with a mistletoe projectile. To the horror of the assembled gods, the mistletoe goes directly through Baldr, killing him. Standing in horror and shock, the gods are initially only able to weep due to their grief. Frigg speaks up and asks "who there was among the Æsir who wished to earn all her love and favour and was willing to ride the road to
Hel and try if he could find Baldr, and offer
Hel a ransom if she would let Baldr go back to Asgard."
Hermóðr
Hermóðr (Old Norse: , "war-spirit";Orchard (1997:83). anglicized as Hermod) is a figure in Norse mythology, a son of the god Odin and brother of Baldr. He is often considered the messenger of the gods.
Attestations
''Prose Edda''
Hermóðr ap ...
, Baldr's brother, accepts Frigg's request and rides to Hel. Meanwhile, Baldr is given a grand funeral attended by many beings—foremost mentioned of which are his mother and father, Frigg and Odin. During the funeral,
Nanna
Nanna may refer to:
*Grandmother
Mythology
* Sin (mythology), god of the moon in Sumerian mythology, also called Suen
* Nanna (Norse deity), goddess associated with the god Baldr in Norse mythology
* Nana Buluku, Fon/Dahomey androgynous deity cre ...
dies of grief and is placed in the funeral pyre with Baldr, her dead husband. Hermóðr locates Baldr and Nanna in Hel. Hermodr secures an agreement for the return of Baldr and with Hermóðr Nanna sends gifts to Frigg (a linen robe) and Fulla (a finger-ring). Hermóðr rides back to the Æsir and tells them what has happened. However, the agreement fails due to the sabotage of a jötunn in a cave named
Þökk
Þökk (also Thökk) (Old Norse "Thanks"Orchard (1997:161).) is a Jötunn in Norse mythology, presumed to be Loki in disguise, who refuses to weep for the slain Baldr, thus forcing Baldr to stay in Hel.
''Prose Edda''
After Baldr was killed, Herm ...
(Old Norse 'thanks'), described perhaps Loki in disguise.
Frigg is mentioned several times in the ''Prose Edda'' section ''
Skáldskaparmál
''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'The Language of Poetry'; c. 50,000 words; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda''.
The section consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bragi, the god of poetry, in ...
''. The first mention occurs at the beginning of the section, where the
Æsir
The Æsir (Old Norse: ) are the gods of the principal pantheon in Norse religion. They include Odin, Frigg, Höðr, Thor, and Baldr. The second Norse pantheon is the Vanir. In Norse mythology, the two pantheons wage war against each other, res ...
and Ásynjur are said to have once held a banquet in a hall in a land of gods,
Asgard
In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr'' ; "enclosure of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in a multitude of Old Norse sagas and mythological texts. It is described as the fortified home of the Æsir ...
. Frigg is one of the twelve ásynjur in attendance.
''Heimskringla'' and sagas
In ''
Ynglinga saga
''Ynglinga saga'' ( ) is a Kings' saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It is the first section of his ''Heimskringla''. It was first translated into English and published in 1844 ...
'', the first book of ''
Heimskringla
''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derived ...
'', a
Euhemerized
Euhemerism () is an approach to the interpretation of mythology in which mythological accounts are presumed to have originated from real historical events or personages. Euhemerism supposes that historical accounts become myths as they are exagge ...
account of the origin of the gods is provided. Frigg is mentioned once. According to the saga, while Odin was away, Odin's brothers
Vili and Vé
In Norse mythology, Vili ( ; Old Norse: ) and Vé ( ; O.N.: ) are the brothers of the god Odin (from Old Norse ''Óðinn''), sons of Bestla, daughter of Bölþorn; and Borr, son of Búri
Name
The Old Norse theonym ''Vé'' (or ''Véi'') is cog ...
oversaw Odin's holdings. Once, while Odin was gone for an extended period, the Æsir concluded that he was not coming back. His brothers started to divvy up Odin's inheritance, "but his wife Frigg they shared between them. However, a short while afterwards,
din
DIN or Din or din may refer to:
People and language
* Din (name), people with the name
* Dīn, an Arabic word with three general senses: judgment, custom, and religion from which the name originates
* Dinka language (ISO 639 code: din), spoken by ...
returned and took possession of his wife again.
In ''
Völsunga saga
The ''Völsunga saga'' (often referred to in English as the ''Volsunga Saga'' or ''Saga of the Völsungs'') is a legendary saga, a late 13th-century poetic rendition in Old Norse of the origin and decline of the Völsung clan (including the stor ...
'', the great king
Rerir
In ''Völsunga saga'', Rerir, the son of Sigi, succeeds his murdered father and avenges his death. He rules in Hunaland and becomes a powerful ruler. Rerir's son is Völsung.
Rerir and his wife were unable to have children until the goddess Frigg ...
and his wife (unnamed) are unable to conceive a child; "that lack displeased them both, and they fervently implored the gods that they might have a child. It is said that Frigg heard their prayers and told Odin what they asked."
Archaeological record
![Paganeu1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Paganeu1.gif)
A 12th century depiction of a cloaked but otherwise nude woman riding a large cat appears on a wall in the
Schleswig Cathedral
Schleswig Cathedral (german: Schleswiger Dom, da, Slesvig Domkirke) officially the Cathedral of St. Peter at Schleswig (german: St. Petri-Dom zu Schleswig), is the main church of the city of Schleswig and was the cathedral of the Bishop of Schle ...
in
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...
,
Northern Germany
Northern Germany (german: link=no, Norddeutschland) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony an ...
. Beside her is similarly a cloaked yet otherwise nude woman riding a
distaff
A distaff (, , also called a rock"Rock." ''The Oxford English Dictionary''. 2nd ed. 1989.), is a tool used in spinning. It is designed to hold the unspun fibers, keeping them untangled and thus easing the spinning process. It is most commonly use ...
. Due to iconographic similarities to the literary record, these figures have been theorized as depictions of Freyja and Frigg respectively.
Scholarly reception and interpretation
Due to numerous similarities, some scholars have proposed that the Old Norse goddesses Frigg and
Freyja
In Norse paganism, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chario ...
descend from a common entity from the
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages.
Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...
period. Regarding a Freyja-Frigg common origin hypothesis, scholar
Stephan Grundy
Stephan Scott Grundy (June 28, 1967 – September 29, 2021),
''The Wild Hunt'', October 5, 20 ...
comments that "the problem of whether Frigg or Freyja may have been a single goddess originally is a difficult one, made more so by the scantiness of pre-
Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...
references to
Germanic goddesses
Germanic may refer to:
* Germanic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group identified by their use of the Germanic languages
** List of ancient Germanic peoples and tribes
* Germanic languages
:* Proto-Germanic language, a reconstructed proto-language o ...
, and the diverse quality of the sources. The best that can be done is to survey the arguments for and against their identity, and to see how well each can be supported."
Unlike Frigg but like the name of the group of gods to which Freyja belongs, the
Vanir
In Norse mythology, the Vanir (; Old Norse: , singular Vanr ) are a group of gods associated with fertility, wisdom, and the ability to see the future. The Vanir are one of two groups of gods (the other being the Æsir) and are the namesake of the ...
, the name ''Freyja'' is not attested outside of
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
, as opposed to the name of the goddess ''Frigg'', who is attested as a goddess common among the Germanic peoples, and whose name is reconstructed as
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages.
Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...
*''
Frijjō
''*Frijjō'' ("Frigg-Frija") is the reconstructed name or epithet of a hypothetical Common Germanic love goddess, the most prominent female member of the ''* Ansiwiz'' (gods), and often identified as the spouse of the chief god, *''Wōdanaz'' ('' ...
''. Similar proof for the existence of a common Germanic goddess from which ''Freyja'' descends does not exist, but scholars have commented that this may simply be due to the scarcity of evidence outside of the North Germanic record.
Modern influence
Frigg is referenced in art and literature into the modern period. In the 18th century,
Gustav III of Sweden
Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia.
Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...
, king of Sweden, composed ''Friggja'', a play, so named after the goddess, and H. F. Block and
Hans Friedrich Blunck
Hans-Friedrich Blunck (3 September 1888 – 24 April 1961) was a German jurist and a writer. In the time of the Third Reich
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Soc ...
's ''Frau Frigg und Doktor Faust'' in 1937. Other examples include fine art works by K. Ehrenberg (''Frigg, Freyja'', drawing, 1883),
John Charles Dollman
John Charles Dollman RWS RI ROI (6 May 1851 – 11 December 1934) was an English painter and illustrator.
Life
Dollman was born in Hove on 6 May 1851 and moved to London to study at South Kensington and the Royal Academy Schools, after wh ...
(''Frigga Spinning the Clouds'', painting, c. 1900),
Emil Doepler
Emil Doepler (29 October 1855, Munich - 21 December 1922, Berlin) was a German illustrator, graphic artist, and heraldist. He is usually referred to as The Younger, to distinguish him from his father.
Life and work
He was born to Carl Emil Doe ...
(''Wodan und Frea am Himmelsfenster'', painting, 1901), and H. Thoma (''Fricka'', drawing, date not provided).
See also
*
Frigga
*
77 Frigga
Frigga (minor planet designation: 77 Frigga) is a large, M-type, possibly metallic main-belt asteroid. It was discovered by the German-American astronomer C. H. F. Peters on November 12, 1862. The object is named after Frigg, the Norse goddess ...
Notes
References
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External links
MyNDIR (My Norse Digital Image Repository)Illustrations of Frigg from manuscripts and early print books. Clicking on the thumbnail will give you the full image and information concerning it.
{{Authority control
Ásynjur
Crafts goddesses
Domestic and hearth deities
Germanic goddesses
Love and lust goddesses
Oracular goddesses
Textiles in folklore
Venusian deities
Wisdom goddesses
Marriage goddesses
Mother goddesses
Norse goddesses