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 per ...

, Geri and Freki are two

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

which are said to accompany the god

Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered 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, victory, ...

. They are attested in the ''

Poetic Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the ''Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic med ...

'', a collection of epic poetry compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, in the ''

Prose Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' ( is, Snorra Edda) or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often assumed to have been ...

'', written 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 th ...

, and in the poetry of

skald A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditional ...

s. The pair has been compared to similar figures found in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

and

Vedic mythology The historical Vedic religion (also known as Vedicism, Vedism or ancient Hinduism and subsequently Brahmanism (also spelled as Brahminism)), constituted the religious ideas and practices among some Indo-Aryan peoples of northwest Indian Subco ...

, and may also be connected to beliefs surrounding the Germanic "wolf-warrior bands", the

Úlfhéðnar In the Old Norse written corpus, berserker were those who were said to have fought in a trance-like fury, a characteristic which later gave rise to the modern English word '' berserk'' (meaning "furiously violent or out of control"). Berserkers ...

Etymology

The name ''Geri'' has been interpreted as meaning either "the greedy one" or "the ravenous one".Simek (2007:90; 106); Lindow (2001:120; 139). The name ''Geri'' can be traced back to 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 br ...

adjective , attested in Burgundian ''girs'',

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

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 Hig ...

or and

Old Dutch In linguistics, Old Dutch (Dutch: Oudnederlands) or Old Low Franconian (Dutch: Oudnederfrankisch) is the set of Franconian dialects (i.e. dialects that evolved from Frankish) spoken in the Low Countries during the Early Middle Ages, from aro ...

, all of which mean "greedy".Orel (2003:132). The name ''Freki'' can be traced back to the Proto-Germanic adjective , attested in

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

() "covetous, avaricious", Old Norse "greedy",

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 settlers in the mid-5th ...

"desirous, greedy, gluttonous, audacious" and Old High

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

"greedy".Orel (2003:113).

John Lindow John Frederick Lindow (born July 23, 1946) is an American philologist who is Professor Emeritus of Old Norse and Folklore at University of California, Berkeley. He is a well known authority on Old Norse religion and literature. Biography John ...

interprets both Old Norse names as nominalized adjectives.Lindow (2001:120 and 139). Bruce Lincoln further traces ''Geri'' back to a

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 ...

stem *', which is the same as that found in , a name referring to the hound closely associated with the events of .Lincoln (1991:99).

Attestations

In the ''Poetic Edda'' poem '' Grímnismál'', the god

(disguised as '' Grímnir'') provides the young Agnarr with information about Odin's companions. Agnarr is told that Odin feeds Geri and Freki while the god himself consumes only wine:

The pair is also alluded to via the

kenning A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech in the type of circumlocution, a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse-Icelandic and Old English ...

" Viðrir's (Odin's) hounds" in '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana I'', verse 13, where it is related that they roam the field "greedy for the corpses of those who have fallen in battle".Lincoln views this activity as the reason behind their epithet "ravenous" or "greedy". See Lincoln (1991:99).

In the ''Prose Edda'' book ''

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 t ...

'' (chapter 38), the enthroned figure of

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 t ...

explains that Odin gives all of the food on his table to his wolves Geri and Freki and that Odin requires no food, for wine is to him both meat and drink. High then quotes the above-mentioned stanza from the poem ''Grímnismál'' in support.Faulkes (1995:33). In chapter 75 of the ''Prose Edda'' book ''

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, ...

'' a list of names for

warg In the philologist and fantasy author J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fiction, a warg is a particularly large and evil kind of wolf that could be ridden by orcs. He derived the name and characteristics of his wargs by combining meanings and m ...

s and

is provided that includes both Geri and Freki.Faulkes (1995:64). In

ic poetry ''Geri'' and ''Freki'' are used as common nouns for "wolf" in chapter 58 of ''Skáldskaparmál'' (quoted in works by the

s Þjóðólfr of Hvinir and

Egill Skallagrímsson Egil Skallagrímsson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; 904 995) was a Viking Age war poet, sorcerer, berserker, and farmer.Thorsson, 3 He is known mainly as the anti-hero of '' Egil's Saga''. ''Egil's Saga'' historically narrates a period fro ...

) and ''Geri'' is again used as a common noun for "wolf" in chapter 64 of the ''Prose Edda'' book ''

Háttatal The Háttatal (Old Norse: 'Tally of Metres'; c. 20,000 words; Old Norse: , Modern Icelandic: ) is the last section of the ''Prose Edda'' composed by the Icelandic poet, politician, and historian Snorri Sturluson. Using, for the most part, his ow ...

''.Faulkes (1995:135 and 204). Geri is referenced in

s for "blood" in chapter 58 of ''Skáldskaparmál'' ("Geri's ales" in a work by the skald

Þórðr Sjáreksson Þórðr Sjáreksson was an 11th-century Icelandic skald. He composed a ''drápa'' on Þórólfr Skólmsson, four strophes of which have been preserved in the kings' sagas. He also composed a memorial ''drápa'' on the canonised Olaf II of Norwa ...

) and in for "carrion" in chapter 60 ("Geri's morsel" in a work by the skald

Einarr Skúlason Einarr Skúlason (ca. 1100 – after 1159) was an Icelandic priest and skald. He was the most prominent Norse poet of the 12th century. Einarr's poetry is primarily preserved in ''Heimskringla'', ''Flateyjarbók'', ''Morkinskinna'', ''Fagrski ...

).Faulkes (1995:136 and 138). ''Freki'' is also used in a kenning for "carrion" ("Freki's meal") in a work by Þórðr Sjáreksson in chapter 58 of ''Skáldskaparmál''.Faulkes (1995:136).

Archaeological record

If the rider on horseback on the image on the Böksta Runestone has been correctly identified as Odin, then Geri and Freki are shown taking part in hunting an elk.Silén (1993:88—91).

Theories

''Freki'' is also a name applied to the monstrous wolf

Fenrir Fenrir (Old Norse: ; "fen-dweller")Orchard (1997:42). or Fenrisúlfr (O.N.: ; "Fenrir's wolf", often translated "Fenris-wolf"),Simek (2007:81). also referred to as Hróðvitnir (O.N.: ; "fame-wolf")Simek (2007:160). and Vánagandr (O.N.: ; " ...

in the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''

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 ...

''. Folklorist

sees irony in the fact that Odin feeds one Freki at his dinner table and another—Fenrir—with his flesh during the events of

Ragnarök In Norse mythology, (; non, wikt:ragnarǫk, Ragnarǫk) is a series of events, including a great battle, foretelling the death of numerous great figures (including the Æsir, gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdallr, and Loki), natural disast ...

.Lindow (2001:120). Historian Michael Spiedel connects Geri and Freki with archaeological finds depicting figures wearing wolf-pelts and frequently found wolf-related names among the

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...

, including Wulfhroc ("Wolf-Frock"), Wolfhetan ("Wolf-Hide"), Isangrim ("Grey-Mask"), Scrutolf ("Garb-Wolf"), Wolfram ("Wolf (and)

Raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between " crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigne ...

"), Wolfgang ("Wolf-Gait"), Wolfdregil ("Wolf-Runner"), and Vulfolaic ("Wolf-Dancer") and myths regarding wolf warriors from Norse mythology (such as the

). Michael Speidel believes this to point to the pan-Germanic wolf-warrior band cult centered on Odin that waned away 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 ...

.Speidel (2004:24—28). Scholars have also noted

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Du ...

parallels to the wolves Geri and Freki as companions of a divinity. 19th century scholar

Jacob Grimm Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He is known as the discoverer of Grimm's law of linguistics, the co-author of t ...

observed a connection between this aspect of Odin's character and the Greek

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

, to whom both the wolf and the raven are sacred.Grimm (1882:147). Philologist

Maurice Bloomfield Maurice Bloomfield, Ph.D., LL.D. (February 23, 1855 – June 12, 1928) was an Austrian-born American philologist and Sanskrit scholar. Biography He was born Maurice Blumenfeld in Bielitz ( pl, Bielsko), in what was at that time Austrian Si ...

further connected the pair with the two dogs of

Yama Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities. ...

in Vedic mythology, and saw them as a Germanic counterpart to a more general and widespread Indo-European "

Cerberus In Greek mythology, Cerberus (; grc-gre, Κέρβερος ''Kérberos'' ), often referred to as the hound of Hades, is a multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. He was the offspring of the ...

"-theme.Bloomfield also mentions another Nordic pair in this connection: ''Geri'' "Greedy" and ''Gifr'' "Violent" are two dogs which guard the maiden Menglöð in the '' Fjölsvinnsmál''. See Bloomfeld (1908:316–318). Speidel finds similar parallels in the

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...

Rudra Rudra (; sa, रुद्र) is a Rigvedic deity associated with Shiva, the wind or storms, Vayu, medicine, and the hunt. One translation of the name is 'the roarer'. In the Rigveda, Rudra is praised as the 'mightiest of the mighty'. ...

and the

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

. Elaborating on the connection between wolves and figures of great power, he writes: "This is why Geri and Freki, the wolves at Woden's side, also glowered on the throne of the Anglo-Saxon kings. Wolf-warriors, like Geri and Freki, were not mere animals but mythical beings: as Woden's followers they bodied forth his might, and so did wolf-warriors."

Bernd Heinrich Bernd Heinrich (born April 19, 1940 in Bad Polzin, Germany), is a professor emeritus in the biology department at the University of Vermont and is the author of a number of books about nature writing and biology. Heinrich has made major contribut ...

theorizes that Geri and Freki, along with Odin and his ravens

Huginn and Muninn In Norse mythology, Huginn (Old Norse: "thought"Orchard (1997:92).) and Muninn (Old Norse "memory"Orchard (1997:115). or "mind"Lindow (2001:186).) are a pair of ravens that fly all over the world, Midgard, and bring information to the god Odin ...

, reflect a

symbiosis Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or para ...

observed in the natural world among ravens, wolves, and humans on the hunt:

:In a biological symbiosis one organism typically shores up some weakness or deficiency of the other(s). As in such a symbiosis, Odin the father of all humans and gods, though in human form was imperfect by himself. As a separate entity he lacked depth perception (being one-eyed) and he was apparently also uninformed and forgetful. But his weaknesses were compensated by his ravens, Hugin (mind) and Munin (memory) who were part of him. They perched on his shoulders and reconnoitered to the ends of the earth each day to return in the evening and tell him the news. He also had two wolves at his side, and the man/god-raven-wolf association was like one single organism in which the ravens were the eyes, mind, and memory, and the wolves the providers of meat and nourishment. As god, Odin was the ethereal part—he only drank wine and spoke only in poetry. I wondered if the Odin myth was a metaphor that playfully and poetically encapsulates ancient knowledge of our prehistoric past as hunters in association with two allies to produce a powerful hunting alliance. It would reflect a past that we have long forgotten and whose meaning has been obscured and badly frayed as we abandoned our hunting cultures to become herders and agriculturists, to whom ravens act as competitors.Heinrich (2006 999 355). For discussion of wolf and raven symbiosis, see for example Heinrich (2006 999 226–235). For discussion of wolf and human symbiosis, see for example Henrich (2006 999 236–244).

Notes

References

* Bellows, Henry Adams (1923). ''The Poetic Edda''. American-Scandinavian Foundation. * Bellows, Henry Adams (1936). ''The Poetic Edda''. Princeton: Princeton University Press. * Bloomfield, Maurice (1908) "Cerberus" in: Hastings, James (Ed.) ''Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics'', Vol. 5. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark. * Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995). ''Edda''.

Everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...

. . * Grimm, Jacob (1882). ''Teutonic Mythology'', Vol. I, Translated from the 4th Edition by James Steven Stallybrass. London: George Bell & Sons. * Heinrich, Bernd (2006 999. ''The Mind of the Raven''.

Harper Perennial Harper Perennial is a paperback imprint of the publishing house HarperCollins Publishers. Overview Harper Perennial has divisions located in New York, London, Toronto, and Sydney. The imprint is descended from the Perennial Library imprint found ...

. * * Lindow, John (2001).
Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs
'.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

. . * Orel, Vladimir (2003). ''A Handbook of Germanic Etymology''. Leiden: Brill. . * Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. D.S. Brewer. * * Spiedel, Michael (2004).
Ancient Germanic Warriors: Warrior Styles from Trajan's Column to Icelandic Sagas
'.

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...

. * Thorpe, Benjamin (Trans) (1907). ''Edda Sæmundar Hinns Frôða The Edda of Sæmund the Learned''. Part I. London Trübner & Co

External links

*
MyNDIR
(My Norse Digital Image Repository) illustration of Geri and Freki from Mary H. Foster and Mabel H. Cummings's Asgard Stories (1901). Clicking on a thumbnail brings up the full image and information concerning it. {{Norse mythology Odin Wolves in Norse mythology