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 Horses of the Æsir are ridden by the gods. They are mentioned 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 me ...

'' and 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 t ...

''.

Listing

The horses of the Æsir are listed twice. The

Eddic poem 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 ...

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 ...

'' gives the following names:

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 ...

paraphrases this stanza in his ''

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 ...

'': Apart from

Sleipnir In Norse mythology, Sleipnir (Old Norse: ; "slippy"Orchard (1997:151). or "the slipper"Kermode (1904:6).) is an eight-legged horse ridden by Odin. Sleipnir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional ...

, Odin's eight-legged horse, and

Gulltoppr In Norse mythology, Gulltoppr (Old Norse: , "golden mane"Simek (2007:122).) is one of the horses of the gods. Gulltoppr is mentioned in a list of horses in the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''Grímnismál'' and in '' Nafnaþulur'' section of the ''Prose E ...

, who belongs to

Heimdallr In Norse mythology, Heimdall (from Old Norse Heimdallr) is a god who keeps watch for invaders and the onset of Ragnarök from his dwelling Himinbjörg, where the burning rainbow bridge Bifröst meets the sky. He is attested as possessing forekno ...

according to the ''

'', nothing is known about these horses, especially their owner. These names are yet listed in the '' þulur''. Other horses are mentioned elsewhere:

Gullfaxi Gullfaxi ( Old Norse: ) is a horse in Norse mythology. Its name means "Golden mane". It was originally owned by Hrungnir, and was later given to Magni by Thor as a reward for lifting off the leg of Hrungnir, which lay over the unconscious Tho ...

, which originally belonged to

Hrungnir Hrungnir (Old Norse: , 'brawler') is a jötunn in Norse mythology. He is described as made of stone and is ultimately killed in a duel with the thunder god Thor. Prior to his demise, Hrungnir engaged in a wager with Odin in which Odin stakes his ...

, but who was given by

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...

to his son Magni after he killed the

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

(''Skáldskaparmál'', 17),

Blóðughófi In Nordic mythology, Blóðughófi (Old Norse: , "Bloody Hoof", sometimes Anglicised Blodughofi) is the horse of Freyr and is attested in several þulur of horses. Attestations Kálfsvísa In Kálfsvísa, Blóðughófi is named in a list of hors ...

, which belongs to

Freyr Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord'), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested god in Norse mythology, associated with kingship, fertility, peace, and weather. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden an ...

(''

Kálfsvísa The ''Kálfsvísa'' ("Kálfr's '' vísa''", Kálfr being maybe the name of its author) is a poem partially preserved in Snorri Sturluson’s ''Skáldskaparmál''. Its three stanzas in ''fornyrðislag'' mostly consist of a þula of horses and thei ...

'') and Hófvarpnir, which is ridden by Gná (''Gylfaginning'', 35).

Meanings

: "Bloody-hoof"; * Falhófnir: "Hairy-hoof" or "Hidden-hoof", i.e. whose hoofs are covered with hair, or "Pale-hoof"; *

: "Gold-tuft"; * Gísl: related to "beam", "ray"; * Glaðr: "Glad" or "Bright"; *

Glær In Norse mythology, Glær or Glenr is a horse listed in both '' Grímnismál'' and ''Gylfaginning'' among the steeds ridden by the gods A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of Englis ...

: "Clear", "Glassy"; *

: "Golden-mane" *

Gyllir In Norse mythology, Gyllir (Old Norse: ) is a horse listed in both '' Grímnismál'' and ''Gylfaginning'' among the steeds ridden by the gods each day when they go to make judgements at Yggdrasil. However, in both poems, Gyllir is not assigned to a ...

:Gyllir is also the name of a giant in the '' þulur'', whose name means "Yeller". "Golden"; * Hófvarpnir : "Hoof-thrower"; * Léttfeti: "Light-foot"; * Silfrintoppr: "Silver-tuft"; * Sinir: "Sinewy"; * Skeiðbrimir: "the one which snorts as he runs"; *

: "trickster";

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horses of the Aesir Aesir Æsir

Listing

Meanings

See also

Notes