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 ...

, Sessrúmnir (

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 ...

"seat-room"Orchard (1997:138). or "seat-roomer"Simek (2007:280).) is both 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 ...

's hall located in

Fólkvangr In Norse mythology, Fólkvangr (Old Norse: , "field of the host"Orchard (1997:45). or "people-field" or "army-field"Lindow (2001:118).) is a meadow or field ruled over by the goddess Freyja where half of those that die in combat go upon death, wh ...

, a field where Freyja receives half of those who die in battle (

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 ...

takes the other half to

Valhalla In Norse mythology Valhalla (;) is the anglicised name for non, Valhǫll ("hall of the slain").Orchard (1997:171–172) It is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. Half of those who die in combat e ...

), and also the name of a

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

. Both the hall and the ship are attested 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 t ...

'', 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 the ...

. Scholarly theories have been proposed regarding a potential relation between the hall and the ship.

Attestations

Sessrúmnir is specifically referred to as a hall in chapter 24 of 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 th ...

''. After describing

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 (described as 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 Freyja has the hall Sessrúmnir, and that "it is large and beautiful".Faulkes (1995:24). Sessrúmnir is secondly referred to in chapter 20 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, in ...

''. In the chapter, means of referring to Freyja are given, including a reference to Sessrúmnir: "possessor of the fallen slain and of Sessrúmnir ...Faulkes (1995:86). Sessrúmnir is referenced a third and final time within a list of ship names in chapter 75.Faulkes (1995:162).

Theories

Rudolf Simek Rudolf Simek (born 21 February 1954) is an Austrian philologist and religious studies scholar who is Professor and Chair of Ancient German studies, German and Scandinavian studies, Nordic Studies at the University of Bonn. Simek specializes in G ...

theorizes that one of the two notions of Sessrúmnir (as a ship or as a hall) may come from a misunderstanding, as the meaning of the name can be understood in both cases as "space with many or roomy seats."Simek (1995:280). In a 2012 paper, Joseph S. Hopkins and Haukur Þorgeirsson propose a connection between Fólkvangr, Sessrúmnir, and numerous

stone ship The stone ship or ship setting was an early burial custom in Scandinavia, Northern Germany, and the Baltic states. The grave or cremation burial was surrounded by slabs or stones in the shape of a boat or ship. The ships vary in size and were e ...

s found throughout Scandinavia. According to Hopkins and Haukur, Fólkvangr and Sessrumir together paint an image of a ship and a field, which has broader implications and may connect Freyja to the "Isis" of the Suebi mentioned by Roman senator

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...

in his first century ''

Germania Germania ( ; ), also called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman province of the same name, was a large historical region in north- ...

''.Hopkins and Haukur (2012:14-17).

Notes

References

* 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 ...

. * Hopkins, Joseph S. and Haukur Þorgeirsson (2012).
The Ship in the Field
. ''

RMN Newsletter ''RMN Newsletter'' is a peer-reviewed and open access academic journal published on a bi-annual basis by the University of Helsinki’s Department of Folklore Studies."About". ''RMN Newsletter''. University of Helsinki website. Online/ref> Publis ...

'' 3, 2011:14-18.

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

. * Orchard, Andy (1997). ''Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend''. Cassell. * Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. D.S. Brewer. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sessrumnir Locations in Norse mythology Ships in Norse mythology Freyja

Attestations

Theories

See also

Notes

References