Tófa (''Tófu'') is the wife of
Angantyr
Angantyr was the name of three male characters from the same line in Norse mythology, and who appear in '' Hervarar saga'', ''Gesta Danorum'', and Faroese ballads.
The last generation named Angantyr also appears to be mentioned as ''Incgentheo ...
and mother of
Hervor
Hervör is the name shared by two female characters in the Tyrfing Cycle, presented in '' The Saga of Hervör and Heidrek'' with parts found in the '' Poetic Edda''. The first, the viking Hervör, challenged her father Angantýr's ghost in his gr ...
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 ...
. She is mentioned only once 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 ...
'', in ''
Hervararkviða
''Hervararkviða'', (published in English translation as The Waking of Angantyr, or The Incantation of Hervor) is an Old Norse poem from the '' Hervarar saga'', and which is sometimes included in editions of the ''Poetic Edda''.
The poem is abou ...
''. The ''Poetic Edda'' is part of the
Tyrfing Cycle
Tyrfing, Tirfing or Tyrving (the name is of uncertain origin, possibly connected to the Terwingi) was a magic sword in Norse mythology, which features in the Tyrfing Cycle, which includes a poem from the ''Poetic Edda'' called '' Hervararkv ...
of
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 ...
legends.
Tófu is mentioned only once, in the
legendary saga
A legendary saga or ''fornaldarsaga'' (literally, "story/history of the ancient era") is a Norse saga that, unlike the Icelanders' sagas, takes place before the settlement of Iceland.The article ''Fornaldarsagor'' in ''Nationalencyklopedin'' (1991 ...
of Hervor's Waking of Angantyr:
The name is a shortened form of ''Thorfrithr'', meaning "beautiful
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 ...
" or "peace of Thor".
[Teresa Norman,]
Tova
" ''A World of Baby Names''. New York: Penguin, 2003. 504.
See also
*
Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks
*
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...
*
Legendary saga
A legendary saga or ''fornaldarsaga'' (literally, "story/history of the ancient era") is a Norse saga that, unlike the Icelanders' sagas, takes place before the settlement of Iceland.The article ''Fornaldarsagor'' in ''Nationalencyklopedin'' (1991 ...
*
Norse saga
is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to the Play ...
*''
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 ...
''
References
Other sources
*
Henrikson, Alf (1998) ''Stora mytologiska uppslagsboken'' (Bokförlaget Forum - Bonnier AB)
Related Reading
*
Vigfússon, Gudbranðour (with
F. York Powell) (1883) ''Corpus Poeticum Boreale: The Poetry of the Old Northern Tongue, from the Earliest Times to the Thirteenth Century, Volume 1, Eddic Poetry'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press)
{{Portal bar, Iceland, Literature, History, Society
Icelandic literature
Eddic poetry