In Norse mythology, Glasir (

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 settlemen ...

"gleaming"Orchard (1997:57).) is a tree or grove, described as "the most beautiful among gods and men", bearing golden red leaves located in the realm of

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 ...

, outside the doors of

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 ...

. Glasir is attested in the 13th century ''

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 ...

'' 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, ...

'' where it receives three mentions, one of which mentions its location and all of which focus on the golden leaves of the tree. Glasislundr (

"Glasir's Grove")Orchard (2011:126). appears 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 ...

'' poem ''

Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar "Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar" ("Lay of Helgi Hjörvarðsson") is a poem collected in the '' Poetic Edda'', found in the Codex Regius manuscript where it follows '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana I'' and precedes '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana II''. The p ...

''.

Attestations

The ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar'' opens in Glasislundr, where a talking bird offers his services in exchange for a sacrifice from the prince Atli Iðmundarson. In chapter 32 of the ''Prose Edda'' book ''Skáldskaparmál'', poetic means of referring to

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

are provided, including "Glasir's foliage".Faulkes (1995:94). In chapter 34, the question "why is gold called Glasir's foliage or leaves?" is posed. In response, Glasir is described as standing before the doors of the hall of Valhalla, all of its foliage red gold. An unattributed verse is then recorded:

Glasir stands with golden leaf before Sigtyr's din'shalls.Faulkes (1995:96).

Glasir is then described as the "most beautiful tree among gods and men". In a surviving fragment of the skaldic poem ''

Bjarkamál ''Bjarkamál'' (''Bjarkemål'' in modern Norwegian and Danish) is an Old Norse poem from around the year 1000. Only a few lines have survived in the Icelandic version, the rest is known from Saxo's version in Latin. The latter consists of 298 hex ...

'' located in chapter 45, Glasir is again listed as a kenning for gold ("Glasir's glowing foliage").Faulkes (1995:112–113).

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 ...

. * Orchard, Andy (1997). ''Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend''. Cassell. * Orchard, Andy (Trans.) (2011). ''The Elder Edda''.

Penguin Classics Penguin Classics is an imprint of Penguin Books under which classic works of literature are published in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean among other languages. Literary critics see books in this series as important members of the West ...

. {{Norse mythology Trees in Germanic mythology

Attestations

See also

Notes

References