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 ...

, Sæhrímnir is the creature killed and eaten every night by the

Æsir The Æsir (Old Norse: ) are the gods of the principal pantheon in Norse religion. They include Odin, Frigg, Höðr, Thor, and Baldr. The second Norse pantheon is the Vanir. In Norse mythology, the two pantheons wage war against each other, res ...

and

einherjar In Norse mythology, the einherjar (singular einheri) literally "army of one", "those who fight alone"Simek, Rudolf. 1993. Dictionary of Northern Mythology. Translated by Angela Hall. p. 71Orchard (1997:36) and Lindow (2001:104).) are those who h ...

. The cook of the gods,

Andhrímnir Andhrímnir (Old Norse "the one exposed to soot" A combination of 'and-' and 'hrīm') is the chef of the Æsir and einherjar in Norse mythology. Every day in Valhalla, he slaughters the beast Sæhrímnir and cooks it in Eldhrímnir, his cauldron ...

, is responsible for the slaughter of Sæhrímnir and its preparation in the cauldron

Eldhrímnir In Norse mythology, Eldhrímnir (Old Norse "fire-sooty"Orchard (1997:37).) is the cauldron in which the cook of the gods, Andhrímnir, prepares Sæhrímnir In Norse mythology, Sæhrímnir is the creature killed and eaten every night by the Æsir ...

. After Sæhrímnir is eaten, the beast is brought back to life again to provide sustenance for the following day. Sæhrímnir is 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 me ...

'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional material, 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 ...

'', 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 ...

. 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 ...

quotes this stanza 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 th ...

'' and specifically states that Sæhrímnir is a

boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is no ...

. However, some scholars have translated the ''Poetic Edda'' attestation, which the ''Prose Edda'' attestation quotes, as not referring to the creature as any specific type. Those scholars who recognize a difference in the taxonomy of the creature between the two sources have commented on the matter, further issues have been raised about the apparently contradictory etymology of the name of the creature in relation to its apparent status as a boar, and some scholars have theorized that the ritual killing of the animal may ultimately stem from religious practices in

Germanic paganism Germanic paganism or Germanic religion refers to the traditional, culturally significant religion of the Germanic peoples. With a chronological range of at least one thousand years in an area covering Scandinavia, the British Isles, modern Germ ...

Etymology

The etymology of the

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 ...

name ''Sæhrímnir'' is problematic; in contradiction to the ''Gylfaginning'' (and, depending upon translator, ''Grímnismál'') description of the animal as a boar, ''Sæhrímnir'' is, in modern scholarship, commonly proposed to mean "sooty sea-beast" or "sooty sea-animal" (which may be connected to Old Norse ''seyðir'', meaning 'cooking ditch').Orchard (1997:136), Lindow (2001:263), and Simek (2007:273). ''Seyðir'' connection is from Simek (2007:273). Attempts at explaining the apparent contradiction have been made by scholars (see ''theories'' section below).

Attestations

Sæhrímnir is mentioned once in the ''Poetic Edda'' and twice in the ''Prose Edda''. In the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''Grímnismál'', Grímnir (the god

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 ...

in disguise) comments on the creature. Translations of the stanza vary:

In chapter 38 of the ''Prose Edda'' book ''Gylfaginning'', Gangleri (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) comments that "you say that all those men that have fallen in battle since the beginning of the world have now come to Odin in Val-hall. What has he got to offer them food? I should have thought that there must be a pretty large number there." High replies that it is true there are a pretty large number of men there, adding many more have yet to arrive, yet that "there will seem too few when the wolf comes." However, High adds that food is not a problem because there will never be so many people in Valhalla that the meat of Sæhrímnir (which he specifically calls a

) cannot sufficiently feed them. High adds that Sæhrímnir is cooked every day by the cook Andhrímnir in the pot Eldhrimnir, and is again whole every evening. High then quotes the above-mentioned ''Grímnismál'' stanza in support. Gangleri then asks if Odin eats the same, to which High responds that Odin gives the food on his table to his wolves, for Odin himself consumes only wine and needs no food (and again High thereafter quotes a stanza from ''Grímnismál'' in support).Faulkes (1995:32—33). A final mention of the beast appears in a list of hog names in the ''

Nafnaþulur ''Nafnaþulur'' (Old Norse: ) is a subsection of the ''Prose Edda'', the last part of the ''Skáldskaparmál ''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'The Language of Poetry'; c. 50,000 words; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda''. The sectio ...

'' section 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 ...

''.Faulkes (1995:164).

Theories

Scholar

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 ...

comments that the theme of the eternally renewing beast is also found in myths of the god

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 ...

's goats (

Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr Tanngrisnir (Old Norse: , literal meaning "teeth thin", or "one that has gaps between the teeth") and Tanngnjóstr (, "teeth grinder" or "one that grinds teeth") are the goats who pull the chariot of the god Thor in Norse mythology. They are atte ...

) and may point to sacrificial rites in

shamanic Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

practices. Simek finds a difference between the ''Grímnismál'' and ''Gylfaginning'' and explains it as a result of an embellishment on

Snorri Snorri (; ) is a masculine given name. People with the name include: * Snorri Þorbrandsson, a character in the Icelandic ''Eyrbyggja saga'' * Snorri Goði or Snorri Þorgrímsson (963–1031), a prominent chieftain in Western Iceland, featured i ...

's part, which he says owes more to the introduction of "characteristics of a medieval

paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...

".Simek (2007:273). 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 th ...

says that no information has survived about the worship of heroes in

(as opposed to the worship of the gods) but proposes a potential connection between Sæhrímnir and hero worship:

: Grecian sacrifices to heroes differed from those offered to gods: a god had only the viscera and fat of the beast presented to him, and was content with the mounting odour; a deified hero must have the very flesh and blood to consume. Thus the einherjar admitted into
Valhöll 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 ...
feast on the boiled flesh of the boar Sæhrîmnir, and drink with the
Ases The ' (plural '), occasionally ''assarius'' (plural ''assarii'', rendered into Greek as , ''assárion'') was a bronze, and later copper, coin used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire. Republican era coinage The Romans replaced the usag ...
; it is never said that the Ases shared in the food .. Are we to infer from this a difference in the sacrifices offered to gods and to demigods?"Grimm (1882:386).

Notes

References

* Bellows, Henry Adams (1923). ''The Poetic Edda''.

The American-Scandinavian Foundation The American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) is an American non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting international understanding through educational and cultural exchange between the United States and Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway ...

. * 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 (James Steven Stallybrass Trans.) (1882). '' Teutonic Mythology: Translated from the Fourth Edition with Notes and Appendix by James Stallybrass''. Volume I. London: George Bell and Sons. * Hollander, Lee M. (Trans.) (1990). ''The Poetic Edda''.

University of Texas Press The University of Texas Press (or UT Press) is a university press that is part of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly books and journals in several areas, including Latin American studies, Texan ...

. * 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 books ...

. * Orchard, Andy (1997). ''Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend''. Cassell. * Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. D.S. Brewer. * Thorpe, Benjamin (Trans) (1866). ''The Elder Edda of Saemund Sigfusson''.

Norrœna Society The Norrœna Society was an organization dedicated to Northern European culture, that published sets of reprints of classic 19th-century editions, mostly translations, of Old Norse literary and historical works, Northern European folklore, and medi ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sehrimnir Saehrimnir Mythological pigs Mythological food and drink Wild boars

Etymology

Attestations

Theories

See also

Notes

References