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Eir
In Norse mythology, Eir (Old Norse: , "protection, help, mercy"Orchard (1997:36).) is a goddess or valkyrie associated with medical skill. Eir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson; and in skaldic poetry, including a runic inscription from Bergen, Norway from around 1300. Scholars have theorized about whether these three sources refer to the same figure, and debate whether Eir may have been originally a healing goddess or a valkyrie. In addition, Eir has been compared to the Greek goddess Hygieia. Attestations ''Poetic Edda'' In the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''Fjölsvinnsmál'', the watchman Fjölsviðr presents a list of the maidens that attend the lady of the keep— Menglöð—that includes Eir, and states that they all sit on the hill Lyfjaberg (Old Norse "hill of healing"Bellows (1923:248). or "healing mountain"Simek (2007:198).). The exchange betwee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ( or ; from ) is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become ('single fighters' or 'once fighters').Orchard (1997:36) and Lindow (2001:104). When the are not preparing for the cataclysmic events of Ragnarök, the valkyries bear them mead. Valkyries also appear as lovers of heroes and other mortals, where they are sometimes described as the daughters of royalty, sometimes accompanied by ravens and sometimes connected to swans or horses. Valkyries are attested in the ''Poetic Edda'' (a book of poems compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources), the ''Prose Edda'', the (both by Snorri Sturluson) and the (one of the Sagas of Icelanders), all written—or compiled—in the 13th century. They appear throughout the poetry of skalds, in a 14th-century magical formula, charm, and in various runic inscriptions. The Old English cognate term appears ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skald
A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry in alliterative verse, the other being Eddic poetry. Skaldic poems were traditionally composed to honor kings, but were sometimes Extemporaneous speaking, ex tempore. They include both extended works and single verses (''Lausavísa, lausavísur''). They are characteristically more ornate in form and diction than eddic poems, employing many kennings, which require some knowledge of Norse mythology, and heiti, which are formal nouns used in place of more prosaic synonyms. ''Dróttkvætt'' metre (poetry), metre is a type of skaldic verse form that most often use internal rhyme and alliteration. More than 5,500 skaldic verses have survived, preserved in more than 700 manuscripts, including in several sagas and in Snorri Sturluson's ''Prose Edda'', a handbook of skaldic composition that led to a revival of the art. Many of these vers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kormákr Ögmundarson
Kormákr Ögmundarson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) was a 10th-century Icelandic skald. He is the protagonist of '' Kormáks saga'' which preserves a significant amount of poetry attributed to him. According to ''Skáldatal,'' he was also the court poet of Sigurðr Hlaðajarl and fragments of a ''drápa'' to the jarl are preserved in ''Skáldskaparmál ''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'Poetic Diction' or 'The Language of Poetry'; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda'', compiled by Snorri Sturluson. It consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bra ...''. The following stanzas represent some of Kormákr's love poetry. He tells of the first time he met Steingerðr, the love of his lifeRead aloud with modern Icelandic pronunciation. References * Einar Ól. Sveinsson (Ed.) (1939). ''Íslenzk fornrit VIII - Vatnsdœla saga''. Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka fornritafélag. * Hollander, Lee M. (Ed.) (1949). ''The Sagas of Kormák a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hygieia
Hygieia is a goddess from Greek mythology (more commonly spelled Hygeia, sometimes Hygiea; ; or , or ). Hygieia is a goddess of health ( – ''hugieia''), cleanliness and hygiene. Her name is the source for the word "hygiene". Hygieia developed from a light personification to a full goddess within the cult of Asklepios. Together with her father, she appeared in dreams of patients who visited their temples. Patients performed the healing ritual temple sleep to get healed. Hygieia is related to the Greek god of medicine, Asclepius, who is the son of the Olympian god Apollo. Hygieia is most commonly referred to as a daughter of Asclepius and his wife Epione. Hygieia and her four sisters each performed a facet of Apollo's art: Hygieia (health, cleanliness, and sanitation); Panacea (universal remedy); Iaso (recuperation from illness); Aceso (the healing process); and Aegle (radiant good health). The role of Hygieia in antiquity One notable reference regarding Hygieia's ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenning
A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech, a figuratively-phrased compound term that is used in place of a simple single-word noun. For instance, the Old English kenning () means , as does (). A kenning has two parts: a base-word (also known as a head-word) and a determinant. So in ''whale's road'', ''road'' is the base-word, and ''whale's'' is the determinant. This is the same structure as in the modern English term ''skyscraper''; the base-word here would be ''scraper'', and the determinant ''sky''. In some languages, kennings can recurse, with one element of the kenning being replaced by another kenning. The meaning of the kenning is known as its referent (in the case of ''whale's road'', ''sea'' is the referent). Note that ''skyscraper'' is not a kenning, as it is not a circumlocution for a simpler term; it just means . Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse-Icelandic and Old English alliterative verse. They continued to be a feature of Icelandic poe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vár
In Norse mythology, Vár or Vór (Old Norse, meaning either "pledge"Orchard (1997:173). or "beloved"Byock (2005:178) and Simek (2007:353).) is a Áss, goddess associated with oaths and agreements. Vár is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson; and kennings found in skaldic poetry and a runic alphabet, runic inscription. Scholars have proposed theories about the implications of the goddess. Attestations In the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''Þrymskviða'', the blessing of Vár is invoked by the jötunn Þrymr after his "bride" (who is actually the god Thor disguised as the goddess Freyja) is hallowed with the stolen hammer of Thor, Mjöllnir, at their wedding: In the chapter 35 of the ''Prose Edda'' book ''Gylfaginning'', High, Just-As-High, and Third, High tells Gylfi, Gangleri (described as king Gylfi in disguise) about the ásynjur. High lists Vár ninth among ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hallfreðr Vandræðaskáld
Hallfreðr Óttarsson or Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld (''Troublesome Poet'') (c. 965 – c. 1007) was an Icelandic skald. He is the protagonist of ''Hallfreðar saga'' according to which he was the court poet first of Hákon Sigurðarson, then of Óláfr Tryggvason and finally of Eiríkr Hákonarson. A significant amount of poetry by Hallfreðr has been preserved, primarily in ''Hallfreðar saga'' and the kings' sagas but a few fragments are also quoted in ''Skáldskaparmál''. In his '' lausavísur'' Hallfreðr was an unusually personal skald, offering insight into his emotional life and, especially, his troubled and reluctant conversion from paganism to Christianity under the tutelage of king Óláfr. The following is an example. The '' Bergsbók'' manuscript attributes an ''Óláfsdrápa Tryggvasonar'' to Hallfreðr, but this attribution is rejected by modern scholars. External links page at the Skaldic Project [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gísla Saga
''Gísla saga Súrssonar'' (, ''The saga of Gísli the Outlaw'') is one of the sagas of Icelanders. It tells the story of Gísli, a tragic hero who must kill one of his brothers-in-law to avenge another brother-in-law. Gisli is forced to stay on the run for thirteen years before he is hunted down and killed. The events depicted in the saga took place between 860 and 980. Manuscripts and dating ''Gísla saga'' survives in thirty-three manuscripts and fragments from the Middle Ages down to the twentieth century. It is generally thought to have been composed in written form in the first half of the thirteenth century, but the earliest manuscript, the fragment Reykjavík, Stofnun Árna Magnússonar, AM 445 c I 4to, is from around 1400 and the earliest extensive text in AM 556a 4to, from the later fifteenth. The saga is generally thought to exist in three main versions originating in the Middle Ages: * the 'fragmentary version' (attested by AM 445 c I 4to, often known in scholarship as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Svipdagr
Svipdagr (Old Norse: "sudden day"Orchard (1997:157).) is the hero of the two Old Norse Poetic Edda, Eddaic poems Grógaldr and Fjölsvinnsmál, which are contained within the body of one work; Svipdagsmál. Plot Svipdagr is set a task by his Stepfamily#In fiction, stepmother, to meet the goddess Menglöð, who is his "fated bride." In order to accomplish this seemingly impossible task, he summons by necromancy the shade of his dead mother, Gróa, a völva who also appears in the ''Prose Edda'', to cast nine spells for him. This she does and the first poem abruptly ends. At the beginning of the second poem, Svipdagr arrives at Menglöð's castle, where he is interrogated in a game of riddles by the watchman, from whom he conceals his true name (identifying himself as Vindkald(r) "Wind-Cold" apparently hoping to pass himself off as a frost giant). The watchman is named Fjölsviðr, a name of Odin in Grímnismál 47. He is accompanied by his wolf-hounds Geri and Gifr. After a se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skáldskaparmál
''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'Poetic Diction' or 'The Language of Poetry'; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda'', compiled by Snorri Sturluson. It consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bragi, the god of poetry, in which both stories of the Æsir and discourse on the nature of poetry are intertwined. The work additionally includes tales of human heroes and kings. The overarching mythological setup gradually fades and the work becomes more of an early form of a poetic thesaurus of Old Norse, presumably intended for usage by skalds (Norse poets and bards of the era). Much of the work is focused on poetic phrases and descriptors. The origin of these '' kennings'' is given; Bragi delivers a systematic list of ''kennings'' for various Æsir, people, places, and things. He then goes on to discuss poetic language in some detail, in particular '' heiti'', essentially poetic synonyms or alternate words. For example, the simple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gylfaginning
''Gylfaginning'' (Old Norse: 'The Beguiling of Gylfi' or 'The Deluding of Gylfi'; 13th century Old Norse pronunciation ) is the first main part of the 13th century ''Prose Edda'', after the initial Prologue. The ''Gylfaginning'' takes the form of a dialogue between a Swedish King Gylfi and three men on thrones in Asgard called High, Just-As-High, and Third. Gylfi asks many questions of the three men on the history and future of the Æsir. The creation and eventual destruction of the world are described, as are many other aspects of Norse mythology. While the Gylfaginning never makes it explicit, the three are often presumed to be guises of Odin. The second part of the ''Prose Edda'' is the ''Skáldskaparmál'' and the third ''Háttatal''. The work is often attributed to or considered to have been compiled by Snorri Sturluson. Summary The ''Gylfaginning'' tells the story of Gylfi, a king of "the land that men now call Sweden". He is tricked by one of the goddesses of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
