Æsir–Vanir War
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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 as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...
, the Æsir–Vanir War was a conflict between two groups of deities that ultimately resulted in the unification of the
Æsir Æsir (Old Norse; singular: ) or ēse (Old English; singular: ) are deities, gods in Germanic paganism. In Old Nordic religion and Nordic mythology, mythology, the precise meaning of the term "" is debated, as it can refer either to the gods i ...
and the
Vanir In Norse mythology, the Vanir (; Old Norse:, singular Vanr) are a group of gods associated with fertility, wisdom, and the ability to see the future. The Vanir are one of two groups of gods (the other being the Æsir) and are the namesake of the ...
into a single pantheon. The war is an important event in Norse mythology, and the implications for the potential
historicity Historicity is the historical actuality of persons and events, meaning the quality of being part of history instead of being a historical myth, legend, or fiction. The historicity of a claim about the past is its factual status. Historicity deno ...
surrounding accounts of the war are a matter of scholarly debate and discourse. Fragmented information about the war appears in surviving sources, including ''
Völuspá ''Völuspá'' (also ''Vǫluspá'', ''Vǫlospá'', or ''Vǫluspǫ́''; Old Norse: 'Prophecy of the völva, a seeress') is the best known poem of the ''Poetic Edda''. It dates back to the tenth century and tells the story from Norse Mythology of ...
'', a poem collected in the ''
Poetic Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems in alliterative verse. It is distinct from the closely related ''Prose Edda'', although both works are seminal to the study of Old Norse ...
'' in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; in the book ''
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 ...
'' in the ''
Prose Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' () or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often considered to have been to some exten ...
'', written or compiled 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 th ...
; and in
euhemerized In the fields of philosophy and mythography, euhemerism () is an approach to the interpretation of mythology in which mythological accounts are presumed to have originated from real historical events or personages. Euhemerism supposes that histor ...
form in the ''
Ynglinga saga ''Ynglinga saga'' ( ) is a Kings' sagas, Kings' saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelanders, Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It is the first section of his ''Heimskringla''. It was first translated into Engl ...
'' from ''
Heimskringla () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland. While authorship of ''Heimskringla'' is nowhere attributed, some scholars assume it is written by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (117 ...
'', also often considered to have been written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century.


Attestations


''Poetic Edda''

In two stanzas of ''Völuspá'', the war is recounted by a
völva In Germanic paganism, a seeress is a woman said to have the ability to foretell future events and perform sorcery. They are also referred to with many other names meaning "prophetess", "staff bearer" and "sorceress", and they are frequently calle ...
(who refers to herself here in the third person) while the god
Óðinn Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Emp ...
questions her. The war is told rather vaguely, and the fact that it describes a war between the Æsir and the Vanir is not completely certain.Crawford (2015:1) In the first of the two stanzas, the völva says that she remembers the first war in the world, when Gullveig was stabbed with spears and then burnt three times in one of Óðinn's halls, yet that Gullveig was reborn three times: In the second stanza, the völva says that they called Gullveig Heiðr (meaning "Bright One"Larrington (1996:7). or potentially "Gleaming" or "Honor"Lindow (2001:165).) whenever she came to houses, that she was a wise völva, and that she cast spells. Heiðr performed
seiðr In Old Norse, (sometimes anglicized as ''seidhr'', ''seidh'', ''seidr'', ''seithr'', ''seith'', or ''seid'') was a type of Magic (paranormal), magic which was practiced in Vikings, Norse society during the Iron Age Scandinavia, Late Scandinavian ...
where she could, did so in a
trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
, and was always the favorite of wicked women: In two later stanzas, the völva tells Óðinn that all the powers went to the judgment seats and discussed whether the Æsir should pay a fine or if all of the gods should instead have equal
tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of lands which the state con ...
, then the völva provides the last of her account of the events surrounding the war. These stanzas are unclear, particularly the second half of the first stanza, but the battle appears to have been precipitated by the entry of Gullveig/Heiðr among the Æsir.Lindow (2001:51-53). The first stanza relates a difficulty in reaching a truce which led to the all-out war described in the second stanza. However, the reference to "all the gods" could, in Lindow's view, indicate a movement towards a community involving both the Æsir and the Vanir. In his translation of the poem, Bellows inverts the order of the two stanzas, stating that "This stanza and stanza 24 he first and second stanzashave been transposed from the order in the manuscripts, for the former describes the battle and the victory of the Wanes anir after which the gods took council, debating whether to pay tribute to the victors, or to admit them, as was finally done, to equal rights of worship."Bellows (1923:11).
Ursula Dronke Ursula Miriam Dronke (née Brown, 3 November 1920 – 8 March 2012Heather O'Donoghue"Ursula Dronke obituary: Inspirational teacher of Old Norse literature specialising in the sagas and poetry of medieval Iceland" ''The Guardian'' 25 March 201 ...
points to extensive wordplay on all the meanings of the and the adjective to signal the core issue of whether the Æsir will surrender their monopoly on human tribute and join with the "all-too-popular" Vanir; as their only alternative, they attack again.Dronke (1997:134).


''Prose Edda''

In the ''Prose Edda'' book ''Skáldskaparmál'', the god
Bragi Bragi (Old Norse) is the skaldic god of poetry in Norse mythology. Etymology The theonym Bragi probably stems from the masculine noun ''bragr'', which can be translated in Old Norse as 'poetry' (cf. Icelandic ''bragur'' 'poem, melody, wise' ...
explains the origin of poetry. Bragi says that it originated in the Æsir–Vanir War, when during the peace conference the Æsir and the Vanir formed a truce by all spitting into a vat. When they left, the gods decided that it should not be poured out, but rather kept as a symbol of their peace, and so from the contents made a man,
Kvasir In Norse mythology, Kvasir (Old Norse: ) was a being born of the saliva of the Æsir and the Vanir, two groups of gods. Extremely wise, Kvasir traveled far and wide, teaching and spreading knowledge. This continued until the dwarfs Fjalar and Gal ...
. Kvasir is later murdered, and from his blood is made the
Mead of Poetry In Norse mythology, the Poetic Mead or Mead of Poetry, also known as Mead of Suttungr, is a mythical beverage that whoever "drinks becomes a skald or scholar" able to recite any information and solve any question. This myth was reported by Snorri ...
.Faulkes (1995:61—62).


''Heimskringla''

In ''Heimskringla'', the author presents a
euhemerized In the fields of philosophy and mythography, euhemerism () is an approach to the interpretation of mythology in which mythological accounts are presumed to have originated from real historical events or personages. Euhemerism supposes that histor ...
account of the war. The account says that Óðinn led a great army from "
Asgard In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr''; "Garden of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in several Old Norse sagas and mythological texts, including the Eddas, however it has also been suggested to be refe ...
" to attack the people of " Vanaheim". However, according to the author, the people of Vanaheim were well-prepared for the invasion; they defended their land so well that victory was up for grabs from both sides, and both sides produced immense damage and ravaged the lands of one another.Hollander (1964:7-8). The two sides eventually tired of the war and both agreed to meet to establish a truce. After doing so, they exchanged
hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...
s. Vanaheim is described as having sent to Asgard its best men:
Njörðr In Norse mythology, Njörðr (Old Norse: ) is a god among the Vanir. Njörðr, father of the deities Freyr and Freyja by Sister-wife of Njörðr, his unnamed sister, was in an ill-fated marriage with the goddess Skaði, lives in Nóatún (myth ...
—described as wealthy—and his son
Freyr Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord'), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested Æsir, god in Norse mythology, associated with kingship, fertility, peace, prosperity, fair weather, and good harvest. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was ...
in exchange for Asgard
Hœnir In Norse mythology, Hœnir (also Hǿnir; modern Icelandic , modern Swedish ) is one of the Æsir. He is mentioned in Vǫluspá as one of the three gods (along with Odin and Lóðurr) that created the first humans. Attestations In ''Völuspá'', ...
—described here as large, handsome, and thought of by the people of Vanaheim well-suited to be a chieftain. Additionally, Asgard sends Mímir—a man of great understanding—in exchange for
Kvasir In Norse mythology, Kvasir (Old Norse: ) was a being born of the saliva of the Æsir and the Vanir, two groups of gods. Extremely wise, Kvasir traveled far and wide, teaching and spreading knowledge. This continued until the dwarfs Fjalar and Gal ...
, which the author describes as the wisest man of Vanaheim. Upon arrival in Vanaheim, Hœnir was immediately made chief, and Mímir often gave him good counsel. However, when Hœnir was at meetings and at the Thing without Mímir by his side, he would always answer the same way: "Let others decide." Subsequently, the Vanaheim folk suspected they had been cheated in the exchange by the Asgard folk, so they seized Mímir and beheaded him and sent the head to Asgard. Óðinn took the head of Mímir,
embalmed Embalming is the art and science of preserving human remains by treating them with embalming chemicals in modern times to forestall decomposition. This is usually done to make the deceased suitable for viewing as part of the funeral ceremony or ...
it with
herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...
s so that it would not rot, and spoke charms over it, which gave it the power to speak to him and reveal to him secrets. Óðinn then appointed Njörðr and Freyr to be priests of sacrificial customs and they became ''Diar'' ("Gods") of the people of Asgard.
Freyja In Norse mythology, 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 char ...
, described as daughter of Njörðr, was the priestess of these sacrifices, and here she is described as introducing
seiðr In Old Norse, (sometimes anglicized as ''seidhr'', ''seidh'', ''seidr'', ''seithr'', ''seith'', or ''seid'') was a type of Magic (paranormal), magic which was practiced in Vikings, Norse society during the Iron Age Scandinavia, Late Scandinavian ...
to Asgard.


Theories

A number of theories surround the Æsir–Vanir War:


Proto-Indo-European basis

As the Vanir are often considered fertility gods, the Æsir–Vanir War has been proposed as a reflection of the invasion of local fertility cults somewhere in regions inhabited by the
Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...
by a more aggressive, warlike cult. This has been proposed as an analogy of the invasion of the
Indo-Europeans The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...
.
Georges Dumézil Georges Edmond Raoul Dumézil (4 March 189811 October 1986) was a French Philology, philologist, Linguistics, linguist, and religious studies scholar who specialized in comparative linguistics and comparative mythology, mythology. He was a prof ...
stated that the war need not necessarily be understood in terms of historicity more than any other myth however.Dumézil (1973:Chapter 1). Scholars have cited parallels between the Æsir–Vanir War, The Rape of the Sabine Women from
Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to th ...
, and the battle between Devas and Asuras from
Hindu mythology Hindu mythology refers to the collection of myths associated with Hinduism, derived from various Hindu texts and traditions. These myths are found in sacred texts such as the Vedas, the Itihasas (the ''Mahabharata'' and the ''Ramayan ...
, providing support for a
Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...
"war of the functions." Explaining these parallels,
J. P. Mallory James Patrick Mallory (born October 25, 1945) is an American archaeologist and Indo-Europeanist. Mallory is an emeritus professor at Queen's University, Belfast; a member of the Royal Irish Academy, and the former editor of the '' Journal of ...
states:
:Basically, the parallels concern the presence of first-(magico-juridical) and second-(warrior) function representatives on the victorious side of a war that ultimately subdues and incorporates third function characters, for example, the Sabine women or the Norse Vanir. Indeed, the ''
Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...
'' itself has also been examined in a similar light. The ultimate structure of the myth, then, is that the three estates of
Proto-Indo-European society Proto-Indo-European society is the reconstructed culture of Proto-Indo-Europeans, the ancient speakers of the Proto-Indo-European language, ancestor of all modern Indo-European languages. Historical linguistics combined with archaeological and ...
were fused only after a war between the first two against the third.Mallory (2005:139).


Other

Many scholars consider the figures of Gullveig/Heiðr and Freyja the same.Grundy (1998:62). This conclusion has been reached through comparisons between Gullveig/Heiðr's use of seiðr in ''Völuspá'' and the mention of Freyja introducing seiðr to the Æsir from the Vanir in ''Heimskringla''. This is at times taken further, to suggest that their "corruption" of the Æsir led to the Æsir–Vanir War. Lindow states that even if the two are not identical, the various accounts of the war seem to share the idea of a disruptive entry of persons into a people. Lindow compares the appearance of Gullveig/Heiðr into the Æsir to Hœnir and Mímir's disruption among the Vanir in ''Heimskringla''. Lindow further states that all three accounts share the notion of acquisition of tools for the conquest of wisdom; the practice of
seiðr In Old Norse, (sometimes anglicized as ''seidhr'', ''seidh'', ''seidr'', ''seithr'', ''seith'', or ''seid'') was a type of Magic (paranormal), magic which was practiced in Vikings, Norse society during the Iron Age Scandinavia, Late Scandinavian ...
in two accounts and the head of Mímir in one.


See also

* Gigantomachy * Theomachy *
Titanomachy In Greek mythology, the Titanomachy (; ) was a ten-year war fought in ancient Thessaly, consisting of most of the Titans (the older generation of gods, based on Mount Othrys) fighting against the Twelve Olympians, Olympians (the younger generati ...
*
War in Heaven The War in Heaven is a mythical conflict between supernatural forces in traditional Christian cosmology, attested in the Book of Revelation alongside proposed parallels in the Hebrew Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is described as the res ...
* Devas *
Asuras Asuras () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Deva (Hinduism), Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhism, ...
* Tollense valley battlefield


Notes and references


Notes


References


Bibliography

* Crawford, Jackson (2015). ''The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes''.
Hackett Publishing Company Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. is an academic publishing house located in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was originally founded and located near Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since beginning operations in 1972, Hackett has concen ...
. * Bellows, Henry Adams (1923). ''The Poetic Edda''. American-Scandinavian Foundation. * Dronke, Ursula (Ed. and Trans.) (1997), ''The Poetic Edda'' volume 2: Mythological Poems.
Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
* Dumézil, Georges (1973). ''Gods of the Ancient Northmen'', trans. Einar Haugen.
University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...
* Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995).
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 th ...
. ''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 and history The term ''everyman'' was used ...
. * Grundy, Stephan (1998). "Freyja and Frigg" as collected in Billington, Sandra.
The Concept of the Goddess
'..
Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...
* Hollander, Lee Milton (Trans.) (1964).
Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway
'.
University of Texas Press The University of Texas Press (or UT Press) is the university press of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly and trade books in several areas, including Latin American studies, Caribbean, Caribbea ...
* Larrington, Carolyne (Trans.) (1999). ''The Poetic Edda''. Oxford World's Classics * Lindow, John (2001).
Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs
'.
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
. * Mallory, J. P. (2005). ''In Search of the Indo-Europeans''.
Thames & Hudson Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Aesir-Vanir War Events in Norse mythology War in mythology Æsir Vanir