Angrboða (

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was 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 ...

: ; also Angrboda) is a''

jötunn A (also jotun; plural ; in the normalised scholarly spelling of Old Norse, ; or, in Old English, , plural ) is a type of being in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, are often contrasted with gods (the Æsir and Vanir) and with other no ...

'' 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 ...

. She is the mate of

Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...

and the mother of monsters. She is only mentioned once 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 ...

(''

Völuspá hin skamma ''Völuspá hin skamma'' (Old Norse: 'The Short Völuspá) is an Old Norse poem which survives as a handful of stanzas in ''Hyndluljóð'', in the ''Poetic Edda'', and as one stanza in the ''Gylfaginning'' section of Snorri Sturluson's ''Prose Edda' ...

)'' as the mother of Fenrir by

. 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 ...

(''

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 ...

'') describes her as "a giantess in Jötunheimar" and as the mother of three monsters: the wolf Fenrir, the

Midgard In Germanic cosmology, Midgard (an anglicised form of Old Norse ; Old English , Old Saxon , Old High German , and Gothic ''Midjun-gards''; "middle yard", "middle enclosure") is the name for Earth (equivalent in meaning to the Greek term : oikou ...

serpent

Jörmungandr In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr (, see Etymology), also known as the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent (, "worm of Midgard"), is an unfathomably large and monstrous sea serpent or worm who dwells in the world sea, encircling the Earth ( Midga ...

, and the ruler of the dead Hel.

Name

The

name ''Angrboða'' has been translated as 'the one who brings grief', 'she-who-offers-sorrow', or 'harm-bidder'. The first element is related to the English word "anger", but means "sorrow" or "regret" in Old Norse, the later meaning is retained in Scandinavian languages. In Norwegian and Danish the word is rendered as "anger" while Icelandic and Faroese has "angur" and Swedish "ånger". The second element "boða" is cognate with the English word ''bode'' as in "this does not bode well". According to some scholars, the name ''Angrboða'' is probably a late invention dating from no earlier than the 12th century, although the tradition of the three monsters born of Loki and a ''jötunn'' may be of greater age.

Attestations

Angrboða

In ''Völuspá hin skamma'' (Short

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 of ''

Hyndluljóð ''Hyndluljóð'' (Old Norse: 'The Lay of Hyndla') is an Old Norse poem often considered a part of the ''Poetic Edda''. It is preserved in its entirety only in ''Flateyjarbók'', but some stanzas are also quoted in the ''Prose Edda'', where they ...

''), Angrboða is mentioned as the mate of Loki and mother of the wolf (Fenrir). ''Gylfaginning'' (Beguiling of Gylfi) mentions the three monstrous children of Angrboða: the wolf Fenrir, the Midgard serpent Jörmungand, and the ruler of the dead Hel.

Giantess in Ironwood

'' (Prophecy of the

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 ...

) also mentions a ''jötunn'' living in Járnvid (Ironwood, the forest where female ''jötnar ''live), most likely identified with Angrboða. This

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'', ; ) is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have either. ...

is paraphrased 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 ...

in ''Gylfaginning'': In the stanza 42 of ''

'', Eggþér is portrayed as the

herder A herder is a pastoralism, pastoral worker responsible for the care and management of a herd or flock of domestic animals, usually on extensive management, open pasture. It is particularly associated with nomadic pastoralism, nomadic or transhuma ...

of the ''jötunn'' who lives in

Járnviðr In Norse mythology, Járnviðr (Old Norse "Iron-wood"Lindow (2001:204-205).) is a forest located east of Midgard, inhabited by trollwomen who bore '' jötnar'' and giant wolves. Járnviðr is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th c ...

(Ironwood). Peter H. Salus and Paul B. Taylor argue that he may have been Angrboða's wolf-herder.

In popular culture

In '' God of War Ragnarök'' (2022), Angrboða (in-game spelt as Angrboda) appears as a recurring character in the story. Saturn's moon Angrboda is named after her.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Angrboda Gýgjar Loki