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 ...

, Auðr (

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 ...

"prosperity"Simek (2007:22).) is the son of the personified night,

Nótt In Norse mythology, Night, Old West Norse: (), Old East Norse: (),Orchard (1997:120). is a goddess and personification of the night. In both the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda ...

, fathered by

Naglfari In Nordic mythology, Naglfari is the father of Auðr by the personified night, Nótt.William Ricketts Cooper (1876). ''An Archaic Dictionary: Biographical, Historical, and Mythological: From the Egyptian, Assyrian, and Etruscan Monuments and Papy ...

, and uncle of

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, 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 g ...

. Auðr is attested 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 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 the poetry of

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 compo ...

Attestations

In the ''Prose Edda'', Auðr is mentioned three times; once in the book ''Gylfaginning'' and twice in '' Skáldskaparmál''. In chapter 10 of ''Gylfaginning'',

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 t ...

says that, during Nótt's marriage to Naglfari, the couple had a son, Auðr.Faulkes (1995:14). In chapter 32 of ''Skáldskaparmál'', means of referring to

Jörð Jörð (), also named Fjorgyn or Hlodyn, is the personification of earth and a goddess in Norse mythology. She is the mother of the thunder god Thor and a sexual partner of Odin. Jörð is attested in Danish history , composed in the 12th century ...

, the personified earth, are provided, including "sister of Auðr" and "sister of

Dagr Dagr (Old Norse 'day')Lindow (2001:91). is the divine personification of the day in Norse mythology. He appears in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th cen ...

", the personified day. In the same chapter, a work by the 10th century

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 ...

is provided that mentions Auðr ("Auðr's splendid sister").Faulkes (1995:90—91).

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 and Nordic Studies at the University of Bonn. Simek specializes in Germanic studies, and is the author ...

theorizes that Auðr is the invention of Snorri, but says that Snorri's reason for doing so is unknown. Simek notes that ''Auðr'' is a female name in other Icelandic sources. Simek does not mention the skaldic reference to the figure.

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 and history The term ''everyman'' was used ...

. * Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. D.S. Brewer. Norse gods {{DEFAULTSORT:Audr

Attestations

Theories

See also

Notes

References