Germanic mythology Germanic mythology consists of the body of myths native to the Germanic peoples, including Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon paganism#Mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, and Continental Germanic mythology. It was a key element of Germanic paganism. O ...

, Myrkviðr (

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 ...

"dark wood"Simek (2007:224) or "black forest"Gentry (2002:101–102)) is the name of several European forests. The direct derivatives of the name occur as a place name both in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. Related forms of the name occur elsewhere in Europe, such as in the

Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...

(''Schwarzwald''), and may thus be a general term for dark and dense forests of ancient Europe. The name was anglicised by

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

(in '' Waverley'') and

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

(in '' The House of the Wolfings'') and later popularized by

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

as " Mirkwood".

Etymology

The word ''myrkviðr'' is a compound of two words. The first element is ''myrkr'' "dark", which is cognate to, among others, the English adjectives ''mirky'' and '' murky''.Bjorvand and Lindeman (2007:770) The second element is ''viðr'' "wood, forest".Cleasby and Vigfusson (1874:703)

Attestations

The name is attested as a mythical local name of a forest 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 ...

'' poem ''

Lokasenna ''Lokasenna'' (Old Norse: 'The Flyting of Loki', or 'Loki's Verbal Duel') is one of the poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. The poem presents flyting between the gods and Loki. It is written in the ljóðaháttr metre, typical for wisdom verse. ''L ...

'', and the heroic poems ''

Atlakviða ''Atlakviða'' (''The Lay of Atli'') is one of the heroic poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. One of the main characters is Atli who originates from Attila the Hun. It is one of the most archaic Eddic poems, possibly dating to as early as the 9th cent ...

'', ''

Helgakviða Hundingsbana I "Völsungakviða" or "Helgakviða Hundingsbana I" ("The First Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane") is an Old Norse poem found in the ''Poetic Edda''. It is only preserved in the Icelandic manuscript Codex Regius (ca. 1270). It constitutes one of the Helgi ...

'' and '' Hlöðskviða'', and in prose in '' Fornmanna sögur'', ''

Flateyjarbók ''Flateyjarbók'' (; "Book of Flatey, Breiðafjörður, Flatey") is an important medieval Iceland, Icelandic manuscript. It is also known as GkS 1005 fol. and by the Latin name ''Codex Flateyensis''. It was commissioned by Jón Hákonarson and p ...

'', '' Hervarar Saga, Ála flekks saga''.Cleasby and Vigfusson (1874:549) The localization of Myrkviðr varies by source: # The

Ore Mountains The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at ab ...

in the writings of Thietmar of Merseburg. # The forests north of the Ukrainian steppe during the time of the

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

and the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

in the Norse '' Hervarar saga'' # The forest that separates the

from the

Burgundians The Burgundians were an early Germanic peoples, Germanic tribe or group of tribes. They appeared east in the middle Rhine region in the third century AD, and were later moved west into the Roman Empire, in Roman Gaul, Gaul. In the first and seco ...

Kolmården Kolmården () is a long and wide densely forested rocky ridge that separates the Swedish provinces of Södermanland and Östergötland, two of the country's main agricultural areas, from each other, and in historic times, along with Tylöskog ...

("the dark forest"), in

, in '' Sögubrot'' and in legends such as that of Helge Hundingsbane # The forest south of

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

in ''

Styrbjarnar þáttr Svíakappa ''Styrbjarnar þáttr Svíakappa'' (''The Tale of Styrbjörn the Swedish Champion'') is a short story, a ''þáttr'' on the Swedish claimant and Jomsviking Styrbjörn the Strong preserved in the '' Flatey Book'' (GKS 1005 fol 342-344, ca 1387- ...

'' (the present remnant of this forest is called ''Lunsen'') # Uncertain locations, such as in the '' Völundarkviða'', where it is probably located elsewhere in Scandinavia ( Weyland is here described as a ''Finnish'' prince, which would make him a

Saami The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI, pronounced "Sammy") is an association of American manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components. SAAMI is an accredited standards developer that publishes several A ...

prince). Stanza 1 (on the

swan maiden The "swan maiden" () is a tale classified as Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index, ATU 400, "The Swan Maiden" or "The Man on a Quest for His Lost Wife," in which a man makes a pact with, or marries, a supernatural female being who later departs. The ...

s): #

Mythological. In other sources, such as the ''

'', e.g. ''

'', the location seems to be between

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 ...

and Muspelheim, as Muspell's sons ride through it at

Ragnarök In Norse mythology, (also Ragnarok; or ; ) is a foretold series of impending events, including a great battle in which numerous great Norse mythological figures will perish (including the Æsir, gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdall, a ...

. Stanza 42:

Theories

comments on Myrkviðr in a letter to his eldest grandson: Regarding the forests, Francis Gentry comments that "in the Norse tradition 'crossing the Black Forest' came to signify penetrating the barriers between one world and another, especially the world of the gods and the world of fire, where Surt lives .."

Modern influence

It was first anglicized as '' Mirkwood'' by

in '' Waverley'', followed by

in '' A Tale of the House of the Wolfings'' from 1888, and later by

in his fiction.

Notes

References

* Bugge, Sophus (1896)

''Helge-digtene i den Ældre Edda''. G. E. C. Gad * Bjordvand, Harald; Lindeman, Fredrik Otto (2007). ''Våre arveord''. Novus. * * Humphrey Carpenter, Carpenter, Humphrey (1981). ''The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien''. London: Allen & Unwin * Chadwick, Nora K. (1922)

''Anglo-Saxon and Norse poems''. Cambridge: The University press * Cleasby, Richard; Vigfusson, Gudbrand (1874)

''Icelandic–English Dictionary''. Oxford: Clarendon Press * Rudolf Simek, Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. D.S. Brewer. {{DEFAULTSORT:Myrkvidr Places in Norse mythology Tyrfing cycle Mythological forests

Etymology

Attestations

Theories

Modern influence

See also

Notes

References