Fulla (Volla)
Listed by Snorri as one of the twelve divine goddesses, she appears mainly to function as Frigg's maid, taking care of the goddess's shoes. She also, sometimes, functions as Frigg's messenger. Some believe she is Frigg's sister. Snorri stated she was a virgin with long golden hair who wore a gold band around her head. It has been suggested that this band represents the binding around a sheaf of grain, making her a fertility goddess.
When Hermod rode to Hell to ask Hel if Baldr could return to Asgard, Nanna gave him a gold ring to give to Fulla, among other gifts. Fulla is called a maid of Frigg in The Lay of Gimnir in the Poetic Edda, and is sent on an errand by Frigg. We also have mention of Fulla in Gisla saga
Surssonar:
My Fulla, fair faced, the goddess of stones
Who gladdens me much, shall hear of her friend
Standing straight, unafraid in the rain of the spears...
He died in combat in the crags soon after uttering these words. He had been fighting off his assailants with stones and sword, and was burried under stones, which was customary.
Sunday, September 12, 1982
Wednesday, June 9, 1982
Frigg (Norse)
Frigg
Goddess of marriage. She is the wife of Odin, and Friday is named for her (according to some). Her abode was called Fensalir [The Ocean Halls]. She weaved the clouds.
Goddess of marriage. She is the wife of Odin, and Friday is named for her (according to some). Her abode was called Fensalir [The Ocean Halls]. She weaved the clouds.
Saturday, June 5, 1982
Freyr (Norse)
Freyr
Freyr (sometimes anglicized Frey, from *frawjaz "lord") is one of the most important gods of Norse paganism. Freyr was highly associated with farming, weather and, as a phallic fertility god, Freyr "bestows peace and pleasure on mortals". Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden and seen as an ancestor of the Swedish royal house.
In the Icelandic books the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, Freyr is presented as one of the Vanir, the son of the sea god Njörðr, brother of the goddess Freyja. The gods gave him Álfheimr, the realm of the Elves, as a teething present. He rides the shining dwarf-made boar Gullinbursti and possesses the ship Skíðblaðnir which always has a favorable breeze and can be folded together and carried in a pouch when it is not being used. He has the servants Skírnir, Byggvir, and Beyla.
The most extensive surviving Freyr myth relates Freyr's falling in love with the female jötunn Gerðr. Eventually, she becomes his wife but first Freyr has to give away his magic sword which fights on its own "if wise be he who wields it". Although deprived of this weapon, Freyr defeats the jötunn Beli with an antler. However, lacking his sword, Freyr will be killed by the fire jötunn Surtr during the events of Ragnarök.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freyr
Mythological kings of Sweden | Indo-European deities | Fertility gods | Agricultural gods | Nature gods | Sky and weather gods | Solar gods | Love and lust gods | Mythological kings | Vanir
Freyr (sometimes anglicized Frey, from *frawjaz "lord") is one of the most important gods of Norse paganism. Freyr was highly associated with farming, weather and, as a phallic fertility god, Freyr "bestows peace and pleasure on mortals". Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden and seen as an ancestor of the Swedish royal house.
In the Icelandic books the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, Freyr is presented as one of the Vanir, the son of the sea god Njörðr, brother of the goddess Freyja. The gods gave him Álfheimr, the realm of the Elves, as a teething present. He rides the shining dwarf-made boar Gullinbursti and possesses the ship Skíðblaðnir which always has a favorable breeze and can be folded together and carried in a pouch when it is not being used. He has the servants Skírnir, Byggvir, and Beyla.
The most extensive surviving Freyr myth relates Freyr's falling in love with the female jötunn Gerðr. Eventually, she becomes his wife but first Freyr has to give away his magic sword which fights on its own "if wise be he who wields it". Although deprived of this weapon, Freyr defeats the jötunn Beli with an antler. However, lacking his sword, Freyr will be killed by the fire jötunn Surtr during the events of Ragnarök.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freyr
Mythological kings of Sweden | Indo-European deities | Fertility gods | Agricultural gods | Nature gods | Sky and weather gods | Solar gods | Love and lust gods | Mythological kings | Vanir
Freya (Norse)
Freya
Goddess of sex, fertility, war, and wealth. Originally one of the Vanir. She was the daughter of Njord, and the sister of Frey. Her daughters, by Od, are named Hnoss, who is so beautiful that whatever is valuable and lovely is named "treasure" after her, and Gersemi. She lived in Folkvang [battlefield] and each day chose half of the slain warriors to split with Odin. She had a husband named Od, whom she somehow lost and cried golden tears for. Many believe Od is Odin. Her chariot was drawn by male cats (their names are never stated) and she owned the precious Brisings' necklace, which she slept with four dwarves to acquire. She also owned a feather coat which she could use to fly between the worlds. After she went to live with the Aesir as a hostage, she taught them -- including Odin -- seidr. Some sources say Friday is named after her.
Freyja (sometimes anglicized as Freya), is a major goddess in Norse Paganism, a subset of Germanic Paganism. Because the documented source of this religious tradition, the Norse Mythology, was transmitted and altered by Christian medieval historians, the actual role, pagan practices, and worship of the goddess are uncertain.
In the Eddas, Freyja is portrayed as a goddess of love, beauty and fertility. Blonde, blue-eyed, and beautiful, Freyja is described as the fairest of all goddesses, and people prayed to her for happiness in love. She was also called on to assist childbirths and prayed to for good seasons.
Freyja was also associated with war, battle, death, magic, prophecy and wealth. She is cited as receiving half of the dead lost in battle in her hall Fólkvangr, whereas Odin would receive the other half at Valhalla. The origin of Seid was ascribed to Freyja.
Frigg and Freyja are the two principal goddesses in Norse religion, and described as the highest amongst the Asynjur. Freyja is the goddess most honoured after or along with Frigg, and her worship seems to have been even the more prevalent and important of the two. In the Droplaugarsona Saga, it is described that in a temple at Ölvusvatn, Iceland, statues of Frigg and Freyja have been seated upon higher thrones opposite those of Thor and Yngve. These statues were arrayed in drapery and ornaments of gold and silver.
In Heimskringla, Freyja is also presented as a mythological Princess of Sweden. Her father Njörðr is seen as the second mythological King of Sweden, and her twin brother Yngve is the third.Yngve's and Freyja's mother is Njörðr's twin sister (who has been often linked to the ancient Germanic goddess Nerthus), as it is a custom of the Vanir and allowed by their laws.
Further in Heimskringla, it is written that many temples and statues of native pagan gods and goddesses were raided and destroyed by Olaf Tryggvason and Saint Olaf during the gradual and violent process of the Christianization of Scandinavia. During and after the extent that the process of Christianization was complete, Freyja and many things associated with her were demonized by the growing influence of Christian missionaries. After Christian influence was cemented in law, traces of belief went increasingly underground into mainly rural areas, surviving into modern times in Germanic folklore and most recently reconstructed to varying degrees in Germanic neopaganism.
Goddess of sex, fertility, war, and wealth. Originally one of the Vanir. She was the daughter of Njord, and the sister of Frey. Her daughters, by Od, are named Hnoss, who is so beautiful that whatever is valuable and lovely is named "treasure" after her, and Gersemi. She lived in Folkvang [battlefield] and each day chose half of the slain warriors to split with Odin. She had a husband named Od, whom she somehow lost and cried golden tears for. Many believe Od is Odin. Her chariot was drawn by male cats (their names are never stated) and she owned the precious Brisings' necklace, which she slept with four dwarves to acquire. She also owned a feather coat which she could use to fly between the worlds. After she went to live with the Aesir as a hostage, she taught them -- including Odin -- seidr. Some sources say Friday is named after her.
Freyja (sometimes anglicized as Freya), is a major goddess in Norse Paganism, a subset of Germanic Paganism. Because the documented source of this religious tradition, the Norse Mythology, was transmitted and altered by Christian medieval historians, the actual role, pagan practices, and worship of the goddess are uncertain.
In the Eddas, Freyja is portrayed as a goddess of love, beauty and fertility. Blonde, blue-eyed, and beautiful, Freyja is described as the fairest of all goddesses, and people prayed to her for happiness in love. She was also called on to assist childbirths and prayed to for good seasons.
Freyja was also associated with war, battle, death, magic, prophecy and wealth. She is cited as receiving half of the dead lost in battle in her hall Fólkvangr, whereas Odin would receive the other half at Valhalla. The origin of Seid was ascribed to Freyja.
Frigg and Freyja are the two principal goddesses in Norse religion, and described as the highest amongst the Asynjur. Freyja is the goddess most honoured after or along with Frigg, and her worship seems to have been even the more prevalent and important of the two. In the Droplaugarsona Saga, it is described that in a temple at Ölvusvatn, Iceland, statues of Frigg and Freyja have been seated upon higher thrones opposite those of Thor and Yngve. These statues were arrayed in drapery and ornaments of gold and silver.
In Heimskringla, Freyja is also presented as a mythological Princess of Sweden. Her father Njörðr is seen as the second mythological King of Sweden, and her twin brother Yngve is the third.Yngve's and Freyja's mother is Njörðr's twin sister (who has been often linked to the ancient Germanic goddess Nerthus), as it is a custom of the Vanir and allowed by their laws.
Further in Heimskringla, it is written that many temples and statues of native pagan gods and goddesses were raided and destroyed by Olaf Tryggvason and Saint Olaf during the gradual and violent process of the Christianization of Scandinavia. During and after the extent that the process of Christianization was complete, Freyja and many things associated with her were demonized by the growing influence of Christian missionaries. After Christian influence was cemented in law, traces of belief went increasingly underground into mainly rural areas, surviving into modern times in Germanic folklore and most recently reconstructed to varying degrees in Germanic neopaganism.
Frey (Norse)
Frey
God of weather and fertility. He ruled over the land of the light elves, Alfheim. He was the son of Njord and Njord's sister (mayhaps Ingun), and the brother of Freya. His step-mother was Skadi. To make peace, the Aesir and Vanir exchanged hostages. He, along with Njord and Freya, were sent by the Vanir to dwell with the Aesir. He owned the ship Skidbladnir which was made for him by dwarves. It could sail on the land, sea, or through the air. It was large enough to hold all the gods, yet could be folded up and fit into a pocket. He also owned a chariot drawn by two boars, Gullinbursti and Slidrugtanni. He could ride Gullinbursti [golden-bristled] through the sky. It was made by dwarfs for Loki to give to Frey. His name means "Lord" and it is thought that he was at one time the consort of his sister Freya [Lady]. His wife was Gerd, a beautiful giantess who he fell in love with when he espied her from Odin's throne. He sent his servant, Skirnir, to win her for him. For this task, Frey lent Skirnir his sword which "swings itself if wise he who wields it" and his horse. After Skirnir's threatening of her, Gerd agreed to give herself to Frey in nine nights at the forest Barri. At the Ragnarok, Frey will be killed by the fire giant Surt.
Also known as Yng, Frey is named as the progenitor of the swedish royal family. There was a statue of Frey in the temple at Uppsala in Sweden, the center of his cult.
God of weather and fertility. He ruled over the land of the light elves, Alfheim. He was the son of Njord and Njord's sister (mayhaps Ingun), and the brother of Freya. His step-mother was Skadi. To make peace, the Aesir and Vanir exchanged hostages. He, along with Njord and Freya, were sent by the Vanir to dwell with the Aesir. He owned the ship Skidbladnir which was made for him by dwarves. It could sail on the land, sea, or through the air. It was large enough to hold all the gods, yet could be folded up and fit into a pocket. He also owned a chariot drawn by two boars, Gullinbursti and Slidrugtanni. He could ride Gullinbursti [golden-bristled] through the sky. It was made by dwarfs for Loki to give to Frey. His name means "Lord" and it is thought that he was at one time the consort of his sister Freya [Lady]. His wife was Gerd, a beautiful giantess who he fell in love with when he espied her from Odin's throne. He sent his servant, Skirnir, to win her for him. For this task, Frey lent Skirnir his sword which "swings itself if wise he who wields it" and his horse. After Skirnir's threatening of her, Gerd agreed to give herself to Frey in nine nights at the forest Barri. At the Ragnarok, Frey will be killed by the fire giant Surt.
Also known as Yng, Frey is named as the progenitor of the swedish royal family. There was a statue of Frey in the temple at Uppsala in Sweden, the center of his cult.
Thursday, March 18, 1982
Forseti (Norse)
Forseti
Forseti (Old Norse "the presiding one," actually "president" in Modern Icelandic and Faroese) is an Æsir god of justice and reconciliation in Norse mythology. He is generally identified with Fosite, a god of the Frisians. Jacob Grimm noted that if, as Adam of Bremen states, Fosite's sacred island was Heligoland, that would make him an ideal candidate for a deity known to both Frisians and Scandinavians, but that it is surprising he is never mentioned by Saxo Grammaticus.
Grimm took Forseti, "praeses", to be the older form of the name, postulating an (unattested) Old High German equivalent forasizo (cf. modern German Vorsitzender "one who presides"). However, he later came to prefer a derivation from fors, a "whirling stream" or "cataract," connected to the spring and the god's veneration by seagoing peoples. However, in other Old Norse words, for example forboð, "forbidding, ban," the prefix for- has a pejorative sense. So it is more plausible that Fosite is the older name and Forseti a folk etymology.
Norse Forseti
According to Snorri Sturluson in the Prose Edda, Forseti is the son of Baldr and Nanna. His home is Glitnir, its name, meaning "shining," referring to its silver ceiling and golden pillars, which radiated light that could be seen from a great distance. His is the best of courts; all those who come before him leave reconciled. This suggests skill in mediation and is in contrast to his fellow god Týr, who "is not called a reconciler of men." However, as de Vries points out, the only basis for associating Forseti with justice seems to have been his name; there is no corroborating evidence in Norse mythology. "Puts to sleep all suits" or "stills all strifes" may have been a late addition to the strophe Snorri cites, from which he derives the information.
The first element in the name Forsetlund (Old Norse Forsetalundr), a farm in the parish of Onsøy ('Odins island'), in eastern Norway, seem to be the genitive case of Forseti, offering evidence he was worshipped there.
Frisian Fosite
According to Alcuin's Life of St. Willebrord, the saint visited an island between Frisia and Denmark that was sacred to Fosite and was called Fositesland after the god worshipped there. There was a sacred spring from which water had to be drawn in silence, it was so holy. Willebrord defiled the spring by baptizing people in it and killing a cow there. Altfrid tells the same story of St. Liudger. Adam of Bremen retells the story and adds that the island was Heiligland, i.e., Heligoland.
There is also a legend of the origins of the Lex Frisionum, the written Frisian law. Wishing to assemble written lawcodes for all his subject peoples, Charlemagne summoned twelve representatives of the Frisian people, the Āsegas ("law-speakers"), and demanded they recite their people's laws. When they could not do so after several days, he let them choose between death, slavery, or being set adrift in a rudderless boat. They chose the last and prayed for help, whereupon a thirteenth man appeared, with a golden axe on his shoulder. He steered the boat to land with the axe, then threw it ashore; a spring appeared where it landed. He taught them laws and then disappeared. The stranger and the spring are identified with Fosite and the sacred spring of Fositesland.
Fosite has been suggested to be a loan of Greek Poseidon into pre-Proto-Germanic, perhaps via Greeks purchasing amber (Pytheas is known to have visited the area of Heligoland in search of amber).
Justice gods | Peace gods | Æsir
Forseti (Old Norse "the presiding one," actually "president" in Modern Icelandic and Faroese) is an Æsir god of justice and reconciliation in Norse mythology. He is generally identified with Fosite, a god of the Frisians. Jacob Grimm noted that if, as Adam of Bremen states, Fosite's sacred island was Heligoland, that would make him an ideal candidate for a deity known to both Frisians and Scandinavians, but that it is surprising he is never mentioned by Saxo Grammaticus.
Grimm took Forseti, "praeses", to be the older form of the name, postulating an (unattested) Old High German equivalent forasizo (cf. modern German Vorsitzender "one who presides"). However, he later came to prefer a derivation from fors, a "whirling stream" or "cataract," connected to the spring and the god's veneration by seagoing peoples. However, in other Old Norse words, for example forboð, "forbidding, ban," the prefix for- has a pejorative sense. So it is more plausible that Fosite is the older name and Forseti a folk etymology.
Norse Forseti
According to Snorri Sturluson in the Prose Edda, Forseti is the son of Baldr and Nanna. His home is Glitnir, its name, meaning "shining," referring to its silver ceiling and golden pillars, which radiated light that could be seen from a great distance. His is the best of courts; all those who come before him leave reconciled. This suggests skill in mediation and is in contrast to his fellow god Týr, who "is not called a reconciler of men." However, as de Vries points out, the only basis for associating Forseti with justice seems to have been his name; there is no corroborating evidence in Norse mythology. "Puts to sleep all suits" or "stills all strifes" may have been a late addition to the strophe Snorri cites, from which he derives the information.
The first element in the name Forsetlund (Old Norse Forsetalundr), a farm in the parish of Onsøy ('Odins island'), in eastern Norway, seem to be the genitive case of Forseti, offering evidence he was worshipped there.
Frisian Fosite
According to Alcuin's Life of St. Willebrord, the saint visited an island between Frisia and Denmark that was sacred to Fosite and was called Fositesland after the god worshipped there. There was a sacred spring from which water had to be drawn in silence, it was so holy. Willebrord defiled the spring by baptizing people in it and killing a cow there. Altfrid tells the same story of St. Liudger. Adam of Bremen retells the story and adds that the island was Heiligland, i.e., Heligoland.
There is also a legend of the origins of the Lex Frisionum, the written Frisian law. Wishing to assemble written lawcodes for all his subject peoples, Charlemagne summoned twelve representatives of the Frisian people, the Āsegas ("law-speakers"), and demanded they recite their people's laws. When they could not do so after several days, he let them choose between death, slavery, or being set adrift in a rudderless boat. They chose the last and prayed for help, whereupon a thirteenth man appeared, with a golden axe on his shoulder. He steered the boat to land with the axe, then threw it ashore; a spring appeared where it landed. He taught them laws and then disappeared. The stranger and the spring are identified with Fosite and the sacred spring of Fositesland.
Fosite has been suggested to be a loan of Greek Poseidon into pre-Proto-Germanic, perhaps via Greeks purchasing amber (Pytheas is known to have visited the area of Heligoland in search of amber).
Justice gods | Peace gods | Æsir
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