A
hörgr (
Old NorseOld Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
, plural
hörgar) or
hearg (Old English) was a type of religious building or
altarAn altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices and votive offerings are made for religious purposes, or some other sacred place where ceremonies take place. Altars are usually found at a shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
possibly consisting of a heap of stones, used in
Norse paganismNorse paganism is a term used to describe the religious traditions which were common amongst the Germanic tribes living in Nordic countries prior to and during the Christianization of Northern Europe. Norse paganism is therefore a subset of Germanic paganism, which was practiced in the lands...
. Hörgrs are attested in the
Poetic EddaThe Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends.Codex Regius was written in the...
; compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; the
Prose EddaThe Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda or simply Edda, is an Old Norse language Icelandic collection of four sections interspersed with excerpts from earlier skaldic and Eddic poetry containing tales from Norse mythology...
; written in the 13th century by
Snorri SturlusonSnorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
,
saga-Video Games:*Saga , an MMORTS computer game developed by Silverlode Interactive*SaGa, a video game franchise by Square Enix-Old Norse:*Saga, stories in Old Norse about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, etc....
s, in the poetry of
skaldThe skald was a member of a group of poets, whose courtly poetry is associated with the courts of Scandinavian and Icelandic leaders during the Viking age, who composed and performed renditions of aspects of what we now characterise as Old Norse poetry .The most prevalent metre of skaldic poetry is...
s, the Old English poem
BeowulfBeowulf is an Old English heroic epic poem of unknown authorship, dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript from between the 8th and the early 11th century, set in Denmark and Sweden...
, and in various place names, often in connection with Germanic deities.
Rudolf SimekRudolf Simek is an Austrian Germanist and Philologian.Simek studied German literature, history, philosophy and Catholic theology in the University of Vienna. Then he became a librarian and a docent there. He taught among others in the universities of Edinburgh, Tromsø and Sydney...
says that
hörgr may have originally exclusively meant "holy place", whereas the Old English noun
hearg could mean "
holy groveA sacred grove is a grove of trees of great religious importance to a particular culture. Sacred groves were most prominent in the Ancient Near East and prehistoric Europe, but feature in various cultures throughout the world...
" and/or "temple, idol".
The term
hörgr is used three times in poems collected in the
Poetic EddaThe Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends.Codex Regius was written in the...
.
A
hörgr (
Old NorseOld Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
, plural
hörgar) or
hearg (Old English) was a type of religious building or
altarAn altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices and votive offerings are made for religious purposes, or some other sacred place where ceremonies take place. Altars are usually found at a shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
possibly consisting of a heap of stones, used in
Norse paganismNorse paganism is a term used to describe the religious traditions which were common amongst the Germanic tribes living in Nordic countries prior to and during the Christianization of Northern Europe. Norse paganism is therefore a subset of Germanic paganism, which was practiced in the lands...
. Hörgrs are attested in the
Poetic EddaThe Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends.Codex Regius was written in the...
; compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; the
Prose EddaThe Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda or simply Edda, is an Old Norse language Icelandic collection of four sections interspersed with excerpts from earlier skaldic and Eddic poetry containing tales from Norse mythology...
; written in the 13th century by
Snorri SturlusonSnorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
,
saga-Video Games:*Saga , an MMORTS computer game developed by Silverlode Interactive*SaGa, a video game franchise by Square Enix-Old Norse:*Saga, stories in Old Norse about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, etc....
s, in the poetry of
skaldThe skald was a member of a group of poets, whose courtly poetry is associated with the courts of Scandinavian and Icelandic leaders during the Viking age, who composed and performed renditions of aspects of what we now characterise as Old Norse poetry .The most prevalent metre of skaldic poetry is...
s, the Old English poem
BeowulfBeowulf is an Old English heroic epic poem of unknown authorship, dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript from between the 8th and the early 11th century, set in Denmark and Sweden...
, and in various place names, often in connection with Germanic deities.
Etymology
Rudolf SimekRudolf Simek is an Austrian Germanist and Philologian.Simek studied German literature, history, philosophy and Catholic theology in the University of Vienna. Then he became a librarian and a docent there. He taught among others in the universities of Edinburgh, Tromsø and Sydney...
says that
hörgr may have originally exclusively meant "holy place", whereas the Old English noun
hearg could mean "
holy groveA sacred grove is a grove of trees of great religious importance to a particular culture. Sacred groves were most prominent in the Ancient Near East and prehistoric Europe, but feature in various cultures throughout the world...
" and/or "temple, idol".
Attestations
The term
hörgr is used three times in poems collected in the
Poetic EddaThe Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends.Codex Regius was written in the...
. In a stanza early into the poem
VöluspáVöluspá is the first and best known poem of the Poetic Edda. It tells the story of the creation of the world and its coming end related by a völva addressing Odin...
, the
völvaA Völva was a priestess in Norse paganism, and a recurring motif in Norse mythology.-Names and etymology:The Völvas and their male counterparts were referred to by many names...
reciting the poem describes that, early in the mythological timeline, the gods met together at the location of Iðavöllr and constructed a hörgr and a
hofHof may refer to:In places:* Hof, Germany, a city in Bavaria, Germany** Hof , a district in Bavaria* Hof, Rhineland-Palatinate, a municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany* Hof, Iceland, a small village in Iceland...
(
Henry Adams BellowsHenry Adams Bellows was a lawyer, state legislator, and jurist born in Rockingham, Vermont. He was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives from Littleton, New Hampshire in 1839. He was subsequently elected again to the House from Concord, New Hampshire in 1856–1857, and served as...
and Ursula Dronke here
glossA gloss is a brief summary of a word's meaning, equivalent to the dictionary entry of that word, but only a word or two in length. It is typically used for the meaning of a word in another language, and hence a simple translation....
hörgr as "temples"):
- Old Norse:
- Hittoz æsir á Iðavelli,
- þeir er hǫrg ok hof hátimbroðo.
|
Henry Adams Bellows Henry Adams Bellows was a lawyer, state legislator, and jurist born in Rockingham, Vermont. He was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives from Littleton, New Hampshire in 1839. He was subsequently elected again to the House from Concord, New Hampshire in 1856–1857, and served as...
translation:
At Ithavoll met the mighty gods;
Shrines and temples they timbered high; |
Ursula Dronke translation:
Æsir met on Eddying Plain
they who built towering altars and temples. |
|
In the poem
VafþrúðnismálIn Norse mythology, Vafþrúðnismál is the third poem in the Poetic Edda. It is a conversation in verse form conducted initially between the Æsir Odin and Frigg, and subsequently between Odin and the giant Vafþrúðnir...
Gagnráðr (the god
OdinOdin , is considered the chief god in Norse paganism and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon Wōden and the Old High German Wotan, it is descended from Proto-Germanic *Wōđinaz or *Wōđanaz.The name Odin is generally accepted as the modern translation; although, in some cases, older...
in disguise) engages in a game of wits with the jötunn
VafþrúðnirVafþrúðnir is a wise jötunn in Norse mythology. In the Poetic Edda poem Vafþrúðnismál, Vafþrúðnir acts as both Odin's host and opponent in a deadly battle of wits, resulting in his defeat.-References:...
. Gagnráðr asks Vafþrúðnir from whence the Van god Njörðr came, for though he rules over many hofs and Hörgrs, Njörðr was not raised among the Æsir (
Benjamin ThorpeBenjamin Thorpe was an English Anglo-Saxon scholar.After studying for four years at Copenhagen University, under the Danish philologist Rasmus Christian Rask, he returned to England in 1830, and in 1832 published an English version of Caedmon's metrical paraphrase of portions of the Holy...
here glosses
hörgr with "offer-steads" and Bellows glosses with "shrines"):
Benjamin Thorpe translation:
- Tell me tenthly, since thou all the origin
- of the gods knowest, Vafthrudnir!
- whence Niörd came among the Æsir's sons?
- O'er fanes and offer-steads he rules by hundreds,
- yet he was not among the Æsir born.
|
Henry Adams Bellows translation:
- Tenth answer me now, if thou knowest all
- The fate that is fixed for the gods:
- Whence came up Njorth to the kin of the gods,—
- Though of gods he was never begot?
|
|
In the poem
HyndluljóðHyndluljóð or Lay of Hyndla is an Old Norse poem often considered a part of the Poetic Edda. It is only preserved in its entirety in Flateyjarbók but some stanzas are also quoted in the Prose Edda where they are said to come from Völuspá hin skamma.In the poem, the goddess Freyja meets the völva...
, the goddess Freyja speaks favorably of
ÓttarIn Norse Mythology, Óttar, also known as Óttar the Simple, was a protégé of the goddess Freyja. He appeared in Hyndluljóð , a poem in the Poetic Edda. In this tale, Óttar is said to be very pious to the goddesses...
for having worshiped her so faithfully by using a hörgr. Freyja details that the hörgr is constructed of a heap of stones, and that Óttar very commonly reddened these stones with sacrificial blood (Thorpe glosses
hörgr with "offer-stead", Bellows with "shrine", and Orchard with "altar"):
- Benjamin Thorpe
Benjamin Thorpe was an English Anglo-Saxon scholar.After studying for four years at Copenhagen University, under the Danish philologist Rasmus Christian Rask, he returned to England in 1830, and in 1832 published an English version of Caedmon's metrical paraphrase of portions of the Holy...
translation:
- An offer-stead to me he raised,
- with stones constructed;
- now is the stone
- as glass become.
- With the blood of oxen
- he newly sprinkled it.
- Ottar ever trusted the Asyniur
Ass may refer to:*Donkey**Asinus subgenus*American English colloquialism for buttocks **Same as Arse *Æsir, the Old Norse for "deity"*Ass , by BadfingerASS may stand for:...
. |
Henry Adams Bellows translation:
For me a shrine of stones he made,
And now to glass the rock has grown;
Oft with the blood of beasts was it red;
In the goddesses ever did Ottar trust. |
Andy Orchard translation:
He made me a high altar
of heaped-up stones:
the gathered rocks
have grown all bloody,
and he reddened them again
with the fresh blood of cows;
Ottar has always
had faith in the ásynjur. |
|