Lóðurr is a
godAss 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:...
in
Norse mythologyNorse, North Germanic, or Scandinavian mythology comprises the myths of North Germanic pre-Christian religion.Most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled in medieval Iceland in Old Norse, notably as the Edda....
. 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...
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...
he is assigned a role in animating the first humans, but apart from that he is hardly ever mentioned, and remains obscure. Scholars have variously identified him with
LokiIn Norse mythology, Loki is a god or jötunn . Loki's relation with the gods varies by source. Loki assists the gods, and sometimes causes problems for them. Loki is a shape shifter and in separate incidents he appears in the form of a salmon and a mare. Loki's positive relations with the gods ends...
,
VéVE, Ve or ve may refer to:* Vili and Vé, gods in Norse mythology* Vé , a shrine in Germanic paganism and modern place name element* Ve , a character from the Cyrillic alphabet* Ve , a character of the Arabic alphabet...
, Vili and
FreyrFreyr is one of the most important gods of Norse paganism. Freyr was highly associated with agriculture, weather and, as a phallic fertility god, Freyr "bestows peace and pleasure on mortals"...
, but consensus has not been reached on any one theory.
The name's meaning is unknown. It has been speculatively linked to various
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....
words, such as
lóð, "fruit, land",
ljóðar, "people" and
laða, "to attract".
Lóðurr is a
godAss 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:...
in
Norse mythologyNorse, North Germanic, or Scandinavian mythology comprises the myths of North Germanic pre-Christian religion.Most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled in medieval Iceland in Old Norse, notably as the Edda....
. 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...
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...
he is assigned a role in animating the first humans, but apart from that he is hardly ever mentioned, and remains obscure. Scholars have variously identified him with
LokiIn Norse mythology, Loki is a god or jötunn . Loki's relation with the gods varies by source. Loki assists the gods, and sometimes causes problems for them. Loki is a shape shifter and in separate incidents he appears in the form of a salmon and a mare. Loki's positive relations with the gods ends...
,
VéVE, Ve or ve may refer to:* Vili and Vé, gods in Norse mythology* Vé , a shrine in Germanic paganism and modern place name element* Ve , a character from the Cyrillic alphabet* Ve , a character of the Arabic alphabet...
, Vili and
FreyrFreyr is one of the most important gods of Norse paganism. Freyr was highly associated with agriculture, weather and, as a phallic fertility god, Freyr "bestows peace and pleasure on mortals"...
, but consensus has not been reached on any one theory.
Name and etymology
The name's meaning is unknown. It has been speculatively linked to various
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....
words, such as
lóð, "fruit, land",
ljóðar, "people" and
laða, "to attract". The
GothicGothic is an extinct Germanic language that was spoken by the Goths. It is known primarily from the Codex Argenteus, a 6th century copy of a 4th century Bible translation, and is the only East Germanic language with a sizable corpus...
words
liudan, "to grow" and
laudi, "shape", as well as the
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
word
lodern, "to blaze", have also been mentioned in this context.
The metrical position of Lóðurr's name in the skaldic poem
ÍslendingadrápaÍslendingadrápa is a skaldic poem composed in Iceland in the 12th or 13th centuries. It is preserved only in AM 748 Ib 4to, one of the manuscripts of the Prose Edda. The manuscript identifies the author as one Haukr Valdísarson, a man otherwise unknown. The poem consists of 26 dróttkvætt stanzas...
, composed in the strict dróttkvætt metre, indicates that it contains the sound value /ó/ rather than /o/. This evidence, while strong, is not incontrovertible and some scholars have held out for a
Loðurr reading.
Lóðurr's name can be
represented or anglicizedThe orthography of the Old Norse language since the introduction of the Latin alphabet in Iceland was varied historically. In modern times, scholars established a standardized spelling for the language. When Old Norse names are used in texts in other languages, modifications to this spelling are...
as
Lóður,
Lódurr,
Lódur,
Lóthurr,
Lóthur,
Lódhurr,
Lódhur,
Lodurr,
Lodur,
Lothurr,
Lothur,
Lodhurr,
Loðurr,
Loður or
Lodhur.
Völuspá
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...
the name
Lóðurr occurs only once; in
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...
where the gods animate the first humans.
- 17. Unz þrír kvámu
- ór því liði
- öflgir ok ástgir
- æsir at húsi,
- fundu á landi
- lítt megandi
- Ask ok Emblu
- ørlöglausa.
- 18. Önd þau né áttu,
- óð þau né höfðu,
- lá né læti
- né litu goða.
- Önd gaf Óðinn,
- óð gaf Hœnir,
- lá gaf Lóðurr
- ok litu góða. — Normalized text
|
17. Until three came
out of that company,
mighty and loving
Æsir to a house.
They found on land,
little capable,
Ash and Embla Ask and Embla , according to Norse mythology, were the first two humans created by the gods. The pair are attested in both the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson...
,
without destiny.
- 18. Breath they had not,
- spirit they had not,
- no film of flesh nor cry of voice,
- nor comely hues.
- Breath Óðinn
Odin , 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...
gave,
- spirit Hœnir
In Norse mythology, Hœnir is one of the Æsir. In Ynglinga saga, along with Mímir, he went to the Vanir as a hostage to seal a truce after the Æsir-Vanir War. There, Hœnir was indecisive and relied on Mímir for all of his decisions, grunting noncommital answers when Mímir was absent.In Völuspá, at...
gave,
- film of flesh Lóðurr gave
- and comely hues. — Dronke's translation
|
17. Until there came three
mighty and benevolent
Æsir to the world
from their assembly.
They found on earth,
nearly powerless,
Ask and Embla,
void of destiny.
- 18. Spirit they possessed not,
- sense they had not,
- blood nor motive powers,
- nor goodly colour.
- Spirit gave Odin,
- sense gave Hoenir,
- blood gave Lodur,
- and goodly colour. — Thorpe's translation
|
|
The precise meaning of these strophes and their context in
Völuspá is debated. Most relevant for the present discussion are Lóðurr's gifts of
lá and
litu góða. The word
lá is obscure and the translations "film of flesh" and "blood" are just two of the many possibilities that have been suggested. The phrase "litu góða" is somewhat less difficult and traditionally interpreted as "good colours", "good shape" or even "good looks".
The 19th century Swedish scholar
Viktor RydbergAbraham Viktor Rydberg was a Swedish writer and a member of the Swedish Academy, 1877-1895...
proposed a reading of
litu goða, meaning "shape of gods", and saw the line as indication that the gods created human beings in their own image. While the manuscripts do not distinguish between the
phonemeIn a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
s /o/ and /ó/ most other scholars have preferred the /ó/ reading for
metricalIn poetry, the meter is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse meter, or a certain set of meters alternating in a particular order. Prosody is a more general linguistic term, that includes poetical meter but also the rhythmic aspects of...
reasons. The metrical structure of
Völuspás fornyrðislag is, however, not very rigid and in 1983 Rydberg's theory was championed again by Gro Steinsland. It remains debated.
Other attestations
Apart from the strophe in Völuspá
, Lóðurr's name occurs only twice in the original sources. The name is found in the skaldic poems HáleygjatalHáleygjatal is a skaldic poem by Eyvindr skáldaspillir made in honour of Haakon Sigurdsson and his ancestors, in the end of the 10th century.The poem is only partially preserved in disjoint parts quoted in Skáldskaparmál, Heimskringla and two other manuscripts of kings' sagas. It appears to be a...
and ÍslendingadrápaÍslendingadrápa is a skaldic poem composed in Iceland in the 12th or 13th centuries. It is preserved only in AM 748 Ib 4to, one of the manuscripts of the Prose Edda. The manuscript identifies the author as one Haukr Valdísarson, a man otherwise unknown. The poem consists of 26 dróttkvætt stanzas...
where "Lóðurr's friend" is used as a kenningA kenning is a circumlocution used instead of an ordinary noun in Old Norse and later Icelandic poetry...
for Odin. This seems consistent with Lóðurr's role in Völuspá
.
In Snorri SturlusonSnorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
's 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...
, Lóðurr is conspicuously absent. Here the creation of humans is attributed to the sons of BorrBorr or Burr was the son of Búri and the father of Odin in Norse mythology. He is mentioned in the Gylfaginning part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda....
, which Snorri names elsewhere as Odin, Vili and VéVE, Ve or ve may refer to:* Vili and Vé, gods in Norse mythology* Vé , a shrine in Germanic paganism and modern place name element* Ve , a character from the Cyrillic alphabet* Ve , a character of the Arabic alphabet...
.
| Normalized text of the R manuscript |
Brodeur's translation |
Þá er þeir Bors synir gengu með sævarströndu, fundu þeir tré tvau, ok tóku upp tréin ok sköpuðu af menn. Gaf hinn fyrsti [ö]nd ok líf, annarr vit ok hrœring, þriði ásjónu, málit ok heyrn ok sjón; gáfu þeim klæði [ok] nöfn. Hét karlmaðrinn Askr en konan Embla, ok ólusk þaðan af mannkindin, þeim er bygðin var gefin undir Miðgarði. |
When the sons of Borr were walking along the sea-strand, they found two trees, and took up the trees and shaped men of them: the first gave them spirit and life; the second, wit and feeling; the third, form, speech, hearing, and sight. They gave them clothing and names: the male was called Askr, and the female Embla, and of them was mankind begotten, which received a dwelling-place under Midgard. |
|
Snorri often quotes Völuspá in his work but in this case he does not. We cannot know whether he knew the strophes above or whether he was working entirely from other sources.
Nordendorf fibula
Another source sometimes brought into the discussion is the Nordendorf fibulaThe Nordendorf fibula is an early 7th century Alammanic fibula found in Nordendorf near Augsburg .-Inscription:Containing the names of Wodan, the chief god of the Alamanni, and Donar, the thunder god, the fibula bears the following Elder Futhark inscription:Which is usually interpreted...
. This artifact, dating from about 600 CECommon Era, abbreviated as CE, is a designation for the calendar system most commonly used world-wide for numbering the year part of the date...
, contains the runic inscription logaþorewodanwigiþonar. This is usually interpreted as Logaþore Wodan Wigiþonar where Wodan is 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...
and Wigiþonar probably is ThorThor is the red-haired and bearded god of thunder in Germanic mythology and Germanic paganism, and its subsets: Norse paganism, Anglo-Saxon paganism and Continental Germanic paganism....
. It would be natural for logaþore to be the name of a third god, but there is no obvious identification in Norse mythology as we know it. Both Lóðurr and Loki have been proposed, but the etymological reasoning is tenuous, and firm conclusions can not be reached.
Theories
Since the Prose Edda mentions the sons of Borr in the same context as Völuspá does Hœnir and Lóðurr some scholars have reasoned that Lóðurr might be another name for either Vili or Vé. Viktor RydbergAbraham Viktor Rydberg was a Swedish writer and a member of the Swedish Academy, 1877-1895...
was an early proponent of this theory but recently it has received little attention.
A more popular theory proposed by the scholar Ursula Dronke is that Lóðurr is "a third name of Loki/LoptrIn Norse mythology, Loki is a god or jötunn . Loki's relation with the gods varies by source. Loki assists the gods, and sometimes causes problems for them. Loki is a shape shifter and in separate incidents he appears in the form of a salmon and a mare. Loki's positive relations with the gods ends...
". The main argument for this is that the gods Odin, Hœnir and Loki occur as a trio in HaustlöngHaustlöng is a skaldic poem composed around the beginning of the 10th century. The poem is preserved in the 13th century Prose Edda, which quotes two groups of stanzas from it, and is attributed to the Norwegian skald Þjóðólfr of Hvinir. The poem describes mythological scenes painted on a shield...
and the prose prologue to ReginsmálReginsmál or Sigurðarkviða Fáfnisbana II is an Eddic poem, found in the Codex Regius manuscript...
. The Odin-kenning "Lóðurr's friend" furthermore appears to parallel the kenning "Loptr's friend" and Loki is similarly referred to as "Hœnir's friend" in Haustlöng, strengthening the trio connection. While many scholars agree with this identification, it is not universally accepted. One argument against it is that Loki appears as a malevolent being later in Völuspá, seemingly conflicting with the image of Lóðurr as a "mighty and loving" figure.
An identification with FreyrFreyr is one of the most important gods of Norse paganism. Freyr was highly associated with agriculture, weather and, as a phallic fertility god, Freyr "bestows peace and pleasure on mortals"...
has also been proposed. This theory emphasizes the possible fertility related meanings of Lóðurr's name but otherwise has little direct evidence to support it.