Óðr (Old Norse for Divine Madness, frantic, furious, vehement, eager, as a noun mind, feeling and also song, poetry is a figure associated with the major goddess Freyja. The Prose Edda and Heimskringla, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, both describe Óðr as Freyjas husband and father of her daughter Hnoss. Heimskringla adds that the couple produced another daughter, Gersemi. A number of theories have been proposed about Óðr, generally that he is somehow a hypostasis of the deity Odin due to their similarities. The Old Norse noun óðr may be the origin of the theonym Óðinn (Anglicized as Odin), and it means mind, soul or spirit (so used in stanza 18.1 of the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá). In addition, óðr can also mean song, poetry and inspiration, and it has connotations of possession. It is derived from a Proto-Germanic *wōð- or *wōþ- and it is related to Gothic wôds (raging, possessed), Old High German wuot (fury rage, to be insane) and the Anglo-Saxon words wód (fury, rabies) and wóð (song, cry, voice, poetry, eloquence). Old Norse derivations include œði strong excitation, possession. Ultimately these Germanic words are derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *wāt-, which meant to blow (on), to fan (flames), fig. to inspire. The same root also appears in Latin vātēs (seer, singer), which is considered to be a Celtic loanword, compare to Irish fāith (poet, but originally excited, inspired). The root has also been said to appear in Sanskrit vāt- to fan. Theories Óðr is often theorized as somehow connected to Odin (Old Norse: Óðinn), the head of the Æsir in Norse mythology, by way of etymological similarities between the two (Lindow states that the linguistic relationship is identical to that of Ullr and Ullin—often considered as variant names of a single god), and the fact that both are described as going on long journeys, though Lindow points out that Snorri is careful to keep them apart. Scholar Viktor Rydberg proposed that Freyjas husband Oðr is identical with the hero Svipdag from the poems Grougaldr and Fjolsvinsmal. Jacob Grimm and others have long identified Menglad, the neck-lace lover, Svipdags love interest in that poem, with Freyja. Scholar Hilda Ellis Davidson proposes that a cult of the Vanir may have influenced a cult of the Æsir in the waning days of Norse paganism during the Christianization of Scandinavia, potentially resulting in the figure of Óðr in Norse mythology, which she refers to as a strange double of Odin. Scholar Rudolf Simek says that since Óðr appears in a kenning employed by the 11th century skald Einarr Skúlason (in Skáldskaparmál) and in the Poetic Edda poems Völuspá and Hyndluljóð, Óðr is not a late invention. Simek says that the most obvious explanation is to identify Óðr with Odin, noting the similarity between their names (and agreeing with the Ullr/Ullin parallel), the long absences (comparing them to Odins exile in Gesta Danorum), and Óðrs marriage with Freyja. Simek adds that although these similarities exist, there are things that speak against it, such as that Freyjas tears for Odin and her search are unmotivated, and that the reference to Hnoss as their only child is surprising - why, for example, should Baldr not be mentioned? Simek notes that these issues have resulted in sometimes very different explanations; Sophus Bugge and Hjalmar Falk saw a reflection of the Greek god Adonis in Óðr, Rudolf Much saw a reflection in the god Attis, and Lee Hollander theorizes a reflection of the folktale of Amor and Psyche in Snorris Prose Edda account of Óðr and Freyja. Simek concurs that, if the two gods were identical, Snorri would not have kept them so apart; yet that the names Odin and Óðr are so close that a lack of connection between the two gods isnt possible. Some scholars have examined the relationship between the two in an attempt to find older and younger layers in the figures of Óðr and Odin, but Simek says that this approach has yet to yield any results that are convincing due to the sparsity of sources that mention Óðr. Scholar Stephan Grundy comments that while it is conceivable that Óðr may have been invented as a separate figure from Odin after Christianization, the notion is implausible because a separate, independent figure by the name of Wod survives in folklore involving the Wild Hunt in areas as far south from Scandinavia as Switzerland. Grundy notes that Óðr appears to date to at least before the Viking Age. Grundy opines that as pointed out by Jan de Vries and others, there is little doubt that Óðr and Odin were once the same figure. Grundy says that Óðinn is an adjectival form of Óðr, and that Óðr may be the elder form of the two. Grundy theorizes that the goddesses Frigg and Freyja did not stem from a single goddess. If they did not, Grundy says, the question of explaining the relationship between Freyja and Óðr becomes central, which has been one of the strongest points made in favor of the descent of Frigg and Freyja from a common goddess. Grundy notes that it is rarely mentioned that the Germanic peoples sometimes practiced polygamy, and cites chapter 18 of Tacitus 1st century AD work Germania, where Tacitus records that while monogamy has very few exceptions in Germanic society, there are those who actively seek a polygamous marriage for the sake of high birth. Grundy contrasts this with accounts of polygynous marriages among the Merovingians and Carolingians, points out that the only Germanic law-code that expressly forbids such relationships is that of the Visigoths, and notes that while polygynous marriages are rarely attested in Scandinavian sources, Harald I of Norway was married to seven wives simultaneously. Grundy concludes that, as gods tend to reflect the social norms of their worshippers, it very possible that Odin/Óðr originally could have rejoiced in Frigg and Freyja simultaneously. Grundy posits that, over time polygynous marriages dwindled during the Viking Age and into the Christianization of the North Germanic territories and, as a result, such a relationship was less easily reflected in the deities of the people.
Posted on: Mon, 18 Nov 2013 20:16:44 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015