Veðrfölnir, also known as Vedrfolnir, is a hawk that resides at the top of the world tree Yggdrasil in Norse mythology. He perches between the eyes of a giant eagle and observes everything in the world with his sharp gaze. Yggdrasil represents the old Norse cosmic perspective, which included all nine realms of life.
The heavenly and terrestrial realms, as well as the human and divine realms, are all included in this enormous ash tree, with Muspelheim, the home of cosmic flames, and Niflheim, the cold world of the dead, at either end.
Fact
Description
Other Names
Vedrfolnir, Vedurfolnir, or Vetrfolnir
Origin
Norse mythology
Meaning of Name
“Storm pale,” “wind bleached”, or “wind-witherer
Role
A hawk sitting between the eyes of an eagle that is perched on top of the world tree Yggdrasil.
Associated Characters
The unnamed eagle and the squirrel Ratatoskr.
Significance
The hawk is associated with the wisdom of the eagle. It is also theorized that it flies off, acquiring and bringing back knowledge.
Veðrfölnir in Literature
This hawk is only mentioned in Snorri Sturluson’s Old Norse textbook, “Prose Edda” (Younger Edda), among the Eddic literature from the 13th century. King Gylfi, calling himself Gangleri, inquires of the enthroned High about any further noteworthy details about Yggdrasil, and he answers:
“There sits an eagle on the limbs of the ash, and he is very knowledgeable, and between his eyes sits a hawk named Veðrfölnir. A squirrel named Ratatoskr runs up and down the ash, carrying words of envy between the eagle and Níðhöggr, and four stags run across the limbs of the ash and bite the leaves.”
Chapter 16 of Prose Edda, “Gylfaginning”, by Snorri Sturluson.
In the poems, the hawk is represented by Veðrfölnir, who is a Norse mythological figure.
That is to say, this moniker may be used by poets to depict a hawk rather than Veðrfölnir itself. For instance, in the Nafnaþulur (a subsection of the Prose Edda), Vedrfölnir is a heiti (“term”) for a hawk.
In Norse mythology, the description of this portion is quite obscure. Another tale has a rooster called Vidofnir taking the place of the holy hawk. Some people also think that Veðrfölnir is the same as Hraesvelgr, a northern eagle whose wings beat chilly winds. The story also says that this hunting hawk has “the wisdom to understand many things,” which makes it seem like Huginn and Muninn, the two ravens from whom Odin learned all there is to know about the universe.
Odin, who is believed to be Grimnir in the Poetic Edda poem Grímnismál, states a similar story:
Ratatosk is the squirrel who there shall run On the ash-tree Yggdrasil; From above the words of the eagle he bears, And tells them to Nithhogg beneath.
Henry Adams Bellows translation
The Meaning of the Veðrfölnir
A hawk, Veðrfölnir, perched on an eagle atop a tree, Yggdrasil, is shown in a picture from an Icelandic manuscript dating back to the 17th century.
The two parts that make up the Old Norse term Veðrfölnir are veðr, which means “wind,” “fierce wind,” or “weather,” and fölr, meaning “pale,” “white,” or “lacking color,” or fölna, meaning “to wither,” “to become white,” or “to lose color.” Thus, Veðrfölnir might equally mean “wind pale,” “weather pale,” or “become white from wind and weather.
Other potential explanations of this name are “Weather Maker” or the one “tousled in or by the storm,” but they are linguistically less evident.
Why the Hawk?
There is a unique relationship between Norse aristocrats and hawks. For hawking, they would domesticate hawks. The hawk was raised in prestige because of the noble hunter’s emotional connection with the hunting bird. The Eddas make many references to this occurrence (Guðrúnarkviða in fyrsta 18; Guðrúnarkviða in önnur 40; Sigurðarkviða Fafnisbana önnur 31). The hawk’s esteem reached a point where it was venerated as a sign of regal might (Skáldskaparmál 62). It is not for nothing that he was associated with the father of the gods, Odin, in Norse mythology, as can be seen from the phrase “like the greedy hawks of Odin.” (Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar 42).
Veðrfölnir’s relation to the eagle is reminiscent of Víðópnir‘s (a rooster who sits atop the Mimameidr tree) relation to the cosmic eagle Hraesvelgr.
The Hawk-Eagle Relationship
The fact that Veðrfölnir is situated between the holy eagle’s eyes suggests a link between its whereabouts and the eagle’s wisdom. Some think that Veðrfölnir travels into the world to return information to Odin, similar to Odin’s ravens. Hawk’s intellect, on the other hand, may be different from or even greater than that of the holy eagle.
According to the German linguist Jacob Grimm, the term “haukr í horni”—meaning “the hawk in the corner”—is used in Old Norse to describe a secret adviser. He concludes that Veðrfölnir is more than simply the divine eagle’s companion since, after all, the eagle knows a lot more than its counselor.
Víðópnir (or Vidofnir) is the rooster or falcon from Norse mythology who sits atop the Mimameidr tree, an analog to the world tree Yggdrasil. The bird gleams like a thunderstorm and has a brilliant hue. The stability of this planet tree is under its watchful eye as a virtually eternal protector. Hence, the gigantic Surtr of the Fire World Muspelheim and the giantessSinmara of the Ice World Niflheim view Víðópnir with dread (Fjölsvinnsmál 24).
— Did you know? The rooster as a mythological figure may not be popular in our modern understanding of Nordic mythology, but this might have been different back in the day. For instance, Jacob Grimm compared the roosters on Maypoles, the weathervanes on crosstrees, and the weathervanes on church towers and considered it possible that Christian missionaries reinterpreted this pagan symbol and placed it on their church spires.
Víðópnir’s Story
Menglöð, the lady guarded by the dogs Geri “Greedy” and Gifr “Violent” in the Víðópnir story, can be identified with Freya, the goddess of thunder and lightning. Distracting the dogs is the only way for humans to get to her. One way to accomplish this is to give them some food—specifically the two roasted wings of Víðópnir.
Nevertheless, the only weapon capable of killing Víðópnir is Lopt’s (Loki, “the Airy”) branch, Laevateinn, (meaning “Damage Twig”). Sinmara watches after this weapon underneath the gates of Hel. According to Fjölsvinnsmál (13–18, 23–30), she will only let someone use Laevateinn in combat if they bring her a tail feather that was formerly on Víðópnir.
This task is practically impossible. If one can subdue a bird to the point that it drops a tail feather, they probably have what it takes to make it harmless as well. In order to capture the heart of the heroine, Menglöð, the hero must endure a number of difficult challenges, much as in traditional fairy tales and ancient hero sagas.
Appearance
On rare occasions, Víðópnir may be seen perched on the head of a different celestial bird. In these depictions, it occupies the space between the cosmic eagle Hraesvelgr‘s eyes, and it is depicted like a falcon rather than a rooster. Hraesvelgr is an eagle-shaped jötunn in Norse mythology, the originator of the winds.
This is reminiscent of a similar hawk-eagle depiction popularly known as “Veðrfölnir and eagle.”
Víðópnir in Nordic Literature
A manuscript from the pagan late era of Iceland contains a song named Fjölsvinnsmál and this song features Víðópnir, which is also a component of the Old Norse poem Svipdagsmál (“The Lay of Svipdagr”). It is believed to be pure poetry (irreducibly poetic)—in the manner of the Eddic poems—which is believed to be from the 13th century.
Fjölsvinnsmál
The stanzas of Fjölsvinnsmál is describing the expansive Mímameidr tree covering all known land. When Svipdagr queries the watchman Fjölsviðr about the name of the shiny, golden rooster on “the highest branch,” Fjölsviðr confirms it is called Víðópnir:
“Vithofnir his name, and now he shines Like lightning on Mimameith’s limbs; And great is the trouble with which he grieves Both Surt and Sinmora.”
Henry Adams Bellows translation.
Aside from the Fjölsvinnsmál, Viðópnir is also mentioned in Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson’s Eddu-brot, guarding the gate to the realm of Hél, near the 20-foot-high Icelandic waterfalls of Gjallandi, meaning “the yelling.”
The Meaning of the Old Norse Name
When the Old Norse name Viðópnir or Vidofnir was translated by certain scholars, they explained it to mean “Weaver of Winds.” According to the poem Alvíssmál 12, the Norse fertility deities known as Vanir reside in heaven called Viðópnir or Vidofnir.
The rooster is often associated with the elements of fire and sunshine. When it crows at dawn, it represents watchfulness and the triumph of light over darkness. For the Germanic people, it became a sign of rebirth and a wayfinding object for the afterlife. Because of its aggressive character, it also stands for bravery and war. It is also linked to fertility.
Have you ever wondered how the world came to be, according to ancient Norse beliefs? What was there before the earth, the sky, the sea, and the gods? The answer is Ginnungagap, the vast and empty abyss that existed between the realms of fire and ice.
—> Details about Ginnungagap is found in both the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda, two primary sources of Norse mythology. These texts, attributed to the Icelandic scholar Snorri Sturluson, contain detailed accounts of the Norse cosmogony.
Ginnungagap, which means “the gaping gap” or “the yawning void”, is the name given to the primordial space in Norse creation myth. It is described as a dark and silent place where nothing existed except the potential for life.
In Norse cosmology, there were nine worlds, each with its own inhabitants and characteristics. But before these worlds were formed, there were only two extreme realms: Niflheim, the land of mist and cold, and Muspelheim, the land of fire and heat. Ginnungagap, which extended from north to south, was the barrier separating these two realms.
The first sparks of creation happened when the cold winds from Niflheim met the hot sparks from Muspelheim in Ginnungagap. The clash of these opposite forces produced drops of melted ice, which formed the first living being: Ymir, the giant. Ymir was the ancestor of all the giants, who were the enemies of the gods. Ymir was also nourished by the milk of Auðumbla (Audhumla), the primeval cow, who licked the salty ice and revealed the first god: Buri, the father of Bor, who was the father of Odin, Vili, and Ve.
—> Ginnungagap is the cosmic void from which Yggdrasil, the world tree, emerges. Yggdrasil’s roots extend into Ginnungagap, connecting different realms and serving as a central axis of the Norse cosmos.
The three brothers, Odin, Vili, and Ve, decided to kill Ymir and use his body to create the world. They threw his flesh into Ginnungagap and made the earth; his blood became the sea; his bones became the mountains; his teeth became the rocks; his hair became the trees; and his skull became the sky. They also took sparks from Muspelheim and placed them in the sky to make the sun, the moon, and the stars.
They then created the first humans, Ask and Embla, from two pieces of wood and gave them the world of Midgard to live in.
Ginnungagap, therefore, was the origin of everything in Norse mythology. It was the source of life, but also of chaos and destruction. It was the place where the opposites met and created something new. It was also the place where the final battle, Ragnarök, would take place, when the giants and the gods would fight and destroy each other, and the world would end in fire and ice. But after Ragnarök, a new world would emerge from Ginnungagap, where the survivors would start a new cycle of life.
In Norse mythology, Lævateinn is a weapon crafted by Loki, interpreted as a dart, sword, or wand. It’s the only weapon capable of defeating the mythical rooster Víðópnir. According to the Norse myths, the rooster Víðópnir, who resides atop the World Tree, can only be slain by the sword Laevateinn. Like Mistilteinn in the tale of Fróði, it is considered a sword when used as a proper noun. When “Laev” and “teinn” are taken together, the result is “Laevateinn,” which means staff. The crafty Lopt (Loki) crafts it and Sinmara, who is married to the giant Surt of Muspelheim, keeps Lævateinn safe in a box called Lægyrn, where it is protected by nine locks.
Fact
Description
Crafted by
Loki
Mentioned in
Poetic Edda poem Fjölsvinnsmál
Possible Forms
Dart, sword, or wand
Meaning of Name
Wounding Wand, Damage Twig, or Wand-of-Destruction
Location
Lies in Lægjarn’s chest, which is fastened by nine locks
Keeper
Sinmara
Unique Ability
The only weapon capable of slaying the cock Víðópnir
Condition to Obtain
Sinmara will only award it to the one who brings her Víðópnir’s tail feather
Lævateinn in the Myth
Verse 26 of the Edda poem “Fjölsvinnsmál” mentions the Laevateinn legend. The story follows the protagonist Svipdagr as he searches for the lady Menglöð and has a conversation with the giant Fjölsviðr outside the Muspelheim fortification. Laevateinn is only mentioned in the conversation with this giant.
“Tell me this, Fjölsviðr! as I wish to inquire of you: whether there be any weapon, that Viðofnir possesses, which may cause him to sink into the halls of Hel?”
Fjölsviðr replied:
“It is called Laevateinn, and Loptr forged it, by the gates of Hel; in Lægjarn[Loki]’s chest, it lies beside Sinmara, guarded by nine locks.”
Sophus Bugge’s Fjölsvinnsmál (1867)
Svipdagr needs the flesh of Viðofnir, the rooster living at the top of the world tree Yggdrasil, to gain access to the citadel. Viðofnir can only be killed by Laevateinn. On the other hand, the tail feather of Viðofnir is also necessary for him to obtain Lævateinn from Sinmara (a gigantess). This is a never-ending puzzle, and it is simply implied that only the selected one may enter the citadel.
What Really Is Lævateinn?
Lævateinn was allegedly crafted by Loki.
Although the Nordic tales do not specify, the Lævateinn is often thought to be a sword. But there are other possible meanings, such as a stick, an arrow, or a spear. Swedish religion scholar Folke Ström calls Lævateinn a “magic sword” in his “Religion and Mythology of Ancient Scandinavia.”
Strom notes that it was carved with runes and made beneath the gates of the underworld. As told in English writer and translator Kevin Crossley-Holland’s “The Norse Myths,” its creation was supposedly accomplished by reciting runes at Niflheim’s entrance, a realm of primordial ice and cold in Norse cosmology.
The Meaning of the Name
“Lævateinn” is a notation found through the collation of the Norwegian linguist Sophus Bugge. In the original manuscript, it is actually written as “Hævateinn,” and earlier revised editions and translations follow this spelling.
Linguistically, it can be broken down into “Læva-teinn.” “Læva” is the plural genitive form of “læ,” meaning “destruction, calamity, misfortune, betrayal, and harm.
” On the other hand, “teinn” signifies “branch, rod.” This leads us to the following potential inferences:
“Branch of betrayal”
“Staff of magic that harms”
“Staff of harm-inflicting magic”
“Magic staff causing harm”
According to the Austrian philologist Rudolf Simek, Lævateinn truly means “sword” in kenning, a figure of speech or a poetic phrase, rather than a weapon’s name. In contemporary Japanese fantasy writings, “Laevateinn” means both the sword and flames that Surt wields at Ragnarok.
The flaming sword that giant Surtr wields during Ragnarok is thought of as Laevateinn by a handful of scholars, including the Swedish literary historian Henrik Schück (1855–1947). The kenning from the poem Fjölsvinnsmál, which reads svigi laeva (“destruction of twigs”), is most commonly interpreted as “fire,” and Schück matched this term with the sword based on his understanding. A sword erupting in flames was powerful enough to be from Loki.
The Sword of Freyr
Laevateinn, Freyr’s sword (which he refers to as the “sword of victory”), and a number of other weapons are said by the Swedish author Viktor Rydberg to be similar in his book “Undersökningar i germanisk mythologi (Investigations into Germanic Mythology)” (1886–1888, 2 volumes).
Swedish author Viktor Rydberg, in his work “Investigations into Germanic Mythology” (1886-1889, 2 volumes), asserted that Lævateinn, Freyr’s sword (which he calls the “sword of victory”), and several other weapons are actually identical. This book focuses on Rydberg’s interpretation and reconstruction of myths rather than academic studies or translations of myths. In the book, he puts forth the idea that various Eddic poems, Saxo Grammaticus’ “Gesta Danorum,” anecdotes in sagas, and others originally belonged to the same overarching myth.
According to Rydberg’s assertion, the renowned blacksmith in Norse mythology, Völundr, is one of the sons of Ivaldi. In a wager between Loki and the dwarf brothers Brokkr and Eitri, where the treasures crafted by Ivaldi’s sons (such as Gungnir) competed against those crafted by the brothers (such as Mjölnir), Völundr forged Laevateinn after his sons’ treasures were deemed inferior to those of the brothers. Loptor in the story of Svipdagr is not Loki but Völundr, also known as Wayland, and is revealed to be Svipdagr’s uncle.
Moreover, according to Rydberg, Mengloð is identified as Freyja, Fjölsviðr as Odin, and the fortress they inhabited is, in reality, Ásgarðr (Asgard). Svipdagr was able to enter the fortress because he already carried Lævateinn, and after marrying Mengloð, who is Freyja, he presents the sword he brought with him to his brother-in-law, Freyr. In other words, Lævateinn becomes Freyr’s victorious sword. In an alternate version, Svipdagr, a hero with the blood of Thor, is killed by the hero Hagen (Högni), and after various twists and turns, the victorious sword eventually comes into the possession of Freyr.
It is also believed that the magical staff “Gambanteinn” that Svipdagr wielded to threaten Gerðr is similar to Laevateinn, and that Skírnir is a manifestation of Svipdagr. In addition, as Mengloð is named Freyja, Rydberg implies that Óðr, Mengloð’s spouse, and Svipdagr are one and the same. Óðr and Hodr are both mentioned in Saxo’s “Gesta Danorum,” and the Norse god Höðr is represented by Hodr. Rydberg suggests that the mistletoe weapon “Mistilteinn,” which Höðr used to slay Baldr, may be Lævateinn.
Rydberg elaborates by noting that these swords have some characteristics, such as the capacity to kill gods or beings with divine characteristics. Both proponents and detractors of Rydberg’s study were vocal in their reactions to its publication.
Muspelheim, also known as Muspell or Muspel, is a realm in Norse mythology associated with fire, heat, and the primordial forces of creation. It is one of the Nine Worlds and is often mentioned in the Prose Edda and Poetic Edda, two primary sources for Norse mythology.
Muspelheim: Key Takeaways
Muspelheim is often described as a realm of intense heat and flames. It is ruled by the fire giant Surtr, a powerful being associated with destruction and chaos.
Muspelheim is considered one of the oldest realms in Norse cosmology. It is said to have originated at the same time as Niflheim, the icy realm, and the void known as Ginnungagap.
Surtr is a prominent figure in Muspelheim and is foretold to play a significant role in the events of Ragnarok, the end of the world in Norse mythology. It is said that Surtr will lead the forces of Muspelheim to battle against the gods.
According to some Norse myths, Muspelheim, along with Niflheim, played a role in the creation of the world. The meeting of fire and ice from Muspelheim and Niflheim respectively gave rise to the being Ymir and the creation of the cosmos.
In addition to Surtr, Muspelheim is said to be inhabited by various fire giants, spirits, and supernatural beings associated with heat and flame.
The Origin of Muspelheim
According to the Prose Edda, written by the Icelandic scholar Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century, Muspelheim was one of the two primordial worlds that existed before the creation of the universe. The other world was Niflheim, the land of ice and darkness, located in the north. Between them was a vast emptiness called Ginnungagap, where nothing lived.
In the beginning, sparks and flames from Muspelheim flew across Ginnungagap and melted the ice from Niflheim, creating water droplets. From these droplets emerged the first living being, the giant Ymir, and the cow Auðumbla (Audhumla), who nourished him with her milk. Auðumbla licked the ice and revealed another being, Búri, the ancestor of the gods. Búri had a son named Borr (Bor), who married Bestla, the daughter of a frost giant. They had three sons: Odin, Vili, and Ve, who became the first gods.
The gods killed Ymir and used his body to create the world. His flesh became the earth, his blood became the sea, his bones became the mountains, his teeth became the rocks, his hair became the plants, and his skull became the sky. The gods also used the sparks from Muspelheim to create the heavenly bodies, such as the sun, the moon, and the stars.
The Inhabitants of Muspelheim
Muspelheim is the domain of the fire giants, also known as the sons of Muspell. They are fierce and destructive beings who oppose the gods and the other races of the nine worlds. They are ruled by Surtr, the black one, who wields a sword that shines brighter than the sun.
Surtr is the oldest and most powerful of the fire giants, and he guards the border of Muspelheim against any intruders.
Another notable inhabitant of Muspelheim is Logi (Hálogi), the personification of fire. He is the brother of Kári, the god of the wind, and Aegir, the god of the sea. He once competed with Loki, the trickster god, in a contest of eating. Logi devoured not only the meat but also the bones, the plates, and the table, proving his superiority over Loki.
Muspelheim is primarily inhabited by the fire giants, and the most notable figure associated with this realm is Surt, a powerful and fire-wielding giant.
The Role of Muspelheim in Ragnarok
Muspelheim plays a crucial role in Ragnarok, the final battle between the gods and the giants, and the end of the world as we know it. According to the Poetic Edda, a collection of Old Norse poems from the 10th to 13th centuries, Muspelheim will be the source of the fire that will consume everything.
Before Ragnarok, a series of disasters will occur, such as wars, famines, plagues, and natural calamities. The sun and the moon will be devoured by the wolves Sköll and Hati, and the stars will disappear from the sky. The earth will shake and the mountains will crumble, releasing the monsters that were imprisoned by the gods, such as the Midgard serpent (Jörmungandr), the Fenrir wolf, and the Hel goddess. The rainbow bridge, Bifrost, that connects Asgard, the home of the gods, and Midgard, the home of the humans, will break, and the forces of chaos will invade the world.
Among them will be the army of the fire giants, led by Surtr. They will march across Bifrost and reach the plain of Vígríðr, where the final battle will take place. Surtr will confront Freyr, the god of fertility and prosperity, who will have given away his magical sword to his servant Skírnir. Freyr will fight valiantly, but he will be slain by Surtr. Surtr will then swing his sword and set the world on fire, burning everything to ashes.
After the destruction, a new world will emerge from the ruins, and life will begin again. Some of the gods and the humans will survive the cataclysm, and they will live in harmony and peace. A new sun will rise, and a new generation of gods will rule. Muspelheim, along with the other eight worlds, will be reborn, and the cycle of creation and destruction will continue.
Attestations
Vǫluspá, the first poem of the Poetic Edda:
O'er the sea from the north | there sails a ship
With the people of Muspell, | at the helm stands Loki;
After the wolf | do wild men follow,
And with them the brother | of Byleist goes.
In the Gylfaginning, the first part of the Prose Edda by the Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson, the following is repeatedly referenced:
Yet first was the world in the southern region, which was named Múspell; it is light and hot; that region is glowing and burning, and impassable to such as are outlanders and have not their holdings there.
In the video games God of War, players have the opportunity to explore the realm of Muspelheim. Within this realm, they can undertake various side missions, such as navigating through levels to reach the peak of the mountain and confronting one of the valkyries.
In the animated series Primal, the leader of the Vikings is brought to Muspelheim in the presence of Surtr, who bestows demonic powers upon him for seeking vengeance against the protagonists Spear and Fang.
In the Dawn of Ragnarök expansion for Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Surtr and his massive oyster hordes from Muspelheim invade the dwarven realm of Svartalfheim, flooding much of the realm with magma pools and streams.
Muspelheim is a fascinating and important part of Norse mythology, representing the primal force of fire and the inevitable fate of the world. It is the origin of life, the source of destruction, the enemy of the gods and the ally of the new order. It is a world of contrasts and extremes, of beauty and horror, of light and darkness.
Hvergelmir is one of the most important sources in Norse mythology. It is located in Niflheim, the realm of cold and darkness, and it is the origin of all the frozen rivers that flow through the nine worlds. Hvergelmir is also the home of many snakes and the dragon Níðhöggr (Nidhöggr), who gnaws at the roots of the world tree Yggdrasil.
Hvergelmir is associated with the cosmic creation myth in Norse mythology. It is one of the wells mentioned in the creation narrative, and the rivers flowing from it contribute to the formation of the worlds.
The Meaning of Hvergelmir
The name Hvergelmir comes from Old Norse hverr, meaning “bubbling boiling spring” and gelmir, meaning “sword” or “the loud one”. Therefore, Hvergelmir can be translated as “the boiling cauldron” or “the roaring kettle”. This name reflects the nature of the source as a place of intense heat and noise, contrasting with the cold and silent Niflheim. Hvergelmir is also called “the cauldron of evil” by some scholars, who derive gelmir from Old Norse galli, meaning “evil, vice, harm”. This interpretation suggests that Hvergelmir is a source of corruption and destruction, as it harbors the serpent Nidhöggr and other venomous creatures.
The Role of Hvergelmir
Yggdrasil.
Hvergelmir plays a crucial role in the Norse creation myth and the fate of the world. According to Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda, Hvergelmir was already present in primordial times, before the gods created the world. It was the source of the eleven rivers called Élivágar, which flowed into the abyss of Ginnungagap, where they froze into ice and rime. When the sparks and the heat from the fire realm of Muspelheim met the ice and the rime, the first living being emerged: the giant Ymir, the ancestor of all the giants. Thus, Hvergelmir was the origin of life in Norse cosmology.
After the world tree Yggdrasil grew out of Ymir’s corpse, one of its three roots extended over Niflheim and Hvergelmir. Hvergelmir became the mother of all the rivers in the world, as the drops from the antlers of the stag Eikþyrnir (Eikthyrnir), who grazed on the branches of the tree Lärad (a variant of Yggdrasil), fell into the source and filled it with water. Hvergelmir was also the dwelling of the dragon Níðhöggr and countless snakes, who gnawed at the root of Yggdrasil and caused it to rot. In the final battle of Ragnarök, Níðhöggr will torment the corpses of the dead in Hvergelmir.
Ginnungagap is the primordial void in Norse cosmology.
Hvergelmir, as a well, is often associated with the cosmic waters that existed within Ginnungagap before the creation of the worlds.
The Symbolism of Hvergelmir
Hvergelmir can be seen as a symbol of the dynamic and chaotic forces of nature, which are both creative and destructive. Hvergelmir is the source of life, but also the source of evil. It is the place where the opposites of fire and ice, heat and cold, light and darkness, meet and interact, generating new forms of existence.
Hvergelmir is also a symbol of the underworld, where the dead and monsters dwell. It is the realm of decay and corruption, where the world tree is constantly attacked and weakened. Hvergelmir represents the threat of entropy and annihilation, which the gods and humans have to face and overcome.
There are other wells in Norse mythology, such as Mímisbrunnr and Urðarbrunnr, each with its unique significance. These wells collectively contribute to the intricate cosmogony of Norse mythology.
Attestations
Poetic Edda
Eikthyrnir the hart is called,
that stands o'er Odin's hall,
and bites from Lærad's branches;
from his horns fall drops into Hvergelmir,
whence all waters rise
Poetic Edda.
Prose Edda
Just-as-High explains that the spring Hvergelmir is located in the foggy realm of Niflheim
Then said Jafnharr: “It was many ages before the earth was shaped that the Mist-World was made; and midmost within it lies the well that is called Hvergelmir, from which spring the rivers called Svol, Gunnthra, Fjorm, Fimbulthul, Slidr and Hrid, Sylgr and Ylgr, Vid, Leiptr; GjoU is hard by Hel-gates.”
Later in Gylfaginning, Just-as-High describes the central tree Yggdrasil.
Then said Gangleri : “Where is the chief abode or holy place of the gods?” Harr answered: “That is at the Ash of Yggdrasill; there the gods must give judgment every day.” Then Gangleri asked : “What is to be said concerning that place?” Then said Jafnharr: “The Ash is greatest of all trees and best : its limbs spread out over all the world and stand above heaven. Three roots of the tree uphold it and stand exceeding broad: one is among the Aesir; another among the Rime-Giants, in that place where aforetime was the Yawning Void; the third stands over Niflheim, and under that root is Hvergelmir, and Nidhoggr gnaws the root from below.”
Hvergelmir contains not only Níðhöggr but also so many snakes that “no tongue can tell them.”
Moreover, so many serpents are in Hvergelmir with Nidhoggr, that no tongue can tell them, as is here said:
Ash Yggdrasill suffers anguish. More than men know of: The stag bites above; on the side it rotteth, And Nidhoggr gnaws from below.
And it is further said:
More serpents lie under Yggdrasill’s stock Than every unwise ape can think: Goinn and Moinn (they’re Grafvitnir’s sons), Grabakr and Grafvolludr; Ofnir and Svafnir I think shall aye Tear the trunk’s twigs
The spring is mentioned a third time in Gylfaginning where High (Hárr) recounts its source:
Then spake High (Hárr): “Even more worthy of note is the hart Eikthyrni, which stands in Valhall and bites from the limbs of the tree; and from his horns distils such abundant exudation that it comes down into Hvergelmir,and from thence fall those rivers called thus : Síd, Víd, Søkin, Eikin, Svöl, Gunnthrá, Fjörm, Fimbulthul, Gípul, Göpul, Gömul, Geirvimul. Those fall about the abodes of the Aesir; these also are recorded: Thyn, Vín, Thöll, Höll, Grád, Gunnthráin, Nyt, Nöt, Nönn, Hrönn, Vína, Vegsvinn, Thjódnuma.”
A “hulder” is a beautiful supernatural female creature who owns cattle, resides in mountains and hills, and attempts to lure young men, especially with games and songs in Scandinavian folklore. Her back resembles a hollowed-out tree, and she has a cow’s tail. “Hulder” comes from Old Norse hylja (“to conceal”), which is the root of the Norse name Huld, which is a name for the trolls.
According to Norwegian folklore, the hulder lures men into the mountain, from which they cannot escape if they stay too long. If the hulder woman marries a human, however, she will lose her tail, and the couple can live in the village on equal terms with other people. In Swedish, she is called “skogsrået.” In Danish, hulder is sometimes referred to as “hyldefolk,” as they have been associated with the elder tree—the “elder mother” from Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale is one example.
The Origin of the Hulder in Folklore
The concept that the departed make a triumphant return to this world at designated holy periods gave rise to these folk stories, along with a set of taboos and the practice of offering sacrifices to the ancestor spirits.
Celebrations of rebirth in both culture and the natural world took place around the winter solstice, or Yule, and Christmas periods. In Christian times, however, ancestral spirits were portrayed as dangerous entities that should be avoided at all costs, and so these scarier sagas came into existence. They underwent a metamorphosis into hulders, or troll-folk, who arrived around Christmastime to cause chaos and ruin the holiday spirit. The original identity of hulders is not known anymore.
Hulder in a drawing by Norwegian Theodor Kittelsen.
When it became illegal to worship ancestors, the hulders adopted certain aspects of beliefs about the dead, even though they were not originally ancestral spirits. As time went on, the practice of worshipping the dead faded away. However, at the winter solstice and other significant holidays, notably Christmas, remnants of this cult persisted in certain regions, either as a matter of custom or as a measure to ensure one’s safety.
Folktale Stories About Hulder
In the Bible
Hulders are part of many folk stories and, ironically, they even made part of the Bible. A Norwegian tradition tells the tale of an unexpected visit from God to Adam and Eve, which is believed to be the genesis of the underground dwellers. When God came, Eva still hadn’t bathed and combed all of their children, despite having a large brood after being kicked out of the Garden of Eden.
The children she wanted him to see were the ones she chose to highlight, while the rest were hidden. “Well, those who are dulde [hidden] shall be hulde [invisible].” God, however, saw right through her. Because of this, the offspring and their descendants now reside in the hills and mountains, where they are almost invisible to the naked eye, and they are called hulders. Hulder is also known as Tallemaja, or “pine tree Mary” in Swedish folklore.
“Two gunshot distances away”
The hulder is one of those popular underground creatures in Scandinavian folklore. There have been sightings of this monster in the Finnskogen region as late as 2013. Harald Polden, a hunter, recounted his meeting with the hulder in the Helleland wasteland east of Egersund. Boiling water over a fire, he unexpectedly saw a lady across the bog, “two gunshot distances away.” When he used his binoculars, he allegedly saw her haughty stance, brown hair, and emerald eyes.
The length of her skirt and her long braids both baffled him. Polden saw that she was walking about barefoot as her skirt crept up slightly, and a third braid—a cow’s tail—emerged under the skirt.
All of a sudden, she leaned forward. Also about this time, Polden’s pot overflowed. He removed it from the flames, but at that moment, nobody was standing by the swamp. A local mother and daughter listened intently as he told them the tale. The little girl turned to her mom and said, “There you go.” Like Polden, she had been through it in that same spot.
A Violin Player
So many spelman (Swedish folk music players) allegedly learned their music from Hulder since they are also musical women. It was a summer day when Ole Arntsen (1823–1911), a smallholder (croft) and spelman from the Halsen farm in Sæterlandet, was cutting grass for his goat from the roof of his boathouse. Someone he couldn’t see smacked him in the head out of nowhere. He passed out, rolled off the roof, and crashed upon the pebbles of the shore.
He lay there, puzzled, after doing a serious injury to himself. A hulder perched on a big rock along the stream greeted him as he heard violin music. Then he heard someone playing the violin, sitting on a large rock by the water. Hulder had clogs on her feet that had iron attachments. She was creating a rhythm with her violin by hitting the stone with her iron-clad shoes. That is the reason Ole referred to the tune as “jar-førå” which has become a proper Norwegian folk song.
2002
Just north of Arendal, close to the hamlet of Gautefall, a little girl snapped an alleged photo of a hulder in November 2002. This was at the same time as a string of phone calls from locals who claimed to have seen a hulder, describing her as wearing a summer dress, walking barefoot in the snow, and carrying a cow’s tail in her wake.
Hulder, the Protector of Cattles
Since the hulder was believed to have her cowshed just below the human cowshed in Lofoten, it was deemed best to keep a stall in the cowshed unoccupied. When she felt crowded in her own stall, she would politely ask the humans to let her use their vacant one. In exchange, she watched after the well-being and prosperity of the humans’ cows.
On the other hand, the hulder is very vindictive; therefore, using her stall might result in injury to the animal standing there, or even many animals. The hulder was allegedly so impeded that a farmer in Lofoten had to relocate his cowshed no less than three times. He couldn’t understand why his animals weren’t doing well. According to the man, his cowshed was just over her dining table since hulder informed him one night.
Even after relocating the shed a short distance, the man’s livestock continued to perish, and they were forced to pull their lifeless bodies to the brink of the river. As he slept one night, the hulder informed him that her child’s cradle was now directly over his stable and that a lot of terrible things were dripping down on the baby. He had to relocate the stable once again, but once he did, he and the animals were finally at peace.
Marrying a Hulder
There were allegedly hulders on the farm in Tjentland in Ryfylke, particularly in the cooking house, where they gathered and prepared meals just like everybody else. A hulder and her daughter once entered the kitchen while the family was baking. The eldest son of the farm found the girl attractive, and he was warned by her mother: “If you touch her, you must take her as your wife, whether you like it or not, as much as you know.” But the boy laughed and continued to giggle with the girl.
So, he became engaged to her, but he started to feel uneasy about the actual wedding. Once, he hid under a large tub by tipping it over himself. The daughter tried to tilt the tub away, but he took out a knife and cut off her fingers. However, it still didn’t help him, and they got married. The hulder’s tail fell off at her baptism, but three days thereafter, three big milking cows showed up at the farm and entered the stall unaccompanied.
The couple lived together, but not entirely peacefully, as he couldn’t forget hulder’s real background. He was a skilled blacksmith, and one day, after she had called him to dinner several times, he took a glowing iron and held it under her nose. In return, she took a horseshoe from the floor of the smithy and straightened it out. The man inquired in astonishment, “Are you that strong?” She affirmed, “So now you understand what I could have done to you if I had wanted. But I care too much about you to use force to get my way.” They got along well after that, and according to local belief, their descendants may still be found in Årdal, Ryfylke today. The cattle of their family have always fared better than those of other families.
Hulder on Elstad Farm’s
The cover of Asbjørnsen and Moe’s Norwegian folktales and cave tales shows Hulder, 1896.
Elstad Farm in Ullensaker, Norway, is the setting of a legendary tale in “An Evening in a Proprietor’s Kitchen,” written by Asbjornsen. “If you go to Elstad, tell Deld that Dild fell into the fire,” someone shouted out to a farmhand as he was on his way home after an errand.
Someone sprinted out of the house, yelling, “Oh, that was my child!” as soon as they heard the news. A hulder had been stealing food from the farm while unseen, and the farmhand had unwittingly brought the news to her. Not only does this tale have a reputation in Ullensaker municipality, but it also has popularity in 70 other Norwegian towns and other European nations. Plutarch has the earliest version, which dates back to roughly 100 AD.
The Hulder with the Golden Items
An ancient tale tells of a hulder who had a golden apple, seven golden chickens, and a golden lantern. The king’s daughter was up for marriage to anyone who caught these golden chickens, according to the proclamation. With a fishing net and a bag of peas as his tools, a little kid embarked on an optimistic journey. The hulder was unaware that he had lured the hens with peas and ensnared them in the net.
After receiving the golden chickens, the king was happy, but he would not consent to a wedding without the hulder’s golden lantern as well. That night, the child went back to the hulder and grabbed the lantern from her as she set it down by the well to get water.
However, the monarch would not honor his word until the youngster also presented him with the golden apple. On this occasion, the lad retrieved a lengthy set of tongs, ascended to the rooftop as the hulder slumbered, and through the chimney, he planned to nip her blanket up and take the golden apple.
But he unintentionally squeezed her nose. She caught him and inquired as to his preferred method of death. He stated his preference for indulging in porridge to the point of death. With that, the hulder began to whip up a pot of porridge. Just before she delivered the porridge, the lad whipped up a big bag, fastened it to his chest, and proceeded to scoop the porridge into it without being noticed.
After stuffing himself enough, he set the spoon down and pretended he was about to explode, so she should just wrap him in the blanket and throw him out immediately. The second he stepped outdoors he tossed off the bag and bolted with the blanket. In her wrath, the hulder seized a pipe, inhaled deeply, and drew the lad back to her. Nobody heard from him again.
The Hulders on Christmas Eve
Among the many Jule or Christmas tales told about Rogaland county, the “Trond Saga” is by far the most popular. On Christmas Eve every year, the hulders would gather in large numbers at the farm Kvame in Hjelmeland and the people had to desert their houses to ensure peace.
The first to show up would be Trond, a bearded elderly guy. The remainder would then arrive, and rejoicing, dancing, and commotion ensued. They would later go down to dinner, but not before raising a glass to Trond at the head of the table. Someone remarked, “Now I toast to Trond!”
On one of the farms that hulders visited, one farmhand decided to stay and frighten the hulders. As night fell and everyone had gone, he proceeded to boil pitch in a pot. He leaped onto the ledge holding the boiling pot and sat there the second the hulders came.
As a group, they entered and adorned the table with sparkling silverware. One hulder came under the ledge and decided to rest. At this moment, the boy began pouring the boiling pitch into hulder’s mouth. After her piercing scream, everyone in the group ran away. The child yelled after her as he held the pot to his neck, asking, “Have you tasted a hotter soup?” He then descended to get what the subterranean creatures had left in the room.
The next year, the same boy asked to stay at the farm for Christmas while everyone else fled. The hulder inquired if the cat had returned this year in the evening as he peered in through the door. The kid yelled out, “Yes, he’s here and has had seven kittens, worse than himself!” No more hulders visited the farm after that hulder ran away.
The narrative has been documented in six distinct versions in Rogaland, a county in Norway. Depending on where you are, the visitors may be nicknamed trolls or hulders.
Gullveig (gold drink, gold intoxication, power of gold) is a sorceress found exclusively in the Völuspá, a poem from Norse mythology likely composed in the 10th or 11th century. The Aesir kill her with spears and burn her three times in vain. This is believed to have triggered the first war in the world. Georges Dumézil identifies Gullveig as a Vanir, aligning with her name and essence: gold, which, like all forms of wealth, is under their patronage. Gullveig is considered by Dumézil to be a hypostasis of the goddess Freyja or the goddess herself.
Karl Viktor Müllenhoff interprets the violence against Gullveig as a mythological narrative of the birth of the technique of purifying precious ore. Georges Dumézil, on the other hand, sees a more moral significance in this episode: the Ases already possessed gold and knew how to work it. This gold allowed a life of harmony and joy, but with the appearance of the malevolent Gullveig, it is the bad gold that emerges—the kind that intoxicates, degrades, and is socially dangerous. Hence, the Aesir, just and vigorous gods, attempted, but in vain, to annihilate this harmful character.
Gullveig’s responsibilities included guarding treasures and practicing the art of Seiðr, a form of magic. Consequently, she possessed prophetic abilities. Gullveig reached the Aesir and, through the gods, brought about a lust for gold. The gods demanded the secret—the origin of wealth—but Gullveig refused. As a result, the Aesir thrice burned her (Poetic Edda, Völuspa 21–22). Upon learning of her death, the Vanir were enraged, leading to a war between them: Æsir–Vanir War.
The war I remember, | the first in the world, When the gods with spears | had smitten Gollveig, And in the hall | of Hor had burned her, Three times burned, | and three times born, Oft and again, | yet ever she lives.
Heiðr (Heith) they named her | who sought their home,
The wide-seeing witch, | in magic wise;
Minds she bewitched | that were moved by her magic,
To evil women | a joy she was.
Poetic Edda, Völuspa 21-22 (H. A. Bellows translation – 1923)
Gullveig’s fate is tied to conflict and strife among the Aesir. The poem states that she was stabbed with spears and then burned three times, yet each time she revived. This implies a certain level of divine or supernatural resilience.
Theories
Given that Gullveig is so mysterious, various theories surround her. It is considered that Heith (Old Norse: Heiðr) is another name for Gullveig.
Vanir and Aesir are two groups of gods. Vanir represents fertility, wealth, and a peaceful life, while Aesir represents warfare. Gullveig is a typical representative of the Vanri. Georges Dumézil (1898–1986) argued that there is a parallel between the war of the Vani and Asi and the war of the Romans and Sabines.
Viktor Rydberg (1828–1895) proposed a connection between Gullveig and Loki, the god of fire. In the Short Voluspa (Old Norse: Völuspá hin skamma), it is said that Loki ate the heart of a woman and then gave birth to troll women. This concept signifies witches. However, it is unlikely that this heart belonged to Gullveig.
Rydberg believed that Thor ultimately killed Gullveig.
Gabriel Turville-Petre (1908–1988) considered Gullveig to be just another name for the goddess Freyja, who is associated with gold. She wept golden tears for her husband, Óðr.
Yule Goat, also known as Julebukk and Christmas goat, is an umbrella term for a variety of traditional winter solstice practices that focus on goats in Norway, Scandinavia, and Northern Europe. In Swedish, it is referred to as julbock and julgumse in the Dalecarlian dialect.
In Danish, it is called julebuk, juleged, and nytårsbuk. In Estonian, it is called joulosak, while in Latvian, it is called joulopuk. Although the Yule goat’s precise origin is unclear, the many traditions surrounding it as a representation of Yule, a Yule spirit, a leader of carnival processions, a giver of presents, and other similar roles have their origins in both pre-Christian and Christian traditions. Religion, festivals, and subsequent agricultural practices are all part of the Yule goat, as are beliefs from the Germanic and Norse cultures.
Origins of the Yule Goat
Was the Yule Goat a Sacrificial Goat?
The term Yule goat or “julebukk” might have originated from the pre-Christian practice of slaughtering a billy goat in honor of “jól,” which means “Midwinter Day,” in order to guarantee a prosperous year. This practice was favored either to celebrate fertility, wish for a happy year, or signal the end of the harvest season.
Another origin theory of the Yule goat lies in mythology. Some have seen the Yule goat as a symbol of the Norse deity Thor. Two goats, Tanngrisnir (gap-tooth”) and Tanngnjóstr (“teeth grinder”) dragged Thor’s chariot. Even if he ate the goats, they would revive the next day, provided he collected all the bones from their skins. The terrifying sound produced by his chariot as he raced across the sky is called Thor’s thunder (torden). When the giants heard Thor, they would duck for cover.
Perhaps as figures of abundance and holy protection, these two goats may have made it into Christian Christmas decorations. At one point, the Yule goat was the bringer of gifts in Nordic regions before Santa Claus became a more popular Christmas figure.
Goats may have stood for virility in Norse mythology, but in ancient Greek mythology, for instance, goat-like satyrs were symbols of intense desire. Goats were associated with negative and animalistic ideas, which were particularly prevalent in medieval Christian beliefs about sexual restraint. Other representations of the goats throughout this period included the devil, witches, and people damned to hell. Krampus is a half-goat Christmas figure, and he is the polar opposite of Saint Nicholas or Santa.
Folklore has it that “julebukk” (Yule goat) may also mean “Julebukking,” or someone who gets into the spirit of the season by dressing up as a billy goat and begging for food and drink. This person’s attire is often a furry hide. The myth of “Oskoreia,” or Wild Hunt, describes a variety of specters that wandered around during the midwinter night, often accompanied by a horned figure like a goat. It is an old belief recognized from the Middle Ages and here we find a potential link between the Yule goat and the Wild Hunt.
The leader of the Wild Hunt is often a figure associated with Odin in Germanic legends. In this theory, the origin of the Yule goat may lie in this group of demonic or ghostly huntsmen. Because in the later centuries, the celebrations of the Yule often saw a person with a billy goat mask and animal hide leading a group of people in old clothing, which symbolized the dead.
They celebrated Yule by dancing and making a racket. At this period, the Yule goat was more of a nuisance than a kind spirit, and he often wanted more than just a handful of sweets.
His appearances at parties were unannounced, and while everyone knew he was really only a friend in a horny guise, the fearsome beast still frightened kids and even adults.
Different Norwegian towns, cities, and generations have their own unique customs when it comes to celebrating Yule or Christmas with goats. Traditionally, both adults and youths would go out “julebukking” during the Christmas season in search of sweets as a reward, but nowadays, the practice is largely associated with kids. The main part of the excitement in julebukking was trying to identify the person behind the Yule goat disguise. Whenever adults went somewhere, they would historically be given a dram or a small quantity of spirits (liquor).
Features of the Yule Goat
Bringer of Gifts
One of the many Victorian-era uses for the Yule goat was as a gift-bringer, where he later became the helper of Santa Claus and the puller of his sleigh.
Yule Inspector
Older stories also associate Yule goat with a malevolent spirit or wight (Danish: “julevaette”) that, like Christmas elves and Lussi, kept tabs on everyone’s holiday preparations, had the power to punish those who disobeyed, and frightened youngsters, just like the Icelandic Yule Cat.
Yule Ornament
The Yule goat later became a Yule ornament made of straw with curled horns and red ribbons. There is now a giant straw Gävle Goat built each year for Yule. Interestingly, the Yule goat has also been used to describe certain kinds of bread, pastries, and even social activities.
The goat was an important aspect of pre-Christian Nordic culture, and its influence lives on in the form of a straw figure that is part of the Yule décor today. The significance of the goat is also shown by traditions like hiding a straw goat in a neighbor’s home and then trying to return it in the same way.
The Yule Goat Language
A characteristic derived from old and common masquerade customs is that the Yule goat, like Santa Claus, speaks “gnome language,” “Yule goat language,” or “troll language,” which is a distorted, high-pitched voice. This is also mentioned in the Norwegian writer Alf Prøysen’s well-known Christmas song “Romjulsdrøm” from 1968, which is about being “four years old during the Christmas season” and encountering a “Yule goat at a grandmother’s home.”
Christmas Figures Similar to the Yule Goat
Initially, the timing of the Yule celebration was not fixed, with each village celebrating when the work of harvest and threshing was complete and the livestock had been brought in from pasture. It was only during the first half of the 19th century that the festival began to be celebrated on November 1. Since it coincided with All Saints’ Day, it partly took on a celebration for the deceased.
Krampus
There are many parallels to the Yule goat tradition, especially in the Alpine regions, where a similar pre-Christian figure has survived in a disguised form with goat horns and animal skins named Krampus. He is known by many names according to the countries and regions, such as Klaubauf, Bartl or Bartel, Niglobartl, Wubartl, Pelzebock or Pelznickel, Gumphinckel, Parkelj, Čert, Badalisc, and so on.
Grýla
In Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Shetland, the Christmas goat tradition is linked to Grýla, a troll woman in folklore. People go Yule goat-ing (Julebukking) dressed as supernatural beings. Horns and animal hides are also recurring features of Grýla.
Santa’s Horned Helpers
There are also many figures who accompany the “goat.” St. Nicholas himself brings Krampus to deal with “naughty” youngsters in large regions. A little kid dressed in white with lit candles is worshipped in the Protestant North instead of Krampus, known as the Christ Child (Christkindl).
Zwarte Piet(“Black Peter”), who originally wears horns and is tasked with frightening misbehaving youngsters, is always accompanying St. Nicholas (Sinterklaas/Santa Claus) in the Netherlands. Over the past 150 years, he has become less menacing by assuming the appearance of an African, often in a childlike manner, dressed in exotic servant attire.
Julebukking is the Norwegian trick-or-treating at Yule in Nordic countries, which is when children dress up to go caroling door-to-door and these kids are called “Yule goats.” Julebukking is a game for kids, also practiced on the 13th day of Christmas (Epiphany), in exchange for treats like cookies, juice, and soda.
Nowadays, “julebukk” (Yule goat) mainly signifies “Julebukking,” a term for a small group of people who went door-to-door dressed for Yule. Once upon a time, there was a group or procession whose members wore shaggy fur and a goat or horn mask for this occasion. Nowadays, it is more common for costumed adolescents to visit farms, where they sing, dance, joke, accept beverages, and receive Yule food.
Despite a gradual decline in popularity since the 1980s, the practice is still alive in Norway and a few other Baltic republics. Kids nowadays can dress as elves, but in newer adaptations, they don’t use masks to hide who they are.
It is speculated that the practice of Julebukking originated in medieval dramatizations of Oskoreia or Wild Hunt, a kind of winter solstice myth, or as a holdover from Catholic processions featuring devil images or southern European mask traditions.
In Icelandic mythology, there is an unwanted creature called Yule Cat, also known as Jólakötturinn, that lives in the highlands of Iceland and is a black cat monster the size of a bull. The story of this terrifying mountain cat was first documented in the nineteenth century. In Icelandic tradition, the male Yule Cat is said to share a cave with the witch Grýla, a giantess-cannibal who abducts youngsters who are rebellious and naughty; Leppalúði, her husband, who is a total slob who never gets out of bed; and their kids, the thirteen Yule Lads, who are equivalents of “Santa Clauses” in the homeland.
The Story of the Yule Cat
Those who haven’t gotten at least one woolen item for the winter festival Yule are attacked and devoured by the traveling Yule Cat that visits cities and villages at Christmas. For instance, in order to save the children from the chore of the cat, who did not receive new clothes for Yule, the tale goes that they were given candles along with a few clothes, socks, or shoes. In that sense, the story also instructs people to help the less fortunate by giving them gifts.
In some tellings of the story, the Yule Cat doesn’t devour the kids but their Yule food; in other tellings, its target also includes the grownups. In another variant, the Yule Cat makes its way down from the mountaintops during the holiday season and roams the snowy countryside, but he is only limited to capturing those who are short on Yule goodies. It is claimed that those who fail to replace their old clothes in Iceland have “gone to the Yule Cat” (Icelandic: hann fór í jólaköttinn), which means that they have brought themselves misfortune.
Even though the Yule Cat has been around for a long time, the first recorded references to this Christmas cat didn’t appear until the nineteenth century. Farmers in Iceland would use the Yule Cat as a threat to get their staff to complete processing the wool they had received in the fall before Yule (around Dec 21–Jan 2).
Those who helped out the effort were rewarded with new clothing, while those who did not receive nothing and, thus, became prey to the dreadful Yule Cat. In the third alteration, the cat is seen eating the food from the Yule dinner of individuals who do not have new clothes.
The poetry of the Icelandic author Jóhannes úr Kötlum (1899–1972) and other traditions contributed to the widespread belief that the Yule Cat devours humans. The second volume of Icelandic folklorist Jón Árnason’s Icelandic Folk Tales and Adventuresstates the following about this mythical cat:
However, people could not enjoy the joy of Yule completely carefree because, in addition to the Yule Lads, it was believed that there was an unexpected person on the move called a Yule cat. He didn’t really hurt anyone who got some new clothes to wear on the Eve of Yule, but the others who didn’t get any new clothes were said to have “gone to the Yule Cat,” so he took them or at least their Yule gifts and it was considered fortunate if the cat was pleased with what he took.
Árnason’s famous Yule Cat poem reads:
You all know the Yule Cat And that Cat was huge indeed. People didn’t know where he came from Or where he went.
He opened his glaring eyes wide, The two of them glowing bright. It took a really brave man To look straight into them.
Origin of the Yule Cat
Because of Iceland’s relative isolation from the rest of the world ever since its founding, most of Icelandic folklore is original and depicts the harsh realities of life. The Yule Cat may have trollish roots, as Scandinavian folklore mentions witches summoning a ‘troll cat’ for magical purposes. Shamanic traditions also involve taking on a feline form. A recorded story from Norway tells of a Finn transforming into a large black cat to steal a silver spoon as a token.
The precise beginnings of the legendary image of the Yule Cat are linked to shepherding in Iceland, where sheep breeding was an important part of every family. “Vaðmál” (Wadmal), the coarse wool made from sheep’s fleece, was a business run by families.
Processing the wool was a family affair that included everyone from small children to elderly relatives after the sheep shearing during the months of fall. Working in tandem with the Icelandic market season, this task usually comes to a close right before Yule (Jól), which is around December 20–22.
Houses with the ability to spin wool were in great demand, yet there were years when it was difficult or impossible to work wool because of things like poverty, conflict, starvation, or death. Icelandic families still got together in the hopes that the Christmas Cat would not prey on any of their loved ones.
Domestic winter wear, particularly for older children, was fashioned from handloom material, and it was customary to knit little things, such as gloves and socks for everyone from the family. Those who worked hard leading up to Yule got new things, while others who were careless and hadn’t made anything by the time the markets opened were left behind. People used to scare their kids with the Yule Cat to get them to work harder.
One theory suggests that at the origin of the Yule Cat lies the Yule Goat, which is a Scandinavian and Northern European symbol with a Pagan origin. The Norse deity Thor was associated with the Yule Goat because he traveled through the sky in a chariot pulled by two goats.
It is possible that the Yule Goat first traveled to Iceland from Norway around the 18th century, but the character transformed into a cat during the introduction since goats are so rare in Iceland. A similar phenomenon is found across the Eastern Baltic, where it takes the form of a cow.
According to Swedish folklore, the Yule Goat is a spirit that appears just before Christmas to check if everything is in order with the Yule festivities. This tradition is similar to the behavior of the Yule Cat.
On the other hand, Grýla’s origin may be traced back to the Middle Ages, specifically around 13th-century Norse mythology. Her tradition, which is similar to the Italian Befana figure, became intertwined with the Yule Lads by the 17th century. The lineage of these young lads is said to originate from East Iceland and extends back to ancient times.
However, the Icelandic government later outlawed the practice of passing on terrifying tales of the Yule Lads to youngsters in 1746. These days, they’re just playful, harmless creatures. The Yule Cat has come to be associated with the giantess Grýla and her Yule Lads (Jólasveinar) since the 19th century. This cat is also said to belong to an ancient tradition, but written evidence has only been found in modern times.
Why a Cat and Not a Dog?
Iceland has always been a cat country, where cats have been more common than dogs. Hence, the country even banned dogs in 1924 after the increased cases of fatal tapeworms passed onto humans from dogs.
The goddess of love and magic, Freya, was said to have ridden a chariot drawn by two enormous flying cats that looked like the Norwegian forest cat in Icelandic mythology. The giant and woolly appearance of the Yule Cat might be explained by this, since Icelandic mythology places a high value on cats.
Although not exactly identical, there are other Christmas figures from other nations with similar purposes of creation:
Krampus: A half-goat, half-demon creature, Krampus is also a disciplinary character during the Christmas season. He appears in the mythology of Central Europe. He is the polar opposite of Saint Nicholas. The fear of Krampus serves as a deterrent to misbehavior among youngsters, much like the Yule Cat.
Frau Perchta: In German and Austrian tradition, there is a witch named Frau Perchta who, during the course of the Christmas season, bestows a notoriously horrific punishment on the wicked: having their inside organs torn out and replaced with trash.
Hans Trapp: Hans Trapp warns misbehaving children to be good or face abduction to the dark forest using his scarecrow disguise.
Belsnickel: Belsnickel taps windows, jingles bells loudly, and accuses children of misdeeds.
Père Fouettard: Père Fouettard, French for ‘Father Whipper,’ dispenses lumps of coal and beatings to naughty children.
The Yule Cat is still a prominent Yule figure in today’s Icelandic folklore, where certain monuments and dedications are made to the cat every holiday in the country. There are many pieces of art that focus on it, and the animal has become a more common sight in Icelandic holiday décor in recent years.
In the above image, you can see a large cat figure dedicated to the animal in the Icelandic capital Reykjavík, with the title “Christmas Cat.” The City of Reykjavík spent 4.4 million ISK ($31,400) on this large LED cat.
The worldwide famous Icelandic singer Björk released a song named “Jólakötturinn” in 1987 and the lyrics are inspired by Kötlum’s poem.
In Norse mythology, Fólkvangr (in Old Norse, meaning “field of the army” or “field of the host” or “people-field”) is a meadow or field ruled by the goddess Freyja. It is the place where half of those who die in battle go after their deaths, while the other half goes to the god Odin in Valhalla.
Both the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson and the Poetic Edda, which were both compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, mention Fólkvangr.
According to the “Poetic Edda” saga “Grímnismál,” Allfather takes the other half of the warriors who die in battle to Valhalla, while the other half goes to Fólkvangr. Consequently, in the traditional interpretation, Fólkvangr represents a realm that, in several aspects, contrasts with the world of Valhalla. In Odin’s halls, warriors engage in perpetual feasting and battle in the endless battlefield of Hjaðningavíg, while in Freyja’s halls, eternal peace reigns, and warriors relish their immortality in the company of the alluring goddess.
According to the text of the saga “Grímnismál,” Fólkvangr is referred to as a “court,” akin to Trondheim (ruled by Thor), Iðavöllr (ruled by Ullr), Breidablik or Breiðablik (ruled by Baldr), and other places defined as “sacred land lying near the Aesir and Alfar.” In this context, if Fólkvangr is designated as a complete location, its counterpart, Valhalla, is part of Odin’s “court,” known as Gladsheim.
The ninth is Folkvang, where Freyja decrees Who shall have seats in the hall; The half of the dead each day does she choose, And half does Othin have.
Fólkvangr: Mentions, Etymology and Possible Interpretations
Freja (1905) by John Bauer.
In Fólkvangr, the chosen warriors who died in battle enjoy an afterlife filled with honor and feasting. They are under the care and patronage of Freyja.
In addition to “Grimnir’s Sayings” from the “Elder Edda,” the abode of Freyja, Fólkvangr, is also mentioned in the “Gylfaginning” from the “Younger Edda,” (Prose Edda) where the information is reiterated that half of the fallen warriors end up there. However, in the “Egil’s Saga,” Thorgerd, the daughter of Egil Skallagrimsson, upon learning of the deaths of her father and brother, expresses that she does not want to live and will not eat until she reaches the goddess Freyja.
Based on this story, historians conclude that the doors of Folkvangr were also open to women who “voluntarily accepted a noble death”. On the other hand, there is a similar episode in the “Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks” (The Saga of Hervör and Heidrek), where the queen hangs herself in the “the Hall of the Dís” (“dísarsalr”) after learning that her father and brother had been betrayed by her husband. It describes the “the Hall of the Dís” as a sacred place associated with Freyr and the practice of seiðr, and interprets the queen’s suicide with a ritualistic undertone.
Etymologically, the Old Norse word Fólkvangr (originally “Fólkvangr,” later “Fólkvang,” with the original spelling with “r” at the end preserved only in the German language) can be translated in two ways: “field of the host” or “field of the army.” The more commonly used variant is “field of the host,” considered widely accepted.
The name “Fólkvangr” can likely be interpreted as “field of the warriors,” and the name of the goddess Freyja’s hall – Sessrúmnir – translates from Old Norse as “filled with many seats.” There is an apparent analogy with Valhalla. For instance, in the “Gylfaginning,” Freyja literally “‘the one who chooses the slain,” similar to the valkyries sent by Odin to transport warriors to Valhalla.
This suggests the idea that, initially, Freyja may have been a goddess associated with warfare, potentially linked to the character of Gullveig. A logical inquiry emerges: what accounts for the presence of two “heroic paradises” in Norse mythology? The proposition is made that this is connected to the presence of two warrior cults (akin to berserkers and ulfhednar), with one devoted to Odin and the other to Freyja.
Joseph S. Hopkins and Haukur Þorgeirsson, in their study “The Ship in the Field,” make a striking suggestion that ties together Folkvang, Freyja, the Vanir cult, and even the goddess Isidia Svebi. According to their research, Folkvang embodies the image of a field, while Sessrúmnir within it is the image of a ship.
Freyja, the ruler of Folkvang, belongs to the Vanir, not the Aesir. The Vanir were gods of fertility or “elemental” gods, in contrast to the Aesir, who were “celestial” gods. Warriors devoted to the Aesir were cremated on ships, while those devoted to the Vanir were buried in so-called “stone ships,” which have been found throughout Scandinavia. Thus, according to D. Hopkins and P. Haukur, Folkvang and Sessrúmnir may metaphorically denote a postmortem ocean, traversed by a ship that only the most worthy gain access to.
This interpretation of the Folkvang image resonates throughout ancient Scandinavian culture, rooted in maritime motifs and associated images. Researchers argue that Freyja was likely the goddess Isidia worshiped by the Suebi tribes, as mentioned in Tacitus’s “Germania” (referred to in scholarly literature as “Isis of the Suebi” to avoid confusion with the ancient Egyptian Isis).
References
Hopkins, Joseph S. and Haukur Þorgeirsson (2012). “The Ship in the Field“. RMN Newsletter 3, 2011:14-18. University of Helsinki.
Draupnir (the dripper) was the magical ring given to Odin by the dwarf Brok, who crafted it along with his brother Sindri. It possessed the ability to produce eight identical rings of equal value every nine nights. Subsequently, Odin places the ring on Baldr’s funeral pyre, and it is later returned to him through Hermod.
Draupnir is a symbol of Odin’s wealth and abundance. Its ability to reproduce represents the never-ending prosperity of the gods.
The Story of the Draupnir
The ring Draupnir is visible among other creations by the Sons of Ivaldi.
One day, Loki maliciously cut the hair of Sif, Thor’s wife. However, when Thor discovered this, he seized Loki and would have crushed all his bones if Loki hadn’t sworn to have the sons of Ivaldi craft golden hair for Sif that would grow like her other hair. Loki then went to the dwelling of the dwarves, and they created the hair, Skidbladnir (the ship of Freyr), and Gungnir (Odin’s spear). Loki then wagered his head with the dwarf, named Brok, that his brother, Sindri, couldn’t create three treasures as good as the ones just mentioned.
The brothers headed to the forge. Sindri placed a pig’s skin on the forge and instructed Brok to operate the bellows without stopping until he signaled. Loki, disguised as a fly, landed on Brok’s hand and stung him. However, Brok continued operating the bellows, and what Sindri withdrew from the forge was a pig with golden bristles.
The dwarves Brokkr and Sindri are responsible for crafting Draupnir along with other treasures for the gods.
Next, Sindri placed gold in the forge. This time, Loki landed on Brok’s neck and stung him harder, but Brok persisted in operating the bellows. The result was the golden ring, Draupnir. For the third attempt, Sindri placed the iron in the forge and urged his brother to keep blowing, emphasizing that everything would be lost otherwise. At this point, the fly positioned itself between Brok’s eyes and stung his eyelids. Blood began to drip into his eyes, impairing his vision. Brok momentarily released the bellows to scare away the fly.
What the blacksmith retrieved this time was a hammer. Sindre presented these treasures to his brother and instructed him to go to Asgard to claim the bet.
buy pharmacy online in the best USA pharmacy https://gaetzpharmacy.com/ no prescription with fast delivery drugstore
While Loki and Brok arrived, each with their treasures, the Aesir sat upon their thrones and deliberated, and Odin, Frey, and Thor were appointed judges to give the final decision. Then, Loki gave Odin the Gungnir spear, which should never lose its aim; to Thor, he gave Sif’s golden hair; and to Frey, he gave the Skidblandner ship, which always had a favorable wind as soon as its sails were unfolded, regardless of the captain’s destination; it could also be folded like a napkin and stored in the pocket if desired.
Draupnir appears to be the origin of Odin’s epithet, Reginn (“mighty”).
To Frey, he gave the golden boar Gullinbursti, telling him that it could run through the air and over the sea day and night, faster than any other horse, and that, no matter how long the night or how dark the other worlds, there would always be light where the boar was, so bright were its bristles.
To Thor, he gave the Mjölnir hammer, saying that it could strike an object no matter how large; it would never miss its target, and when thrown, there was no fear of losing it, as no matter how far it fell, it would always return to its master and, as desired, shrink small enough to be concealed in his bosom. But it had a flaw: its handle was a bit short.
According to the gods’ decision, the hammer was the best of all treasures, especially for the protection it offered against the frost giants; consequently, they decided that the dwarf had won the bet, and the latter then wanted Loki’s head.
