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Then comes Hlín's1 second
grief2
when Óðinn goes to fight the wolf,3
and Beli's bright bane4 to Surt,
Then shall Frigg's 'beloved'5 fall. |
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1. Hlín
(Protectress): a byname of Frigg, Odin's
wife, here also used as a byname for the Earth goddess in Hávarðar saga ísfirðings, 13.
Hlín is used as a byname of Odin's wife Jörð in Hávarðar saga ísfirðings,
13/5-6 which reads: þann vissak mér manna mest alls á Hlín
fallinn "No man fell upon
Hlin to a greater advantage for me, than this man."
There “to fall upon Hlin” means to “fall down (on the
ground),” “to die.” Thus Hlin is a poetic synonym for both Jörd,
the earth mother, and Odin's wife Frigg. The old poems
do not make a distinction between them.
The name means
“protector” from hleina, “to have peace and
security” [Ursula Dronke, Poetic Edda, Volume II, p. 149]
and may be related to the word hlein meaning “a
rock projecting like a pier into the sea” as well as a
perpendicular loom used for weaving. The name is used ironically here, because
Earth (Frigg-Jord) is unable to
protect her son and husband, and ultimately herself, from death
by fire. In the next verse, the term Sigföðr (Victory-Father)
for Odin at the moment of his death is used in a similar manner.
2. Frigg's second grief; her first grief is
widely understood to be her son
Baldur's death, as recounted in v. 32. Here not only
her husband Odin's, but Freyr's death is described. Could he be
another son of hers? The heathen poet certianly seems to be
implying a relationship between Frigg and Freyr.
3. the wolf: Fenrir, who swallows Odin.
4. Beli's bane: Freyr, who killed the giant Beli with a
hart's horn according to Gylfaginning 37.
5. angan: literally 'sweet scent', used only here and
in Völuspá 22. Commonly taken figuratively as
"beloved" and understood as a reference to Odin only
as 'Frigg's beloved',
leaving the reference to Freyr's death unexplained, and therefore
superfluous.
Per Snorri's Edda, Frigg and Freyr share no known connection
that would explain his presence in this verse. Based on our
current understanding, it is hard to see how Freyr can be
considered Frigg's "angan". However, in Adam of Bremen's account
of the 10th century temple at Uppsala, the third idol, commonly
identified as Freyr, is named Fricco, a masculine version of the
name Frigga and Frau Holle's epithets Frekka, who is clearly
identified as Frau Godan, i.e. Mrs. Odin. All of which points to
"Odin's wife" Frigg being the same as "Odin's wife" Jörð. Only
Snorri separates them into two distinct beings, recognizing
Frigg, Jörð, and Hlin (their common byname) as three (!)
distinct goddesses, whereas the old heathen poets appear to have
known them as one goddess with multiple names.
Like all Norse gods, Frigg had many names, one of them being
Hlin according to Voluspa 53. As Mother Earth (best shown in her
role in the Baldur myth, where she asks all earthly things to
oath not to harm her son), she is also known as Jord, Fjörgyn,
and Hlódyn. In skaldic parlance, Earth is most commonly called
"Odin's wife". Thor is much less frequently called her son, and
then using one of her many bynames, not merely Jörð,
demonstrating she was known by several names, like Odin and Thor
both are. Odin, Thor and Frigg are prominent figures in the
transliteration of the Roman weekdays and have appeared together
since the earliest records naming Germanic gods. As the earliest
named Germanic goddess recognized through to the end of the
heathen era, she is most commonly seen beside Odin. Frigg
appears in the 7th century Lombard Saga, the 10th century Second
Merseburg Charm, the Eddic and Skaldic poems from the ninth
century forward, and the thirteenth century works of Saxo
Grammaticus in Denmark and Snorri Sturluson in Iceland. In later
German folklore, she is Frau Holle, Holda and Hulle, also called
Perchta, Berchta, Berthe, and the White Lady. This single
figure, known by many names, is also called Frau Godan or Wodan,
and the mistress of the Wild Hunt, leading it during the Twelves
along with Odin, her husband. Thus, from the earliest historic
records (Nerthus in Germania ch. 40) through to the late
recordings of the old heathen Eddic poems, we find evidence for
a prominent goddess representing the Earth, most commonly
identified as Odin's wife in the full spectrum of Germanic
sources.
Considering all possible definitions of the word angan,
it seems likely that the poet intended word-play here.
Angan means: I. a sweet scent, II. plant fiber, III.
(metaphically) a spoiled boy, 'a pickle'. In Lokasenna
36, we are informed that Freyr was born to Njord and Njord's own
sister. Although she is unnamed in the poem, many scholars have
identified Njord's sister as Nerthus from Tacitus Germania ch.
40, due to the close phonetic connection between their
names: Njörð and Nerthus. Tacitus identifies Nerthus as
Tellus Mater, the Earth Mother. Thus Earth and Sea are siblings,
and their offspring are promoters of the fertility of the land
and the fecundity of the loin. In Gylfaginning 10, we learn that
Earth has a brother named Auðr or Uðr, names meaning 'wealth' or
'wave'. Elsewhere in Gylfaginning, Snorri introduces Njord as a
wealthy god of the sea and his son Freyr as a god of abundant
harvests. In an Icelandic saga, we find an Old Norse proverb
comparing a rich man to Njord ("sem auðigur Njord", as wealthy
as Njord.) Thus Auðr, "wealthy", seems a fitting title for him
as Earth's brother. Once recognized, Frigg's role as Njord's
sister explains her position in Asgard. She is more powerful
than even Odin, besting him in the two recorded arguments they
have (Grimnismal and the Lombard Saga). The poet Egill in
Sonnatorrek calls the gods Frigg's progency (niðr). This is
possible, only if she is the mother of the gods. Yet Baldur is
Frigg's only known child, if we trust Snorri's interpretations.
However, in the old poems, Frigg as the wife of Odin, is the
mother of Baldur and Hodr, who are twins. As the Earth mother
and "Odin's wife", Earth (called Jord, Fjorgyn, Hlodyn, Land and
Grund) is the mother of his son Thor. As Njord's sister Nerthus,
that is "Mother Earth" she is the mother of Freyr and Freyja.
Thus Frigg is the All-mother, compared to Odin's title
All-father.
Therefore, if we understand Hlín-Frigg to be Mother
Earth (Jord), and the sister of Njörd (cf. Auðr, Gylfaginning
10), then Frigg's
angan
can refer to:
1.
Odin, who is Frigg's husband; said to face Fenrir, who we
know is destined to swallow him.
2. Freyr, the Lord of
Harvests, who is Frigg's (Jord's)
son by her brother Njörd (cf. Lokasenna 36); who is said to face
Surt, who wields a sword known as the "bane of branches", a
kenning for fire.
3.
plant life, the fragrant natural adornment of the Earth Mother—consumed by Surt's fire
in the following verses, which fills the air with the reek of
smoke. Freyr the god of harvests falls dead, burnt alive
by Surt's flames, then Earth shall loose her angan: her
'sweet scent', her plant fibers, and her 'spoiled' little boy
Freyr, as well as her beloved Odin.
At last the full meaning of the heathen poet is understood.
Truly, this is one of the most tragic verses in the whole poem.
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The use of Hlin as a byname for Frigg begins a series of
epithets for Earth recited in verse R54, just before Earth
herself sinks into the sea in R55. |
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