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Eir

2025-10-27T19:05:39Z

190.97.243.165:

{{short description|Norse deity}}
{{other uses|EIR (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Menglöð and Nine Maidens by Froelich.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Menglöð]] sits with the nine maidens, including Eir, on [[Lyfjaberg]] (1893) by [[Lorenz Frølich]].]]
In [[Norse mythology]], '''Eir''' ([[Old Norse]]: {{IPA|non|ˈɛir|}}, "protection, help, mercy"<ref name=ORCHARD36>Orchard (1997:36).</ref>) is a [[ásynjur|goddess]] or [[valkyrie]] associated with medical skill. Eir is attested in the ''[[Poetic Edda]]'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; the ''[[Prose Edda]]'', written in the 13th century by [[Snorri Sturluson]]; and in [[skald]]ic poetry, including a [[runic alphabet|runic]] inscription from [[Bergen]], [[Norway]] from around 1300. Scholars have theorized about whether these three sources refer to the same figure, and debate whether Eir may have been originally a healing goddess or a [[valkyrie]]. In addition, Eir has been compared to the [[Greek mythology|Greek]] goddess [[Hygieia]].

==Attestations==

===''Poetic Edda''===
In the ''[[Poetic Edda]]'' poem ''[[Fjölsvinnsmál]]'', the watchman [[Fjölsviðr]] presents a list of the maidens that attend the lady of the keep—[[Menglöð]]—that includes Eir, and states that they all sit on the hill [[Lyfjaberg]] (Old Norse "hill of healing"<ref name=BELLOWS248>Bellows (1923:248).</ref> or "healing mountain"<ref name=SIMEK198>Simek (2007:198).</ref>). The exchange between the hero [[Svipdagr]] and [[Fjölsviðr]] mentioning Eir is as follows:
<blockquote>
{|
|
:[[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Henry Adams Bellows]] translation:
:''Svipdag spake'':
:"Now answer me, Fjolsvith, the question I ask,
:For now the truth would I know:
:What maidens are they that at Mengloth's knees
:Are sitting so gladly together?"

:''Fjolsvith spake:''
:"Hlif is one named, Hlifthrasa another,
:Thjothvara call they the third;
:Bjort and Bleik, Blith and Frith,
:Eir and [[Aurboða|Aurbotha]]."<ref name=BELLOWS248-249>Bellows (1923:248–249).</ref>
|
:[[Benjamin Thorpe]] translation:
:''Vindkald.''
:Tell me, Fiolsvith! etc.,
:how these maids are called,
:who sit at Menglod's knees
:in harmony together?

:''Fiolsvith.''
:Hlif the first is called, the second Hlifthursa,
:the third Thiodvarta,
:Biort and Blid, Blidr, Frid,
:Eir, and Orboda.<ref name=THORPE100>Thorpe (1907:100).</ref>
|
|}
</blockquote>
After the exchange, Svipdagr asks if these figures will give aid if [[blót]] are made to them. Fjölsviðr responds that Svipdagr is correct:
<blockquote>
{|
|
:''Fjolsvith spake:''
:"Soon aid they all who offers give
:On the holy altars high;
:And if danger they see for the sons of men,
:Then each day from ill do they guard."<ref name=BELLOWS249>Bellows (1923:249).</ref>
|
:''Fiolsvith.''
:Every summer in which men offer to them,
:at the holy place,
:no pestilence so great shall come to the sons of men,
:but they will free each from peril.<ref name=THORPE100/>
|
|}
</blockquote>

===''Prose Edda''===
In chapter 35 of the ''[[Prose Edda]]'' book ''[[Gylfaginning]]'', the enthroned figure of [[High, Just-As-High, and Third|High]] provides brief descriptions of 16 [[ásynjur]]. High lists Eir third, and says no more about her other than noting that "she is an extremely good physician."<ref name=FAULKES35>Faulkes (1995:29).</ref> In chapter 75 of the ''Prose Edda'' book ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'' Eir appears within a list of valkyrie names, but Eir is not included in the list of [[ásynjur]] in the same chapter.<ref name=FAULKES157>Faulkes (1995:157).</ref>

===Skaldic poetry and runic inscription===
In [[skald|skaldic poetry]], the name Eir is frequent in [[kenning]]s for women. A sample construction is ''Eir aura'' ("Eir of riches"), occurring in ''[[Gísla saga]]''.<ref name=OLSEN270>Olsen (1996:270).</ref> The name is already used in this way by the 10th century poets [[Kormákr Ögmundarson]] and [[Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld]].<ref>Finnur Jónsson (1931:104).</ref> Similarly, the name Eir is used in a woman kenning in a [[Bryggen inscriptions|runic inscription]] inscribed on a stick from [[Bergen]], [[Norway]] around the year 1300. The stick records a common mercantile transaction followed by a verse from a displeased scribe (edits applied per the translator's notes):
<blockquote>
:'Wise [[Vár|Var]] of wire ["woman of [[filigree]]," meaning "wise bejeweled woman"] makes (me) sit unhappy.
:Eir [woman] of mackerels' ground [likely gold] takes often and much sleep from me.'<ref name=MACLEODMEES59>MacLeod. Mees (2006:59).</ref>
</blockquote>
Mindy Macleod and Bernard Mees posit that the first line of the inscription essentially means "women make me miserable" or potentially "marriage makes me miserable," whereas the second line means "women often take a lot of sleep from me."<ref name=MACLEODMEES59/>

The name remained frequently used in woman kennings in [[rímur]] poetry.<ref>Finnur Jónsson (1926-28:74).</ref>

==Theories==
Regarding the seemingly three different, seemingly conflicting, mentions of Eir, [[Andy Orchard]] says that the [[etymology]] of the name ''Eir'' may appear to fit the role of Eir as a goddess and servant of [[Menglöð]] best, but that one should consider that the valkyries also have the ability to waken the dead.<ref name=ORCHARD36-37>Orchard (1997:36–37).</ref> [[John Lindow]] is skeptical of there having been a belief in Eir as a goddess, stating that "whether we should trust Snorri and imagine the existence of a goddess Eir is problematic".<ref name=LINDOW105>Lindow (2001:105).</ref> [[Rudolf Simek]] says that Eir may originally have been simply a valkyrie rather than a goddess, and lists the servant of Menglöð by the same name as a separate figure.<ref name=SIMEK71-72>Simek (2007:71–72).</ref>

[[Hilda Ellis Davidson]] comments that "virtually nothing" is known about Eir outside of her association with healing, and points out that she is "singled out as one of the [[Norns]] who shape the lives of children". Davidson adds that "no satisfactory conclusions" have been drawn from her name, and considers all mentions of Eir as of the same figure. Davidson says that, in reference to Eir's appearance among Menglöð's maidens, that the names of these maidens "suggest that they are guardian spirits, and [they are] said to 'shelter and save' those who make offerings of them. They could be akin to protective spirits of the house, guarding both men and women." She additionally draws a link between these spirits and Lyfjaberg:

<blockquote>Lyfjaberg is where the goddess sits surrounded by her helpful spirits. Although healing by a goddess—or indeed by a god either—has left little mark on Norse myths as they have come down to us, there is no doubt that the healing power of goddesses was of enormous importance in daily life in the pre-Christian period, as was that of many women saints in Christian times. The goddess who presided over childbirth was held to possess power over life and death, and was revered as a lifegiver, both in the family home and in the courts of kings, though she might also pass sentence of death.<ref name=DAVIDSON162-163>Davidson (1998:162–163).</ref></blockquote>

[[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Henry Adams Bellows]] proposes a relationship between Eir and the place name ''[[Lyfjaberg]]'', which he translates as "hill of healing". Bellows notes that manuscripts vary about the spelling of the place name, and that he, like others, has followed 19th-century scholar [[Sophus Bugge]]'s choice. Bellows states that the stanza mentioning Lyfjaberg "implies that Mengloth is a goddess of healing, and hence, perhaps an hypostasis of [[Frigg]], as already intimated by her name [...]. In stanza 54, Eir appears as one of Mengloth's handmaidens, and Eir, according to Snorri (''Gylfaginning, 35'') is herself the Norse [[Hygieia]]. Compare this stanza to stanza 32."<ref name=BELLOWS248/>

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* [[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Bellows, Henry Adams]] (Trans.) (1923). ''The Poetic Edda: Translated from the Icelandic with an introduction and notes by Henry Adams Bellows''. New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation.
* [[Hilda Ellis Davidson|Davidson, Hilda Roderick Ellis]] (1998). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=9IAyyYi0OC4C&q=Roles+of+the+Northern+Goddess Roles of the Northern Goddess]{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}''. [[Routledge]]. {{ISBN|0-415-13610-5}}
* Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995). ''Snorri Sturluson: Edda''. First published in 1987. London: Everyman. {{ISBN|0-460-87616-3}}
* [[Finnur Jónsson]] (1931). ''Lexicon Poeticum''. København: S. L. Møllers Bogtrykkeri.
* Finnur Jónsson (1926–28). ''Ordbog til de af samfund til udg. af gml. nord. litteratur udgivne rímur samt til de af Dr. O. Jiriczek udgivne bósarimur''. København: J. Jørgensen & Co.
* [[John Lindow|Lindow, John]] (2001). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=KlT7tv3eMSwC Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs]''. [[Oxford University Press]]. {{ISBN|0-19-515382-0}}
* Macleod, Mindy; Mees, Bernard (2006). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=hx7UigqsTKoC Runic Amulets and Magic Objects]''. [[Boydell Press]]. {{ISBN|1-84383-205-4}}
* Olsen, Karin (1996). "Woman-kennings in Gísla Saga" as collected in Stanley, Gerald Eric. Toswell, M. J. (1996). ''Studies in English language and literature: "Doubt Wisely": Papers in Honour of E. G. Stanley''. [[Routledge]]. {{ISBN|0-415-13848-5}}
* Orchard, Andy (1997). ''Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend''. [[Orion Publishing Group|Cassell]]. {{ISBN|0-304-34520-2}}
* [[Rudolf Simek|Simek, Rudolf]] (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. [[Boydell & Brewer|D.S. Brewer]]. {{ISBN|0-85991-513-1}}
* [[Benjamin Thorpe|Thorpe, Benjamin]] (Trans.) (1907). ''The Elder Edda of Saemund Sigfusson''. [[Norrœna Society]].
{{refend}}
{{-}}
{{Valkyries}}
{{Norse mythology}}

{{Good article}}

[[Category:Ásynjur]]
[[Category:Health deities]]
[[Category:Health goddesses]]
[[Category:Valkyries]]

Geirröðr

2025-10-25T02:57:45Z

190.97.243.165:

{{short description|Norse mythical character}}
{{about|the jötunn|the human king in Grímnismál|Grímnismál}}
{{Redirect|Geirrod|the moon of Saturn|Geirrod (moon)}}

'''Geirröðr''' (also '''Geirröd''') is a [[jötunn]] in [[Norse mythology]]. He is the father of the jötnar [[Gjálp and Greip|Gjálp]] and [[Gjálp and Greip|Greip]], who are killed by the [[Weather god|thunder-god]] [[Thor]],{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=137}} and the possible father of the jötnar [[Nine Mothers of Heimdallr|Eistla]], [[Nine Mothers of Heimdallr|Angeyja]], [[Nine Mothers of Heimdallr|Ulfrún]], [[Nine Mothers of Heimdallr|Eyrgjafa]], [[Nine Mothers of Heimdallr|Imd]], [[Nine Mothers of Heimdallr|Atla]] and [[Járnsaxa]].

Geirröðr is mentioned in the [[Skald|skaldic]] poem ''[[Þórsdrápa]]'', written by [[Eilífr Goðrúnarson|Eilíf Godrúnarson]] (late 10th c. AD), itself cited in ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'' (early 13th c.) where it is preceded by [[Snorri Sturluson]]'s account of the myth, and in ''[[Gesta Danorum]]'' by [[Saxo Grammaticus]] (early 13th c.).{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=137}}

Saturn's moon [[Geirrod (moon)|Geirrod]] is named after him.

== Name ==
The [[Old Norse]] name ''Geirröðr'' has been translated as 'spear-reddener'.{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=53}} It stems from the Old Norse masculine noun ''geirr'' ('spear'), ultimately from the [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] ''*gaizaz'' ('spear, tip').{{Sfn|de Vries|1962|pp=161–162}}

An unrelated figure also bears the name ''Geirröðr'' in the eddic poem ''[[Grímnismál]]''.{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=53}}{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=138}}

== Attestations ==

===Prose Edda===
In ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'' (The Language of Poetry; early 13th c.), [[Loki]] is flying in [[Frigg]]’s [[Feather cloak#Germanic|hawk coat]] to Geirrödargardar, the abode of the giant Geirröðr, when he is captured by the latter and locked in a chest for three months. To redeem his life, Loki agrees to bring Thor to Geirröðr's place without his [[Megingjörð|belt of strength]] and [[Mjölnir|hammer]].{{Sfn|Faulkes|1987|p=81}}{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=137}} On their way to Geirrödargardar, Thor and Loki (or [[Þjálfi and Röskva|Thjálfi]] in ''[[Þórsdrápa|Thórsdrápa]]'') stop at the home of the giantess [[Gríðr]]. She warns Thor about Geirröðr's plan and equips him with a new belt of strength, a pair of iron gloves, and a staff named ''Grídarvöl'' (Gríd’s-staff).{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=137}} Arriving at Geirrödargardar, Thor is eventually challenged to a game by Geirröðr. The giant throws a piece of red-hot iron at him, but Thor is able to catch it with the iron gloves. As Geirröðr tries to hide behind a pillar, Thor throws the piece of iron through the column and kills him.{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=138}}

{{Poem quote|text=Then Geirrod had Thor called into the hall for games. There were great fires there along the length of the hall. And when Thor came into the hall opposite Geirrod, Geirrod picked up with tongs a glowing lump of molten iron and threw it at Thor, and with the iron gauntlets Thor caught and raised the molten lump into the air, while Geirrod ran to the shelter of an iron pillar for protection. Thor flung the molten lump and it crashed through the pillar and through Geirrod and through the wall and so into the ground outside.|char=|sign=[[Snorri Sturluson]]|title=''[[Skáldskaparmál]]''|source=18, trans. A. Faulkes, 1987.}}

=== Viking Age ===
The story is mentioned in ''[[Þórsdrápa]]'' (late 10th c. AD), cited in the later ''Skáldskaparmál''.{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=53}}
{{Poem quote|text=[[Jörð|Iord]]’s son [Thor] began to display unusual knowledge [skill], and the men [giants] of the fiord-apple-[rock-]moor-lair [mountain cave] did not suppress their ale-joy. The bow-string-troubler [warrior, Geirrod], relative of Sudri, struck with forge-heated tongs-morsel [glowing lump of iron] at the mouth of Odin’s sorrow-stealer [helper, Thor].

So that the speedy-hastener of battle [Thor], the old friend of Throng [Freyia], swallowed in the quick bite of his hands the raised drink of molten metal in the air, when the sparkling cinder flew furiously from the grip’s breast [palm] of the passionate desirer [Geirrod] of Hrimnir’s lady to wards the one who longs for Thrud in his heart [Thor].|char=|sign=[[Eilífr Goðrúnarson]]|title=''[[Þórsdrápa]]''|source=trans. A. Faulkes, 1987.}}

=== Other texts ===
In ''[[Gesta Danorum]]'' (early 13th c.), Thorkillus and his companions notice the pierced body of an old man and three dead women with their backs broken as they visit the vile hall of the dead Geruthus (Geirrøth). Thorkillus tells them that Thor had driven a hot [[ingot]] through Geruthus and killed his daughters with thunderbolts.{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=138}}{{Sfn|Fisher|2015|p=609}}

{{Poem quote|text=Advancing, they saw a shattered section of cliff and not far away on a higher platform an old man with a perforated body sitting opposite the area of broken rock ... Since his comrades were curious to know, Thorkil, who was well aware of the reasons behind things, taught them that once the god Thor, harassment by the giants’ insolence, had driven a burning ingot though the vitals of Geirrœth, who was struggling against him...|char=|sign=[[Saxo Grammaticus]]|title=''[[Gesta Danorum]]''|source=8:14:15, trans. P. Fisher, 2015.}}

In [[Þorsteins þáttr bæjarmagns|''Thorsteins þáttr baejarmagns'']], Thor's deeds have been reworked and transferred to a hero named Thorstein, involved in a sporting event at the hall of the giant-king Geirröd where a heavy red-hot seal’s head is thrown between the contestants.{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=54}}

== Theories ==
According to scholar [[John Lindow]], the myth of Geirröðr "shows several characteristics of Thor stories—the dangerous journey to the [[otherworld]], the special enmity of female giantesses, and the killing of a male giant—and it also introduces notions of [[Metalsmith|smithing]] that sometimes seem to lurk behind Thor."{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=138}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===

*{{Cite book|last=de Vries|first=Jan|title=Altnordisches Etymologisches Worterbuch|date=1962|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-05436-3|edition=1977|author-link=Jan de Vries (linguist)}}
*{{Cite book|last=Faulkes|first=Anthony|title=Edda|publisher=Everyman|year=1987|isbn=0-460-87616-3|edition=1995|author-mask=Faulkes, Anthony, trans.}}
*{{Cite book|last=Fisher|first=Peter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=67K6BwAAQBAJ|title=Gesta Danorum|date=2015|publisher=Clarendon Press|isbn=978-0-19-820523-4|volume=1|language=en|author-mask=Fisher, Peter, trans.}}
*{{Cite book|last=Lindow|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KlT7tv3eMSwC|title=Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs|date=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-983969-8|language=en|author-link=John Lindow}}
*{{Cite book|last=Orchard|first=Andy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uIujQgAACAAJ|title=Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend|date=1997|publisher=Cassell|isbn=978-0-304-34520-5|language=en|author-link=Andy Orchard}}

== Further reading ==

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060923215727/http://www.hi.is/~eybjorn/ugm/thorsd00.html Jörmungrund: Þórsdrápa] Old Norse text with English translation and detailed analysis.

{{Norse mythology}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geirrod}}
[[Category:Jötnar]]

Gjálp and Greip

2025-10-24T17:06:02Z

190.97.243.165:

{{short description|Norse mythic characters}}
{{Redirect2|Gjálp|Greip|the volcanic eruption|1996 eruption of Gjálp|the moon of Saturn|Greip (moon)}}
'''Gjálp''' ([[Old Norse]]: {{IPA|non|ˈɡjɑːlp|}}; or Gialp) and '''Greip''' (Old Norse: Greip) are two [[jötnar]] in [[Norse mythology]] and the daughters of the jötunn [[Geirröðr]]. They are killed by the thunder god [[Thor]] for trying to kill him.{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=144}}

== Names ==
The [[Old Norse]] name ''Gjálp'' has been variously translated as 'screamer', 'yelper'.'''{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=144}}'''{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=57}} It is related to the [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]] ''gjálp'' ('roar; sea, wave'), and to the Old Norse ''gjalpa'' ('to brag').{{Sfn|de Vries|1962|p=70}}

''Greip'' is translated as ('gripper, grasper').{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=57}} It derives from the Old Norse ''greip'' ('hand [with spread thumbs], handle').{{Sfn|de Vries|1962|p=186}}

== Attestations ==

=== Prose Edda ===
[[File:Thor's_Journey_to_Geirrodsgard.jpg|right|thumb|250x250px|''Thor's Journey to Geirrodsgard'' (1906) by [[Lorenz Frølich]].]]
In ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'' (The Language of Poetry), Thor meets Gjálp as he is trying to wade across the [[Vimur River]]; she is causing the river to swell with what appears to be her urine or menstrual fluids as she is standing "astride the river".{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=57}}{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=137}}
{{Poem quote|text=Then Thor saw up in a certain cleft that Geirrod’s daughter Gialp was standing astride the river and she was causing it to rise. Then Thor took up out of the river a great stone and threw it at her and said:
'At its outlet must a river be stemmed.'

He did not miss what he was aiming at, and at that moment he found himself close to the bank and managed to grasp a sort of rowan-bush and thus climbed out of the river.|char=|sign=[[Snorri Sturluson]]|title=''[[Skáldskaparmál]]''|source=18, trans. A. Faulkes, 1987.}}

Thor eventually reaches Geirrödargardar, the abode of the {{lang|non|jötunn}} [[Geirröðr]]. He sits on a chair that is lifted up against the roof by Gjálp and Greip as they are trying to kill him.{{Sfn|Faulkes|1987|p=82}}{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=138}}
{{Poem quote|text=And when Thor got to Geirrod’s, he and his companion were first of all shown into a goat-shed as their lodging, and inside there was a single seat to sit on and it was Thor who sat on it. Then he realized that the seat was lifting under him up towards the roof. He pushed Grid’s pole up into the rafters and pressed himself hard down on the seat. Then there was a great crack accompanied by a great scream. Under the seat it had been Geirrod’s daughters Gialp and Greip and he had broken both their backs.|char=|sign=Snorri Sturluson|title=''[[Skáldskaparmál]]''|source=18, trans. A. Faulkes, 1987.}}

=== Viking Age ===
The same myth is told in ''[[Þórsdrápa]]'' by [[Eilífr Goðrúnarson]] (late 10th c. AD), which is cited by [[Snorri Sturluson]] in ''Skáldskaparmál'', although the {{lang|non|[[gýgjar]]}} are not named in the poem.{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=137}}
{{Poem quote|text=And they pressed their eye-lash-moon-flame-[eye-]sky [skull] against the roof-battens of the stone-plain’s [mountain’s] hall [cave]. The females were trodden down by long swords. The driver [Thor] of the hull of the storm’s hover- chariot broke each of the cave-women’s age-old laughter-ship-[breast-]keels [backbones].|char=|sign=[[Eilífr Goðrúnarson]]|title=''[[Þórsdrápa]]''|source=trans. A. Faulkes, 1987.}}

=== ''Gesta Danorum'' ===
''[[Gesta Danorum]]'' (Deeds of the Danes) relates a similar story as Thorkillus (Thokil) and his companions are visiting the hall of the dead Geruthus (Geirröðr) when they notice the pierced body of an old man and three dead women with their backs broken. Thokil tells them that the god Thor "has driven a burning ingot though the vitals of Geirrœth" and that the "women have been struck by the force of Thor’s thunderbolt and have paid the penalty for attacking his divinity by having their bodies broken".{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=138}}{{Sfn|Fisher|2015|p=609}}
{{Poem quote|text=They saw also three women, their bodies laden with tumours and, so it seemed, with no strength in their backbones, occupying adjacent couches.|char=|sign=[[Saxo Grammaticus]]|title=''[[Gesta Danorum]]''|source=8:14:15, trans. P. Fisher, 2015.}}
=== Other texts ===
In ''[[Völuspá hin skamma]]'' (37), Gjálp and Greip are listed among the [[Nine Mothers of Heimdallr]].'''{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=|pp=144, 149}}''' Gjálp is also mentioned in the [[Nafnaþulur|þulur]] and in [[Kenning|kennings]] of [[Skald|skaldic]] poetry.'''{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=144}}''' Greip on her side is not mentioned in ''[[Nafnaþulur]]'' and found only once in the skaldic kenning.'''{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=149}}'''

In ''[[Haustlöng]]'', [[Þjazi]] is called "the son of the suitor of Greip". Greip may be used there as a generic {{lang|non|gýgr}} name and the [[kenning]] may mean simply "{{lang|non|jötunn}}".{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}

In a [[lausavísa]] composed by [[Vetrliði Sumarliðason]] and quoted in Skáldskaparmál, Gjálp is mentioned as being killed by Thor.{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}

{|
|
:''Leggi brauzt þú Leiknar,''
:''*lamðir Þrívalda,''
:''steypðir *Starkeði,''
:''stóttu of Gjálp dauða.''{{spaced ndash}} Faulkes' edition
|
:Thou didst break the leg of Leikn,
:Didst cause to stoop [[Starkad]]r,
:Didst bruise [[Þrívaldi|Thrívaldi]],
:Didst stand on lifeless Gjálp.{{spaced ndash}} Brodeur's translation
|
|}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===

*{{Cite book|last=de Vries|first=Jan|title=Altnordisches Etymologisches Worterbuch|date=1962|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-05436-3|edition=1977|author-link=Jan de Vries (linguist)}}
*{{Cite book|last=Faulkes|first=Anthony|title=Edda|publisher=Everyman|year=1987|isbn=0-460-87616-3|edition=1995|author-mask=Faulkes, Anthony, trans.}}
*{{Cite book|last=Fisher|first=Peter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=67K6BwAAQBAJ|title=Gesta Danorum|date=2015|publisher=Clarendon Press|isbn=978-0-19-820523-4|volume=1|language=en|author-mask=Fisher, Peter, trans.}}
* {{Cite book|last=Lindow|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KlT7tv3eMSwC|title=Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs|date=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-983969-8|language=en|author-link=John Lindow}}
*{{Cite book|last=Orchard|first=Andy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uIujQgAACAAJ|title=Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend|date=1997|publisher=Cassell|isbn=978-0-304-34520-5|language=en|author-link=Andy Orchard}}

== Further reading ==

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060108014642/http://www.northvegr.org/lore/prose/109112.php Brodeur's translation of the ''Prose Edda'']
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20030514055221/http://www.hi.is/~eybjorn/ugm/skindex/vetrl.html Lausavísa by Vetrliði Sumarliðason]
{{Norse mythology}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gjalp And Greip}}
[[Category:Gýgjar]]
[[Category:Mythological duos]]
[[Category:Sister duos]]

Parcae

2025-10-07T21:28:55Z

190.97.243.165: /* See also */

{{Short description|Fates in Roman mythology}}
[[File:Les Parques.jpg|thumb|''Les Parques'' ("The Parcae," ca. 1885) by [[Alfred Agache (painter)|Alfred Agache]]]]
[[File:Les trois Parques-Marco-Bigio.jpg|thumb|''The Three Parcae'' (1540-1550), by [[Marco Bigio]], in Villa Barberini, Rome]]
[[File:Roscheiderhof quint2 16 DreiParzen H1a.jpg|thumb|Fireback with Parcae]]

In [[Religion in ancient Rome|ancient Roman religion]] and [[Roman mythology|myth]], the '''Parcae''' (singular: '''Parca''') were the female [[personification]]s of [[destiny]] who directed the lives (and deaths) of humans and gods. They are often called the [[Fates]] in English, and their [[interpretatio graeca|Greek equivalent]] were the [[Moirai]]. They did not control a person's actions except when they are born, when they die, and how much they suffer.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fate-Greek-and-Roman-mythology | title=Fate | Greek and Roman mythology | Britannica }}</ref>

The Parcae recorded the metaphorical thread of life of every mortal and immortal from birth to death. Even the gods feared them, and by some sources [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] was also subject to their power.<ref name=":0" />

[[Nona (mythology)|Nona]] was supposed to determine a person's lifespan on the ''[[dies lustricus]]'', that is, the day on which the name of the child was chosen, which occurred on the ninth day from birth for a male and the eighth for a female.<ref>S. Breemer and J. H. Waszinsk ''Mnemosyne'' 3 Ser. 13, 1947, pp. 254–270: on personal destiny as linked to the collation of the ''dies lustricus''.</ref>

The recurrence of the [[nundinae]] was also considered a ''[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#festus|dies festus]]'' and as such ''[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#nefas|nefas]]'' by some Roman scholars as [[Julius Caesar]] and [[Cornelius Labeo]], because on it the ''[[Flamen dialis#Flaminica Dialis|flaminica dialis]]'' offered the sacrifice of a goat to Jupiter in the [[Regia]].<ref>Macr. ''Sat.'' I 16, 30.</ref>

According to some treatments, the Parcae seem to be more powerful than many, or perhaps even all, of the gods: "The power of the Parcae was great and extensive. Some suppose that they were subjected to none of the gods but Jupiter; while others support that even Jupiter himself was obedient to their commands; and indeed we see the father of the gods, in Homer's Iliad, unwilling to see Patroclus perish, yet obliged, by the superior power of the Fates, to abandon him to his destiny."<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Lemprière |first1=John |title=A Classical Dictionary: Containing a Copious Account of All the Proper Names Mentioned in Ancient Authors; with the Value of Coins, Weights and Measures, Used Among the Greeks and Romans; and a Chronological Table |date=1827 |publisher=Collin & Company |page=580 }}</ref> Similarly: "We have the clearest evidence of the poet for it, that whatever happens to us is under the influence of the Parcae. Jupiter himself can not interfere to save his son Sarpedon."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wieland ( Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown ) |first1=Christoph Martin |title=Lucian of Samosata |date=1820 |page=723}}</ref>

== Names and sources ==
The names of the three Parcae are:
* [[Nona (mythology)|Nona]] (Greek equivalent ''[[Clotho]]''), who spun the thread of life from her [[distaff]] onto her [[Spindle (textiles)|spindle]];<ref name="Conflict With the Dragon and the Sea">John Day, ''God's Conflict With the Dragon and the Sea: Echoes of a Canaanite Myth in the Old Testament'', CUP Archive, 1985, p. 308.</ref>
* [[Decima (mythology)|Decima]] (Greek equivalent ''[[Lachesis (mythology)|Lachesis]]''), who measured the thread of life with her rod;<ref name="Conflict With the Dragon and the Sea" />
* [[Morta (mythology)|Morta]] (Greek equivalent ''[[Atropos]]''), who cut the thread of life and chose the manner of a person's death.<ref>L. L. Tels de Jong ''Sur quelques divinites romaines de la naissance et de la prophetie'' 1959, pp. 70–77; 83–85.</ref><ref>P. Ramat "Morta" in ''Archivio glottologico italiano'' 40, 1960, pp. 61–67.</ref><ref>J. H. Waszinsk ''Gnomon'' 34, 1962, p. 445.</ref>

The earliest extant documents referencing these deities are three small [[stelae]] ''(cippi)'' found near ancient [[Lavinium]] shortly after [[World War II]].<ref>G. Dumezil ''La religion romaine archaique'' Paris, 1974, part 4, chapt.</ref> They bear the inscription:

<blockquote>
''Neuna fata, Neuna dono, Parca Maurtia dono''
</blockquote>

The names of two of the three Roman Parcae are recorded (''Neuna'' = Nona, ''Maurtia'' = Morta) and connected to the concept of ''fata''.<ref>L. L. Tels De Jong ''Sur quelques divinites romaines de la naissance et de la prophetie'' 1959 pp. 67–130.</ref>

[[File:Peter Paul Rubens - Sketches - WGA20439.jpg|thumb|''The Three Parcae Spinning the Fate of [[Marie de' Medici]]'' (1622-1625) by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]]]One of the sources for the Parcae is ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' by [[Ovid]], II 654, V 532, VIII 452, XV 781. Another source is [[Aeneid]] by [[Virgil]], in the opening of Book I.

== See also ==
* [[Fates]]
* [[Laima]]
* [[Matrones]]
* [[Moirai]]
* [[Norns]]
* [[List of Roman birth and childhood deities]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Thomas Blisniewski: ''Kinder der dunkelen Nacht. Die Ikonographie der Parzeten Mittelalter bis zum späten XVIII.'' Jahrhundert. Thesis. Cologne 1992. Berlin 1992

== External links ==
* {{Commons category inline|Moirae}}

{{Time in religion and mythology}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Parcae| ]]
[[Category:Roman goddesses]]
[[Category:Time and fate goddesses]]
[[Category:Triple goddesses]]
[[Category:Destiny]]
[[Category:Textiles in folklore]]
[[Category:Personifications in Roman mythology]]