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Mundilfari

2025-09-15T18:53:23Z

190.97.243.167:

{{Short description|Figure in Nordic mythology}}
{{For|the moon of Saturn named after Mundilfari|Mundilfari (moon)}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Norse
| name = Mundilfari
| alt =
| children = [[Sol (Germanic mythology)|Sól]] and [[Máni]]
}}

In [[Norse mythology]] '''Mundilfari''' ([[Old Norse]]: {{IPA|non|ˈmuntelˌfɑre|}}; rendered variously ''Mundilfari'', ''Mundilföri'' and ''Mundilfœri'') ([[Old Norse]], possibly "the one moving according to particular times"<ref name=SIMEK222>Simek (2007:222).</ref>) is the father of [[Sól (Sun)|Sól]], the goddess associated with the [[Sun]], and [[Máni]], the god associated with the Moon. Mundilfari is attested in the ''[[Poetic Edda]]'' poem ''[[Vafþrúðnismál]]'' stanza 23, and in chapter 11 of the ''[[Prose Edda]]'' book ''[[Gylfaginning]]''.

==Etymology==
The name appears in various forms in attestations for the figure, some of them significantly different, and various theories have been proposed for the name.<ref name = LINDOW233/> [[John Lindow]] states that if the first element, ''mundil-'' is related to ''mund'', meaning "period of time," then the name may be a [[kenning]] for the Moon,<ref name=LINDOW233>Lindow (2001:233).</ref> as [[Rudolf Simek]] theorizes.<ref name=SIMEK222/>

==See also==
*[[Hyperion (Titan)]]
*[[World Mill]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* [[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}}
* Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. [[Boydell & Brewer|D.S. Brewer]] {{ISBN|0-85991-513-1}}

{{Norse cosmology}}
{{Norse mythology}}

[[Category:Characters in Norse mythology]]

Gná and Hófvarpnir

2025-09-15T03:21:24Z

190.97.243.167:

{{Short description|Goddess and horse in Norse mythology}}
{{Redirect|Gná|other uses|GNA (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Frigg by Doepler.jpg|thumb|The goddess Frigg sits on her throne, accompanied by two goddesses: [[Fulla]], holding a wooden box, and [[Hlín]], standing and observing everything. Facing them are the warrior goddess Gná and her horse Hófvarpnir. Illustration by [[Carl Emil Doepler]] (1882).]]
In [[Norse mythology]], '''Gná''' ([[Old Norse]]) is a [[Áss|goddess]] who runs errands in [[Norse cosmology|other worlds]] for the goddess [[Frigg]] and rides the flying, sea-treading horse '''Hófvarpnir''' (Old Norse "he who throws his [[hoof]]s about",<ref name=SIMEK157>Simek (2007:157).</ref> "hoof-thrower"<ref name=LINDOW146>Lindow (2001:146).</ref> or "hoof kicker"<ref name=BYOCK43>Byock (2005:43).</ref>). Gná and Hófvarpnir are attested in the ''[[Prose Edda]]'', written in the 13th century by [[Snorri Sturluson]]. Scholarly have proposed that Gná is a "goddess of fullness" and, in the 1800s, as potentially cognate to [[Pheme|Fama]] from [[Roman mythology]]. Hófvarpnir and the eight-legged steed [[Sleipnir]] have been cited examples of transcendent horses in Norse mythology.

==Attestations==
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 Gná thirteenth, and says that Frigg sends her off to different worlds to run errands. High adds that Gná rides the horse Hófvarpnir, and that this horse has the ability to ride through the air and atop the sea.<ref name=BYOCK43/> High continues that "once some [[Vanir]] saw her path as she rode through the air" and that an unnamed one of these Vanir says, in verse:
<blockquote>
:"What flies there?
:What fares there?
:or moves through the air?"<ref name=BYOCK44>Byock (2005:44).</ref>
</blockquote>
Gná responds in verse, in doing so providing the parentage of Hófvarpnir; the horses [[Hamskerpir and Garðrofa]]:
<blockquote>
:"I fly not
:though I fare
:and move through the air
:on Hofvarpnir
:the one whom Hamskerpir got
:with Gardrofa."<ref name=BYOCK44/>
</blockquote>
The source for these stanzas is not provided and they are otherwise unattested. High ends his description of Gná by saying that "from Gna's name comes the custom of saying that something ''gnaefir'' [looms] when it rises up high."<ref name=BYOCK44/> In the ''Prose Edda'' book ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'', Gná is included among a list of 27 ásynjur names.<ref name=FAULKES157>Faulkes (1995:157).</ref>

==Reception==
[[File:Frigg And Her Maidens.jpg|thumb|Frigg sends Gná, riding on Hófvarpnir, on an errand in ''Frigg and her Maidens'' (1902).]]
[[Rudolf Simek]] says that the [[etymology]] that Snorri presents in ''Gylfaginning'' for the name ''Gná'' may not be correct, yet it is unclear what the name may otherwise mean, though Gná has also been etymologically theorized as a "goddess of fullness."<ref name=SIMEK113>Simek (2007:113).</ref> [[John Lindow]] calls the verse exchange between the Vanir and Gná "strange" and points out that it's unclear why it should specifically be the Vanir that witness Gná flying through the air.<ref name=LINDOW147>Lindow (2001:147).</ref>

Ulla Loumand cites Hófvarpnir and the eight-legged horse [[Sleipnir]] as "prime examples" of horses in Norse mythology as being able to "mediate between earth and sky, between [[Ásgarðr]], [[Miðgarðr]] and [[Útgarðr]] and between the world of mortal men and the underworld."<ref name=LOUMAND133>Loumand (2006:133).</ref> In the 19th century, [[Jacob Grimm]] proposed a cognate in the personified [[rumor]] in [[Roman mythology]]; [[Pheme|Fama]]. However, Grimm notes that unlike Fama, Gná is not described as winged but rather that Hófvarpnir, like the winged-horse [[Pegasus]], may have been.<ref name=GRIMM1883>Grimm (1883:896—897).</ref>

==See also==
* [[Horses in Germanic paganism]]
* [[List of horses in mythology and folklore]]

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

==References==
{{commons category|Gná}}
{{refbegin}}
* Byock, Jesse (Trans.) (2005). ''The Prose Edda''. [[Penguin Classics]]. {{ISBN|0-14-044755-5}}
* Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995). ''Edda''. [[Everyman's Library|Everyman]]. {{ISBN|0-460-87616-3}}
* Grimm, Jacob (James Steven Stallybrass Trans.) (1883). ''[[Deutsche Mythologie|Teutonic Mythology: Translated from the Fourth Edition with Notes and Appendix by James Stallybrass]]''. Volume II. London: George Bell and Sons.
* [[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}}
* Loumand, Ulla (2006). "The Horse and its Role in Icelandic Burial Practices, Mythology, and Society." in Andren, A.; Jennbert, K.; Raudvere, C. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=gjq6rvoIRpAC Old Norse Religion in Long Term Perspectives: Origins, Changes and Interactions, an International Conference in Lund, Sweden, June 3-7, 2004]''. Nordic Academic Press. {{ISBN|91-89116-81-X}}
* Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. [[Boydell & Brewer|D.S. Brewer]]. {{ISBN|0-85991-513-1}}
{{refend}}

{{Norse mythology}}

{{Good article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gna And Hofvarpnir}}
[[Category:Ásynjur]]
[[Category:Frigg]]
[[Category:Horses in Norse mythology]]

Hlín

2025-09-15T03:20:11Z

190.97.243.167:

{{short description|Norse deity}}
[[File:Frigg by Doepler.jpg|thumb|The goddess Frigg sits on her throne, accompanied by two goddesses: [[Fulla]], holding a wooden box, and Hlín, standing and observing everything. Facing them are the warrior goddess [[Gná]] and her horse [[Hófvarpnir]]. Illustration by [[Carl Emil Doepler]] (1882).]]
In [[Norse mythology]], '''Hlín''' is a [[Áss|goddess]] associated with the goddess [[Frigg]]. Hlín appears in a poem 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 [[kennings]] found in [[skald]]ic poetry. Scholars have debated whether the stanza referring to her in the ''Prose Edda'' refers to Frigg. ''Hlín'' serves as a given name in Iceland, and Hlín receives veneration in the modern era in Germanic paganism's modern extension, [[Heathenry (new religious movement)|Heathenry]].

==Etymology==
Scholars frequently explain the meaning behind the goddess's name as 'protector'.<ref name="PROTECTOR">See, for example, Orchard (1997:86) and Lindow (2001:177).</ref> The ''Prose Edda'' section ''Gylfaginning'' derives the name from a verb found in a [[proverb]] in an obscure and otherwise unattested Old Norse proverb: ''Þiaðan af er þat orðtak at sá er forðask hleinir''. Scholars generally accept that the theonym ''Hlín'' derives from the verb ''hleina''. However, the verb ''hleina'' in which the section claims a derivation is obscure (a ''[[hapax legomenon]]''), and translators have attempted to work around it in a variety of manners, in some cases leaving the verb untranslated. Examples include the translations of [[Anthony Faulkes]] ("From this comes the saying that someone who escapes finds refuge (''hleinir'')", 1995 [1987]) and [[Jesse Byock]] ("From her name comes the expression that he who escapes finds ''hleinir'' [peace and quiet]", 2005).<ref name="HOPKINS-2017-31-32-33">Hopkins (2017:31, 32–33).</ref>

Scholars have proposed a variety of derivations for the verb. The verb is most commonly linked to Old English ''hlinian'' and ''hlænan'', ancestors to the modern English verb ''lean''. 19th century scholars, including [[Jacob Grimm]], linked ''hleina'' to the rare Old Norse noun ''hlynr'', meaning '[[maple tree]]'. Grimm links this derivation to a variety of tree figures found in folklore from the modern era in northwest Europe. Joseph Hopkins (2017) comments that this derivation may deserve further investigation in light of the potential connection between the Old Norse goddess name ''[[Ilmr]]'' and the Old Norse common noun ''almr'' ([[Elm tree]]), and says that "the potential of a protective tree goddess brings to mind a mysterious passage in the ''Prose Edda'' involving the [[rowan]], in which the tree is referred to as [Thor's] ''bjǫrg'' ['aid, help, salvation, rescue']".<ref name="HOPKINS-2017-31-32-33-35">Hopkins (2017:31, 32–33, 35).</ref>

==Attestations==
In the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''[[Völuspá]]'', Hlín receives a mention regarding the foretold death of the god [[Odin]] during the immense battle waged at [[Ragnarök]]:
<blockquote>
:Then is fulfilled Hlín's
:second sorrow,
:when Óðinn goes
:to fight with [[Fenrir|the wolf]],
:and [[Beli (jötunn)|Beli]]'s [[Freyr|slayer]],
:bright, against [[Surtr]].
:Then shall Frigg's
:sweet friend fall.<ref name=DRONKE21>Dronke (1997:21).</ref>
</blockquote>

The death of Odin (the stanza's "second sorrow") implies a first death. Scholars all but universally view this as a reference to the death of the god [[Baldr]], Frigg and Odin's son.<ref name="HOPKINS-2017-30">Hopkins (2017:30).</ref> Some translators replace the reference of Hlín to a mention of Frigg due to their interpretations of the stanza (see discussion in ''Scholarly reception and interpretation'' section below).<ref name="HOPKINS-31-32">Examples include translations by [[Olive Bray]] (1908), [[Carolyne Larrington]] (1999), [[Jeramy Dodds]] (2014), and [[Jackson Crawford]] (2015). For discussion, see Hopkins (2017:31–32).</ref>

In chapter 35 of the ''Prose Edda'' book ''[[Gylfaginning]]'', Hlín is listed twelfth among a series of sixteen goddesses. [[High, Just-As-High, and Third|High]] tells [[Gylfi|Gangleri]] (earlier in the book described as King [[Gylfi]] in disguise) that Hlín "is given the function of protecting people whom Frigg wishes to save from some danger." High continues that, from this, comes the saying that "someone who escapes finds refuge (''hleinar'')."<ref name=FAULKES30>Faulkes (1995:30).</ref> The verb ''hleina'' in this passage is obscure and has yielded a variety of translations (see ''etymology'' section above).<ref name="HOPKINS-2017-30"/>

In chapter 51, the above-mentioned ''Völuspá'' stanza is quoted.<ref name=FAULKES55>Faulkes (1995:55).</ref> In chapter 75 of the book ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'' Hlín appears within a list of 27 ásynjur names.<ref name=FAULKES157>Faulkes (1995:157).</ref>

In [[skald|skaldic poetry]], the name Hlín is frequent in [[kenning]]s for women. Examples include ''Hlín hringa'' ('Hlín of rings'), ''Hlín goðvefjar'' ('Hlín of velvet') and ''arm-Hlín'' ('arm-Hlín'). The name is already used frequently in this way by the 10th-century poet [[Kormákr Ögmundarson]] and remains current in skaldic poetry through the following centuries, employed by poets such as [[Þórðr Kolbeinsson]], [[Gizurr Þorvaldsson]] and [[Einarr Gilsson]].<ref>Finnur Jónsson (1931:263).</ref> The name remained frequently used in woman kennings in [[rímur]] poetry, sometimes as '''Lín'''.<ref>Finnur Jónsson (1926) 28:175, 245).</ref>

In a verse in ''[[Hávarðar saga Ísfirðings]]'', the phrase ''á Hlín fallinn'' ("fallen on Hlín") occurs. Some editors have emended the line<ref>Gísli Brynjúlfsson (1860:174).</ref><ref>Finnur Jónsson (1912–1915a:191), (1912–1915b:181).</ref> while others have accepted the reading and taken Hlín to refer to [[Jörð|the earth]].<ref>Björn Karel Þórólfsson and Guðni Jónsson (1943:341).</ref>

==Modern influence==
In line with a cultural practice to use Old Norse theonyms as [[personal name]]s, ''Hlín'' appears as a given name for females in [[Iceland]]. Like other goddesses from the North Germanic corpus, Hlín receives veneration in [[Heathenry (new religious movement)|Heathenry]].<ref name="HOPKINS-2017-31">Hopkins (2017:31).</ref>

==Scholarly reception and interpretation==
Although the ''Prose Edda'' identifies Hlín as a separate goddess than Frigg, many scholars identify Hlín as another name for Frigg. For example, Andy Orchard says that in ''Völuspá'', Hlín appears to be just another name for Frigg, and adds that "the numerous occurrences of the name in skaldic poetry in poetic periphrases or kennings for women do nothing to dispel the confusion."<ref name=ORCHARD86>Orchard (1997:86).</ref> [[Rudolf Simek]] agrees that Hlín seems to appear as another name for Frigg in ''Völuspá'', and that in skaldic poetry Hlín was a well-known mythological figure by the 10th century. Simek states that Hlín is likely simply another name for Frigg, and that Snorri "misunderstood her to be a goddess in her own right in his reading of the ''Völuspá'' stanza."<ref name=SIMEK153>Simek (2007:153).</ref>

However, in the same work, Simek also says that the goddesses [[Sága]], Hlín, [[Sjöfn]], [[Snotra]], [[Vár]], and [[Vör]] should be considered vaguely defined figures who "should be seen as female protective goddesses" that are all responsible for "specific areas of the private sphere, and yet clear differences were made between them so that they are in many ways similar to [[Matres and Matrones|matrons]]."<ref name=SIMEK274>Simek (2007:274).</ref>

Some scholars express uncertainty at identifying Hlín as another name for Frigg, and others reject the identification altogether. In a 2017 paper on the topic, Hopkins agrees with Simek's comparison to the matrons and compares the scholarly reception of the goddess [[Fulla]], another goddess closely associated with Frigg, to that of Hlín:
<blockquote>
:"Like Hlín, the name ''Fulla'' ['full, bountiful'] may be tempting to dismiss as a reading error on the part of a ''Prose Edda'' author or as a poetic invention ... Were it not for the preservation of the cognate theonym Volla in the [[Second Merseburg Charm]], Fulla would remain in a similarly ambiguous position like that of Hlín, easily overlooked, dismissed, or deconstructed ... the correlations between the ''Prose Edda'' and the Second Merseburg Incantation provide something of a cautionary tale: namely, by dismissing information found solely in the ''Prose Edda'', one risks violating the foundational maxim of ''absence of evidence is not evidence of absence''. There is no reason to doubt that Hlín was an independent entity in Old Norse mythology and no positive evidence to suggest that Hlín was merely a by-name of Frigg."<ref name="HOPKINS-34-35">Hopkins (2017:34–35).</ref>
</blockquote>
Referencing the iconography of the early Germanic matrons, Hopkins proposes an alternate reading of the ''Völuspá'' stanza in line with the ''Gylfaginning'' description of the goddess. In Hopkins's reading of the stanza, Hlín's sorrows are her inability to protect figures close to Frigg: the first sorrow would therefore be the death of Baldr, and the second sorrow the foretold death of Odin.<ref name="HOPKINS-35">Hopkins (2017:35).</ref>

==See also==
* [[Ilmr]], an Old Norse goddess whose name may mean 'elm tree'
* [[Sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology]]

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

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* Björn Karel Þórólfsson and Guðni Jónsson (1943). ''Vestfirðinga sǫgur''. Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka fornritafélag.
* [[Ursula Dronke|Dronke, Ursula]] (Trans.) (1997). ''The Poetic Edda: Volume II: Mythological Poems''. [[Oxford University Press]]. {{ISBN|0-19-811181-9}}
* Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995). ''Edda''. [[Everyman's Library|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.
* Finnur Jónsson (1912–1915). ''Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning'' A: ''Tekst efter håndskrifterne'', 2 vols. B: ''Rettet tekst'', 2 vols. København: Gyldendal.
* Gísli Brynjúlfsson (1860). ''Hávarðar saga Ísfirðings''. Kjøbenhavn.
* Hopkins, Joseph (2017). "Goddesses Unknown III: On the Identity of the Old Norse Goddess Hlín". ''[[RMN Newsletter]]'', No. 12-13, pp. 30–36. [[University of Helsinki]]. Online: [https://www.academia.edu/35370883/Goddesses_Unknown_III_On_the_Identity_of_the_Old_Norse_Goddess_Hl%C3%ADn].
* [[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}}
* 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}}
{{refend}}

{{Norse mythology}}

{{Good article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hlin}}
[[Category:Ásynjur]]
[[Category:Frigg]]

Fulla

2025-09-15T03:18:54Z

190.97.243.167: /* Attestations */

{{short description|Norse deity}}
{{other uses}}
[[File:Frigg and Fulla 1874.jpg|right|thumb|A depiction of Fulla kneeling beside her mistress, [[Frigg]], (1865) by [[Ludwig Pietsch]].]]
'''Fulla''' ([[Old Norse]]: {{IPA|non|ˈfulːɑ|}}, possibly 'bountiful') or '''Volla''' ([[Old High German]], 'plenitude') is a [[Ásynjur|goddess]] in [[Germanic paganism|Germanic mythology]]. In [[Norse mythology]], Fulla is described as wearing a golden band and as tending to the [[Fraxinus excelsior|ashen]] box and the footwear owned by the goddess [[Frigg]], and, in addition, Frigg confides in Fulla her secrets. Fulla 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. Volla (''Folla'') is attested in the "Horse Cure" [[Merseburg Incantations|Merseburg Incantation]], recorded anonymously in the 10th century in [[Old High German]], in which she assists in healing the wounded [[foal]] of Phol and is referred to as Frigg's sister. Scholars have proposed theories about the implications of the goddess.

== Name ==
The [[Old Norse]] name ''Fulla'' has been translated as 'bountiful'.{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=49}} It stems from [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] ''*fullōn'' ('fullness, plenitude'; cf. [[Gothic language|Gothic]] ''fullo'' 'fullness', [[Old High German|OHG]] ''folla'' 'plenitude'), itself a [[Morphological derivation|derivative]] of the adjective ''*fullaz'' ('full'; cf. ON ''fullr'', Goth. ''fulls'', OHG ''foll'', all meaning 'full'). The latter derives from [[Proto-Indo-European]] *''plh₁-nó-'' ('filled, full'; cf. [[Sanskrit|Skt]] ''pūrṇá'' 'full', [[Lithuanian language|Lith.]] ''pìlnas'', [[Old Church Slavonic|OCS]] ''plьnь'' 'filled, full'), a past [[participle]] of the verbal root ''*pelh₁-'' ('to fill').{{Sfn|Orel|2003|p=118}}

==Attestations==
[[File:Frigg by Doepler.jpg|thumb|The goddess Frigg sits on her throne, accompanied by two goddesses: Fulla, holding a wooden box, and [[Hlín]], standing and observing everything. Facing them are the warrior goddess [[Gná]] and her horse [[Hófvarpnir]]. Illustration by [[Carl Emil Doepler]] (1882).]]

===''Poetic Edda''===
In the prose introduction to the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''[[Grímnismál]]'', Frigg makes a wager with her husband the god [[Odin]] over the hospitality of their human patrons. Frigg sends her servant maid Fulla to warn the king [[Geirröðr|Geirröd]]—Frigg's patron—that a magician (actually Odin in disguise) will visit him. Fulla meets with Geirröd, gives the warning, and advises to him a means of detecting the magician:
<blockquote>
{|
|
:<small>[[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Henry Adams Bellows]] translation:</small>
:Frigg sent her handmaiden, Fulla, to Geirröth. She bade the king beware lest a magician who was come thither to his land should bewitch him, and told this sign concerning him, that no dog was so fierce as to leap at him.<ref name=BELLOWS86>Bellows (1923:86).</ref>
|
:<small>[[Benjamin Thorpe]] translation:</small>
:Frigg sent her waiting-maid Fulla to bid Geirröd be on his guard, lest the [[troll]]mann who was coming should do him harm, and also say that a token whereby he might be known was, that no dog, however fierce, would attack him.<ref name=THORPE20>Thorpe (1866:20).</ref>
|
|}
</blockquote>

===''Prose Edda''===
In chapter 35 of the ''[[Prose Edda]]'' book ''[[Gylfaginning]]'', [[High, Just-As-High, and Third|High]] provides brief descriptions of 16 [[ásynjur]]. High lists Fulla fifth, stating that, like the goddess [[Gefjun]], Fulla is a [[virgin]], wears her hair flowing freely with a gold band around her head. High describes that Fulla carries Frigg's ''eski'', looks after Frigg's footwear, and that in Fulla Frigg confides secrets.{{Sfn|Faulkes|1987|p=29}}

In chapter 49 of ''Gylfaginning'', High details that, after the death of the deity couple [[Baldr]] and [[Nanna (Norse deity)|Nanna]], the god [[Hermóðr]] wagers for their return in the underworld location of [[Hel (realm)|Hel]]. [[Hel (being)|Hel]], ruler of the location of the same name, tells Hermóðr a way to resurrect Baldr, but will not allow Baldr and Nanna to leave until the deed is accomplished. Hel does, however, allow Baldr and Nanna to send gifts to the living; Baldr sends Odin the ring [[Draupnir]], and Nanna sends Frigg a robe of linen, and "other gifts." Of these "other gifts" sent, the only specific item that High mentions is a finger-ring for Fulla.{{Sfn|Faulkes|1987|p=50}}

The first chapter of the ''Prose Edda'' book ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'', Fulla is listed among eight ásynjur who attend an evening drinking banquet held for [[Ægir]].{{Sfn|Faulkes|1987|p=59}} In chapter 19 of ''Skáldskaparmál'', poetic ways to refer to Frigg are given, one of which is by referring to her as "queen [...] of Fulla."{{Sfn|Faulkes|1987|p=86}} In chapter 32, poetic expressions for [[gold]] are given, one of which includes "Fulla's [[Snood (headgear)|snood]]."{{Sfn|Faulkes|1987|p=94}} In chapter 36, a work by the [[skald]] [[Eyvindr skáldaspillir]] is cited that references Fulla's golden headgear ("the falling sun [gold] of the plain [forehead] of Fulla's eyelashes shone on [...]").{{Sfn|Faulkes|1987|pp=97–98}} Fulla receives a final mention in the ''Prose Edda'' in chapter 75, where Fulla appears within a list of 27 ásynjur names.{{Sfn|Faulkes|1987|p=157}}

==="Horse Cure" Merseburg Incantation===
[[File:Wodan Heilt Balders Pferd by Emil Doepler.jpg|thumb|''Wodan Heals Balder's Horse'' (1905) by Emil Doepler]]
One of the two [[Merseburg Charms]] (the "horse cure"), recorded in [[Old High German]], mentions a deity named Volla. The incantation describes how Phol and [[Wodan]] rode to a wood, and there [[Baldr|Balder's]] [[foal]] sprained its foot. [[Sinthgunt]] sang charms, her sister [[Sól (Sun)|Sunna]] sang charms, [[Frigg|Friia]] sang charms, her sister Volla sang charms, and finally Wodan sang charms, followed by a verse describing the healing of the foal's bone. The charm reads:
<blockquote>
:Phol and Wodan went to the forest.
:Then Balder's horse sprained its foot.
:Then Sinthgunt sang charms, and Sunna her sister;
:Then Friia sang charms, and Volla her sister;
:Then Wodan sang charms, as he well could:
:be it bone-sprain, be it blood-sprain, be it limb-sprain:
:bone to bone, blood to blood,
:limb to limb, so be they glued together.{{Sfn|Lindow|2001|p=227}}
</blockquote>

==Theories==
[[File:Frigg And Her Maidens.jpg|thumb|Fulla holds Frigg's ''eski'' in ''Frigg and Her Maidens'' (1902).]]
Andy Orchard comments that the seeming appearance of Baldr with Volla in the Merseburg Incantation is "intriguing" since Fulla is one of the three goddesses (the other two being Baldr's mother Frigg and his wife Nanna) the deceased Baldr expressly sends gifts to from Hel.{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=49}} [[John Lindow]] says that since the name ''Fulla'' seems to have something to do with fullness, it may also point to an association with fertility.{{Sfn|Lindow|2001|p=132}}

[[Rudolf Simek]] comments that while Snorri notes that Baldr sends Fulla a golden ring from Hel in ''Gylfaginning'', "this does not prove that she plays any role in the Baldr myth, but merely shows that Snorri associated her with gold" because of kennings used associating Fulla with gold. Simek says that since Fulla appears in the poetry of Skalds as early as the 10th century that she was likely "not a late personification of plenty" but that she is very likely identical with Volla from the Merseburg Incantation. Simek adds that it is unclear as to who Fulla actually is, and argues that she may be an independent deity or simply identical with the goddess [[Freyja]] or with Frigg.{{Sfn|Simek|1996|p=96}}

John Knight Bostock says that theories have been proposed that the Fulla may at one time have been an aspect of Frigg. As a result, this notion has resulted in theory that a similar situation may have existed between the figures of the goddesses Sinthgunt and Sunna, in that the two may have been understood as aspects of one another rather than entirely separate figures.<ref name=BOSTOCK29>Bostock (1976:29).</ref>

[[Hilda Ellis Davidson]] states that the goddesses Gefjun, [[Gerðr]], Fulla, and [[Skaði]] "may represent important goddesses of early times in the North, but little was remembered about them by the time Snorri was collecting his material." On the other hand, Davidson notes that it is also possible that these goddesses are viewable as aspects of a single [[Goddess|Great Goddess]].<ref name=DAVIDSON10>Davidson (1998:10).</ref> Davidson calls Fulla and Volla "vague, uncertain figures, emerging from odd references to goddesses which Snorri has noted in the poets, but they suggest the possibility that at one time three generations were represented among the goddesses of fertility and harvest in Scandinavia."<ref name=DAVIDSON86>Davidson (1998:86).</ref>

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

==References==
{{commons category}}
{{refbegin}}
* Bostock, John Knight. King, Charles Kenneth. McLintock, D. R. (1976). ''A Handbook on Old High German Literature''. [[Oxford University Press]]. {{ISBN|0-19-815392-9}}
* [[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=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}''. [[Routledge]]. {{ISBN|0-415-13610-5}}
* {{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=Lindow|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KlT7tv3eMSwC|title=Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs|date=2001|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|author-link=Andy Orchard}}
* {{Cite book|last=Orel|first=Vladimir E.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LY1iAAAAMAAJ|title=A Handbook of Germanic Etymology|date=2003|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-12875-0|language=en|author-link=Vladimir Orel}}
* {{Cite book|last=Simek|first=Rudolf|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MZ24QgAACAAJ|title=Dictionary of Northern Mythology|date=1996|publisher=D.S. Brewer|isbn=978-0-85991-513-7|language=en|author-link=Rudolf Simek}}
* [[Benjamin Thorpe|Thorpe, Benjamin]] (Trans.) (1907). ''The Elder Edda of Saemund Sigfusson''. [[Norrœna Society]].
{{refend}}
{{Clear}}
{{Norse mythology}}

{{Good article}}

[[Category:Ásynjur]]
[[Category:Frigg]]
[[Category:Virgin goddesses]]