Angrboða - Gullveig Part 4
distress bringer
Previous post in this series: Aurboða - Gullveig Part 3
I think the relationship between Angrboda and Gullveig is the easiest to demonstrate, and has most solid evidence to support it. In this entry, we will tie Angrboda to the growing list of connections to Gullveig.
Now, for someone so important in the myths - parent of the World Serpent, the Wolf that is said to destroy Odin, and the Ruler of the Underworld - we don't really hear a lot about Angrboda. I went over this in the intro post, but I believe that this is at least in part due to the time these poems were transcribed, and witchcraft being generally taboo... much more taboo than just a changing religion.
Let's start out with what we do know about Angrboda:
[11] The wolf did Loki | with Angrbotha win,
And Sleipnir bore he | to Svathilfari;
The worst of marvels | seemed the one
That sprang from the brother | of Byleist then.
[12] A heart ate Loki,-- | in the embers it lay,
And half-cooked found he | the woman's heart;--
With child from the woman | Lopt soon was,
And thence among men | came the monsters all.
* "The brother of Byleist" is a kenning for Loki.
This is discussing the children of Loki; he has Fenrir with Angrboda, Sleipnir with Svathilfari, and Hel. These three "monsters all" come to be when Loki finds Angrboda's (or Gullveig's if you're paying attention) charred heart in the ashes, eats it, and becomes with child himself.
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| Frølich, Lorenz. The Völuspá Seeress. From: Ældre Eddas Gudesange. Translated by Karl Gjellerup, Kjøbenhavn: P.G. Philipsens Forlag, 1895. xxxii. MyNDIR: My Norse Digital Image Repository. Ed. P. A. Baer. 2024. Edition 2.6. Victoria, B. C.: Humanities Computing and Media Centre, University of Victoria. 2024. |
An interesting point here is made of Hel, that she is the worst of them all (bit rude). She was also looked upon as an evil woman (illr kona), and the mother of all trolls. The Old Norse term for "malignant and bestial demons" (flagð) is translated as "monsters" in English.
flagð definition: "an ogre, giantess, demons = tröll"
In Voluspa 40 it is explained how "she the old one" sits in Jarnvidr and bears Fenrir's kin:
[40] The giantess old | in Ironwood sat,
In the east, and bore | the brood of Fenrir;
Among these one | in monster's guise
Was soon to steal | the sun from the sky.
So we have Loki and Angrboda being the parents of Fenrir in both Voluspa in skamma and in Voluspa, and also learn that Angrboda is also the mother of all wolves - "the brood of Fenrir" - and that, at least, includes Skoll, the wolf who eats the sun at Ragnarok.
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| Illustration for the part corresponding to The seer's prophecy of the Danish translation of Karl Gjellerup of the Edda (Den ældre Eddas Gudesange, 1895): a giantess feeding wolves, and Eggthér touching the harp while the rooster Fjalar announces the beginning of Ragnarök. |
"Yet more children had Loki. Angrboda was the name of a certain giantess in Jötunheim, with whom Loki gat three children: one was Fenris-Wolf, the second Jörmungandr--that is the Midgard Serpent,--the third is Hel. But when the gods learned that this kindred was nourished in Jötunheim, and when the gods perceived by prophecy that from this kindred great misfortune should befall them; and since it seemed to all that there was great prospect of ill--(first from the mother's blood, and yet worse from the father's)."
This echoes what we see in Voluspa in skamma and Voluspa. We're all likely familiar with this excerpt, or at least what it tells us: Angrboda and Loki had children - Fenrir, Jormungandr, and Hel - and the Aesir were (understandably) shitty when they discovered by prophecy that these problem children would be the end of them.
Buckle up because this is a long excerpt, but it’s bursting with all of the juicy details about Angrboda, so it's worth including in its entirety. I’m not sorry.
"Then said Gangleri: "What is the race of the wolves?" Hárr answered: "A witch dwells to the east of Midgard, in the forest called Ironwood: in that wood dwell the troll-women, who are known as Ironwood-Women. The old witch bears many giants for sons, and all in the shape of wolves; and from this source are these wolves sprung. The saying runs thus: from this race shall come one that shall be mightiest of all, he that is named Moon-Hound; he shall be filled with the flesh of all those men that die, and he shall swallow the moon, and sprinkle with blood the heavens and all the air; thereof shall the sun lose her shining, and the winds in that day shall be unquiet and roar on every side. So it says in Völuspá:
Eastward dwells the Old One | in Ironwood,
And there gives birth | to Fenrir's brethren;
There shall spring of them all | a certain one,
The moon's taker | in troll's likeness.
He is filled with flesh | of fey men.
Reddens the gods' seats | with ruddy blood-gouts;
Swart becomes sunshine | in summers after,
The weather all shifty. | Wit ye yet, or what?"
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| Brock, C. E.. Header for "Niflheim". From: Keary, Annie, and Liza Keary. The Heroes of Asgard: Tales from Scandinavian Mythology. London: Macmillan and Co. Limited, 1930. 19. MyNDIR: My Norse Digital Image Repository. Ed. P. A. Baer. 2024. Edition 2.6. Victoria, B. C.: Humanities Computing and Media Centre, University of Victoria. 2024. |
See, I TOLD YOU SO. So full of information! From this, we learn that Angrboda (the witch in the east, in the Ironwood/Jarnvidr) is the mother of a whole slew of giants who are all in the shape of wolves, and from whom all wolves are descendants. In this bit of poetry, we find out that Hati, the wolf who eats the moon at Ragnarok, is also a child of Angrboda.
In Helgakvida Hundingsbana 1 37-40 there is a discussion between Sinfjotli and Gudmundr, where Sinfjotli says;
[37] ‘You were a seeress on Varinsey,
a deceit-wise woman, you drew together lies!
You said you wanted to possess no man,
[no] mail-coated fighter, except Sinfjǫtli!
[38] ‘You were the wounding one, a witch, a valkyrie,
awful, immensely mighty, at Alfaðir’s!
The unique champions would all fight each other,
headstrong woman, for your sake!
[39] ‘Nine wolves we two had begotten on Sága’s ness
I alone was their father!’
Sum up 37-39, Sinfjotli’s insults of Gudmundr and their connections to Angrboda/Gullveig… then Gudmundr responds, saying:
[40] ‘You weren’t the father of Fenrir’s wolves,
older than all, as I recall,
because giants’ maidens gelded you
before Gnipalundr, on Þórsnes!
Helgakvida Hundingsbana 1 (37) Alternative translation
This tells us so much!!
What we see here is a reference to the first war, "awful at Odins", where the "Einherjar fought" can only mean the a reference to Gullveig in the Voluspa 21
The reference to the wolves bore, is a throwback to Heidr as previously discussed, Hrimnirs daughter was in Varinsey for a period and pro-created werewolves in [Volsung Saga ch9]
"Sinfjotli replied, "You should know something of wolves. I am the one who sired nine wolves by you. I was the father of your wolf-children"
Gudmundr's answers prove that is Angrboda they are talking about as we know Angrboda is Fenrir's mother and is stating that Sinfjotli was not the father, unlike the other nine wolves, because that was Loki. Overall, it's a weird interaction because it's a flyting and the insults are basically, "Ha, you're a witch who was once respected and then burned by Odin and had a bunch of wolf-kids," but it's still evidence that the story of Gullveig-Angrboda was known well enough to be included in multiple stories.
Járnviðr / Jarnvidr
Iron-woodAs previously mentioned above, we know that Angrboda resides in Jarnvidr (the "Iron-wood") - but there are a few other mentions of this place. It is also called Myrkviðr by Loki in Lokasenna 42:
Loki spake:
[42]. "The daughter of Gymir | with gold didst thou buy,
And sold thy sword to boot;
But when Muspell's sons | through Myrkwood ride,
Thou shalt weaponless wait, poor wretch."
Myrkviðr has many attestations, some very old and pre-dating the Eddas (such as Atlakviða and Hlöðskviða), and the word is still used today to refer to dark woods and forests.
Skaði / Skadi
Probably didn't expect to see Skadi here, did you? Well, this I think is quite interesting. Járn by definition means iron, but we do see another context, in reference to Skadi / Skaði. In Háleygjatal 2 Skadi is referenced as one of the járnviðjur / Járnviðju - Ironwood-Women. Does this mean Skadi once resided in Jarnvidr?
‘The shield-worshipped kinsman of the Æsir <gods> [= Óðinn] begat that tribute-bringer [JARL = Sæmingr] with the female from Járnviðr, when those renowned ones, the friend of warriors [= Óðinn] and Skaði [giantess], lived in the lands of the maiden of the bone of the sea [(lit. ‘maiden-lands of the bone of the sea’) ROCK > GIANTESS > = Jǫtunheimar ‘Giant-lands’], and the ski-goddess [= Skaði] bore many sons with Óðinn.'
This certainly implies so. From here, we learn that Skadi is a "female from Jarnvidr" and that she and Odin had many sons together.
In Lokasenna 49 when Skadi mentions the binding of Loki, Loki responds and claims to be the one who had killed Thiazi, Skadi's father. Perhaps this is the reason she is the one to hold the snake over Loki in his binding, or perhaps there is more to this story with the mentions of Skadi being a Járnviðjur.
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| Collingwood, W. G.. Loki Bound. From: Elder or Poetic Edda: Commonly Known As Sæmund's Edda. Translated by Olive Bray . London: Viking Club, 1908. 245. MyNDIR: My Norse Digital Image Repository. Ed. P. A. Baer. 2024. Edition 2.6. Victoria, B. C.: Humanities Computing and Media Centre, University of Victoria. 2024. |
Scholar John Lindow notes in Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs that "Loki and Skaði appear to have had a special relationship, an example being Skaði's placement of the snake over Loki's face in Lokasenna and Gylfaginning." Was this because she was taking out her anger on her father’s killer, perhaps?
An interesting omission from the sources is who Skadi's mother is. If we accept the above, that Skadi is a Járnviðjur, and depending on the interpretation and translation of Gylfaginning 12, it could be said that Járnviðjur are to be "of the old one in Járnviðr" - although this is tenuous - but perhaps we know why Loki and Skadi's relationship is special. Skadi's mother is not known and being "of the old one in Járnviðr" could mean that Skadi is the daughter of Angrboda, and would make her Loki's step daughter. SPICY.
Thiazi / Þjazi
Skadi is daughter of Thiazi / Þjazi, the giant associated with coldness (perhaps a rime-giant?) and was told to be responsible for kidnapping Idunn as described in Skáldskaparmál 4 . In that story, he kidnapped Idunn in order to remove the youth of the Gods (since she tends the apples that keep them youthful), and after defeating Thiazi, it and is said that Odin killed and put the eyes of the giant in the sky. It's certainly demonstrated that Thiazi had transformation powers in this stanza as he kidnapped Idunn in eagle form. It was only in the later Hárbarðsljóð 19 it is said that Thor killed Thiazi, not Odin, and not Loki.
In Haustlöng 2, Thiazi is given an interesting kenning - "snótar ulfr" - "the wolf of the woman". This is often thought to refer to the kidnapping of Idunn, which seems a little out of place given his form as an eagle, but perhaps its a reference to something lost to poetry, and a connection to Járnviðr and specifically the mother of all wolves - Angrboda.
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| Jakob Sigurðsson. The Abduction of Iðunn. From: Copenhagen: Det Kongelige Bibliotek. NKS 1867 4to. 1760. 99v. Hand copied paper manuscript. MyNDIR: My Norse Digital Image Repository. Ed. P. A. Baer. 2024. Edition 2.6. Victoria, B. C.: Humanities Computing and Media Centre, University of Victoria. 2024. |
There is no cause for Fimbulvetr, and barely a mention in Vafþrúðnismál 44 but it's interesting to think about this sequence of events and how Thiazi fits into all of this. If we accept all of this information from this perspective, then Thiazi was a great rime-giant, one with a disdain for the Aesir, and his death was a possible cause of the great winters that lead to Ragnarok.
The Herder and the Rooster
Voluspa 42 tells us about Eggþér (Eggthér/Egdir), the herder of the jotun living in Járnviðr. I've included stanzas 40 & 41 for context, as it's here we find his location told. Based on this, it's also safe to assume he is herding wolves, or "the brood of Fenrir."
[40] The giantess old | in Ironwood sat,
In the east, and bore | the brood of Fenrir;
Among these one | in monster's guise
Was soon to steal | the sun from the sky.
[41] There feeds he full | on the flesh of the dead,
And the home of the gods | he reddens with gore;
Dark grows the sun, | and in summer soon
Come mighty storms: | would you know yet more?
[42] On a hill there sat, | and smote on his harp,
Eggther the joyous, | the giants' warder;
Above him the cock | in the bird-wood crowed,
Fair and red | did Fjalar stand.
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| Fjalar probably |
Eggther is called the "giants' warder" - he's there to keep an eye on Angrboda in the Ironwood, happily playing his harp, while above him sits Fjalar, the bright red rooster who heralds the start of Ragnarok.
In Skirnismal 11, we are told details about Gymir and Aurboda's yard, specifically about a herder sat on a small mound and kept a watch in all directions, and a yard full of hounds. It sounds quite similar to Angrboda's yard, and the herder similar to Eggther:
[11] "Tell me, herdsman, | sitting on the hill,
And watching all the ways,
How may I win | a word with the maid
Past the hounds of Gymir here?"
A small detail, but there are striking similarities, particularly because of the lack of other mentions of herders on mounds - or of jotuns - in a yard full of wolves.
Weeew, that was a big one, not surprising. But a buffet of food for thought.
So quick recap:
- Angrboda is the mother of the three monsters: Fenrir, Jormungandr and Hel, as well as the mother of all wolves.
- She resides in the east, a place call Jarnvidr or Ironwood.
- We find a direct correlation between the mother of Fenrir with both Heidr and Gullveig.
- A wild Skadi appears where we did not expect, in Ironwood and some interesting details with Thiazi.
- Similarities between Aurboda's and Angrboda's yards.
Next post in this series: Hyrrokkin - Gullveig Part 5
