Lóðurr
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In Norse mythology, Lóðurr is one of the Æsir. In Völuspá he is assigned a role in animating the first humans but apart from that he is almost never mentioned and remains obscure. Scholars have variously identified him with Loki, Vé, Vili and Freyr but consensus has not been reached on any one theory.
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[edit] Völuspá
In the Poetic Edda the name Lóðurr occurs only once; in Völuspá where the gods animate the first humans.
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The precise meaning of these strophes and their context in Völuspá is debated. Most relevant for the present discussion are Lóðurr's gifts of lá and litu góða. The word lá is obscure and the translations "film of flesh" and "blood" are just two of the many possibilities that have been suggested. The phrase "litu góða" is somewhat less difficult and traditionally interpreted as "good colours", "good shape" or even "good looks".
The 19th century Swedish scholar Viktor Rydberg proposed a reading of litu goða, meaning "shape of gods", and saw the line as indication that the gods created human beings in their own image. While the manuscripts do not distinguish between the phonemes /o/ and /ó/ most other scholars have preferred the /ó/ reading for metrical reasons. The metrical structure of Völuspá's fornyrðislag is, however, not very rigid and in 1983 Rydberg's theory was championed again by Gro Steinsland. It remains debated.
[edit] Other sources
Apart from the strophe in Völuspá, Lóðurr's name occurs only twice in the ancient sources. It is found in the skaldic poems Háleygjatal and Íslendingadrápa where "Lóðurr's friend" is used as a kenning for Odin. This seems consistent with Lóðurr's role in Völuspá.
In Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda Lóðurr is conspicuously absent. Here the creation of humans is attributed to the sons of Borr, which Snorri names elsewhere as Odin, Vili and Vé.
| Normalized text of the R manuscript | Brodeur's translation | |
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Þá er þeir Bors synir gengu með sævarströndu, fundu þeir tré tvau, ok tóku upp tréin ok sköpuðu af menn. Gaf hinn fyrsti [ö]nd ok líf, annarr vit ok hrœring, þriði ásjónu, málit ok heyrn ok sjón; gáfu þeim klæði [ok] nöfn. Hét karlmaðrinn Askr en konan Embla, ok ólusk þaðan af mannkindin, þeim er bygðin var gefin undir Miðgarði. |
When the sons of Borr were walking along the sea-strand, they found two trees, and took up the trees and shaped men of them: the first gave them spirit and life; the second, wit and feeling; the third, form, speech, hearing, and sight. They gave them clothing and names: the male was called Askr, and the female Embla, and of them was mankind begotten, which received a dwelling-place under Midgard. |
Snorri often quotes Völuspá in his work but in this case he does not. We cannot know whether he knew the strophes above or whether he was working entirely from other sources.
[edit] Nordendorf fibula
Another source sometimes brought into the discussion is the Nordendorf fibula. This artifact, dating from about 600 AD, contains the runic inscription "logaþorewodanwigiþonar". This is usually interpreted as "Logaþore Wodan Wigiþonar" where Wodan is Odin and Wigiþonar probably Thor. It would be natural for logaþore to be the name of a third god but there is no obvious identification in Norse mythology as we know it. Both Lóðurr and Loki have been proposed but the etymological reasoning is tenuous and firm conclusions can not be reached.
[edit] Lóðurr's name
The metrical position of Lóðurr's name in Íslendingadrápa, composed in the strict dróttkvætt metre, indicates that it contains an /ó/ rather than an /o/. This evidence, while strong, is not incontrovertible and some scholars have held out for a Loðurr reading.
The name's meaning is unknown. It has been speculatively linked to various Old Norse words, such as lóð, "fruit, land", ljóðar, "people" and laða, "to attract". The Gothic words liudan, "to grow" and laudi, "shape", as well as the German word lodern, "to blaze", have also been mentioned in this context.
Lóðurr's name can be represented or anglicized as Lóður, Lódurr, Lódur, Lóthurr, Lóthur, Lódhurr, Lódhur, Lodurr, Lodur, Lothurr, Lothur, Lodhurr, Loðurr, Loður or Lodhur.
[edit] Identifications
Since the Prose Edda mentions the sons of Borr in the same context as Völuspá does Hœnir and Lóðurr some scholars have reasoned that Lóðurr might be another name for either Vili or Vé. Viktor Rydberg was an early proponent of this theory but recently it has received little attention.
A more popular theory is that Lóðurr is "a third name of Loki/Loptr" (Ursula Dronke). The main argument for this is that the gods Odin, Hœnir and Loki occur as a trio in Haustlöng and the prose prologue to Reginsmál. The Odin-kenning "Lóðurr's friend" furthermore appears to parallel the kenning "Loptr's friend" and Loki is similarly referred to as "Hœnir's friend" in Haustlöng, strengthening the trio connection. While many scholars agree with this identification it is not universally accepted. One argument against it is that Loki appears as a malevolent being later in Völuspá, seemingly conflicting with the image of Lóðurr as a "mighty and loving" figure.
An identification with Freyr has also been proposed. This theory emphasizes the possible fertility related meanings of Lóðurr's name but otherwise has little direct evidence to support it.
[edit] References
- Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989). Íslensk orðsifjabók. Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans.
- Brodeur, Arthur Gilchrist (transl.) (1916). The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson. New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation. Available online at http://www.northvegr.org/lore/prose/index.php.
- Bugge, Sophus (1867). Norræn fornkvæði. Christiania: Malling. Available online at http://etext.old.no/Bugge/. In particular Völuspá.
- Bæksted, Anders (1986). Goð og hetjur í heiðnum sið, Eysteinn Þorvaldsson translated to Icelandic. Reykjavík: Örn og Örlygur. Pages 74 and 184.
- Dronke, Ursula (1997). The Poetic Edda : Volume II : Mythological Poems. Oxford: Clarendon Press. In particular p. 18 and pp. 124-5.
- Eysteinn Björnsson (2001). Lexicon of Kennings : The Domain of Battle. http://www.hi.is/~eybjorn/ugm/kennings/kennings.html
- Eysteinn Björnsson (ed.). Snorra-Edda: Formáli & Gylfaginning : Textar fjögurra meginhandrita. 2005. http://www.hi.is/~eybjorn/gg/
- Eysteinn Björnsson (ed.). Völuspá. http://www.hi.is/~eybjorn/ugm/vsp3.html This editor prefers the litu goða reading.
- Finnur Jónsson (1913). Goðafræði Norðmanna og Íslendinga eftir heimildum. Reykjavík: Hið íslenska bókmentafjelag.
- Finnur Jónsson (1931). Lexicon Poeticum. København: S. L. Møllers Bogtrykkeri.
- Jón Helgason (1971). Eddadigte : Völuspá Hávamál, 2. ændrede udg. København: Munksgaard.
- Lindow, John (2001). Handbook of Norse mythology. Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio. ISBN 1576072177.
- Rydberg, Viktor (1886-1889). Undersökningar i germanisk mythologi. Stockholm: Bonnier.
- Simek, Rudolf. Dictionary of Northern Mythology. 1993. Trans. Angela Hall. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. ISBN 0859913694. New edition 2000, ISBN 0859915131.
- Sigurður Nordal (1952). Völuspá. Reykjavík: Helgafell.
- Steinsland, Gro (1983). "Antropogonimyten i Völuspá. En tekst- og tradisjonskritisk analyse.", Arkiv för nordisk filologi, 1983, pp. 80 – 107. Lund.
- Thorpe, Benjamin (tr.) (1866). Edda Sæmundar Hinns Froða : The Edda Of Sæmund The Learned. (2 vols.) London: Trübner & Co. Available online at http://www.northvegr.org/lore/poetic2/000.php
- Turville-Petre, E. O. G. (1964). Myth and Religion of the North : The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. In particular pages 143-4.
