Sif
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Sif ("In-law-relationship"[1]) is a goddess in Norse mythology. Sif only appears in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In these two sources, she is known for her golden hair, as the wife of the major god Thor and, in the euhemerized prologue of the Prose Edda, as the most beautiful of women.[2]
In surviving tales, Sif is the mother of Þrúðr, by Thor, and mother of the seemingly once major god Ullr by a father unrecorded in surviving sources. However, the source lists Thor as his stepfather without further explanation.[3] Sif Mons, a mons of the planet Venus, is named after Sif.
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[edit] Characteristic golden hair
Sif was so associated with her hair that in the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, the "hair of Sif" is listed as a kenning for gold.[4] English scholar H. R. Ellis Davidson states that Sif may have been an ancient fertility goddess, proposing the link between her lustrous hair and fields of golden wheat.[5] Davidson further asserts that Thor was described as born from Jörð (a personification of earth) and a kenning in Skáldskaparmál directly associates the two, referring to earth as the "mother-in-law of Sif".[6]
[edit] Poetic Edda
In the Poetic Edda, Sif appears in or is mentioned in Hárbarðsljóð, Hymiskviða (where Thor is referred to three times as the "Husband of Sif"), Lokasenna, and Þrymskviða (where the "Husband of Sif" kenning appears once more).
[edit] Hárbarðsljóð
In the section 48 of the Poetic Edda poem Hárbarðsljóð, Odin (in the disguise of Hárbarðr) meets his son Thor at an inlet of a gulf. The two engage in flyting and Hárbarðr refuses to ferry Thor across the bay. Amongst numerous other insults, Hárbarðr claims that Sif has a lover at home. However, Thor responds that Hárbarðr is speaking carelessly and lying.
[edit] Lokasenna
In stanzas 53 and 54 of the late poem Lokasenna, after pouring Loki a crystal cup of mead during his series of insults towards the gods, Sif states that there is nothing Loki can say only in regard to her. In response, Loki claims that Sif has had an affair with him. Mountains shake and Thor arrives. After some initial exchanges between Thor and Loki, prose references are made to events described in Völuspá and the Prose Edda. The exchange involving Sif reads as follows:
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Modern scholars such as Lee Hollander explain that Lokasenna was intended to be humorous and that the accusations thrown by Loki in the poem are not necessarily to be taken as "generally accepted lore" at the time it was composed. Rather they are charges that are easy for Loki to make and difficult for his targets to disprove, or which they do not care to refute.[8]
[edit] Prose Edda
In the Prose Edda, Sif is mentioned once in the prologue, in chapter 31 of Gylfaginning, in sections 3, 5, 6, (as a guest at Ægir's feast, a reference to Lokasenna) and in various kennings towards the end of Skáldskaparmál.
[edit] Prologue
Sif is introduced in chapter three of Snorri's euhemerized account of the origins of Norse mythology serving as a Prologue for the Prose Edda. Snorri states that Thor married her and that she is know as "a prophetess called Sibyl, though we know her as Sif"[2] though to the extent of this implication some debate has existed. Sif is further described as "the most loveliest of women"[2] and with hair of gold. Although he lists her own ancestors as unknown, Snorri also attributes an extended genealogical list of descendants to the couple of Thor and Sif, including figures such as Godwulf and Odin, though outside of this continuity Odin is described as the father of Thor.
[edit] Gylfaginning
In chapter 31 of Gylfaginning, Ullr is referred to as a son of Sif and a stepson of Thor though his father is not mentioned:
Ull is the name of one. The son of Sif, he is the stepson of Thor. He is so skillful a bowman and skier that no one can compete with him. He is beautiful to look at, and is an accomplished warrior. He is also a good person to pray to when in single combat.[9]
[edit] Skáldskaparmál
Section 3 of Skáldskaparmál, Thor engages in a duel with Hrungnir, there described as the strongest of the Jötunn. Prior to this, Hrungnir had been boasting of his desire to, amongst other things, kill all of the gods except Freyja and Sif, whom he wanted to take home with him. However, at the duel, Hrungnir is quickly killed by the enraged Thor.
In section 5 of Skáldskaparmál, Snorri relates a story where Loki cuts off Sif's hair as a prank. When Thor discovers this, he grabs hold of Loki, resulting in Loki swearing to have a headpiece made of gold to replace Sif's locks. Loki fulfills this promise by having a headpiece made by dwarves referred to as the "sons of Ivaldi". Along with the headpiece, the dwarves produced Odin's spear, Gungnir. Further, as the story progresses, this event leads to the creation of the ship Skíðblaðnir and the boar Gullinbursti for Freyr, the multiplying ring Draupnir for Odin, and the mighty hammer Mjolnir for Thor.
Suggestions have been made regarding the potentially understated mythological importance of Sif's role in this story, as the creation of her headpiece results here in some of the most legendary and powerful items in Norse mythology.[1]
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Byock, Jesse (Trans.) (2006). The Prose Edda. Penguin Classics. ISBN 0140447555
- Hollander, Lee (Trans.) (1990). The Poetic Edda. (2nd edition). University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292764995
- Ellis Davidson, H. R. (1965). Gods And Myths Of Northern Europe. Penguin. ISBN 0140136274
- Larrington, Carolyne (Trans.) (1999). The Poetic Edda. Oxford World's Classics. ISBN 0192839462
- Lindow, John (2001). Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515382-0.
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