The Gods of the North: an epic poem. Adam Oehlenschläger
palace of Frigga, in Asagard. Probable etym.: fengisall (happy in acquiring riches).
FIALAR, name of the mythologic cock which is to crow at Ragnarok, to excite the gods and giants to combat. Fiallar, in Icelandic, means cock.
FINNAFENG, name of the cook of Ægir, god of the sea; he is slain by Asa-Lok for refusing him admittance to Ægir’s banquet. The etymology may be from the Icelandic words fina (a piece of flesh), fenge (a capture).
FOLKVANGUR or FOLKVANG, name of the palace of Freya in Asagard, into which are admitted, after death, faithful lovers and virtuous women.
FORSETE, an Asa, the son of Balder, and god of justice; he dwells in his palace Glitner. He often descends to earth, to sit in judgment, and hear causes under the shade of the ash-tree Yggdrassil, near the fountain of Urda. He is the son of Balder, inasmuch as justice proceeds from light; and as Urda is the Norna or destiny of the past, it is from her fountain (i.e. consulting the records of the past) that he acquires experience. The etymology of this word is for (before), and sete (set), ergo præses, president.
FREY, or FREYR, is the god of liberty, joy and fecundity; he is the son of Niord, and brother of Freya. He is invoked for sunshine and good crops. He represents the sun at the winter solstice. The new year’s feast was instituted to do him honour; it was the day of his birth, and a season of festivity and joy. He was the owner of a magic sword, but falling in love with Gerda, a beautiful damsel of Jotun race, he gave it away to her father, in order to obtain his consent to their union. He is to be slain by Surtur at Ragnarok. Etym.: frei (free), friò (seed). It is remarkable that in Egypt the sun was called Phré. The Swedish word fröid (joy) is probably derived from the name of this god.
FREYA is the Venus of the Scandinavians, the goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and fecundity; she is the sister of Frey, and daughter of Niord. She is the most beautiful of all the Asynior. She was married to Odur; but when the goddess Iduna, with her golden vase containing the fruit of immortality, was stolen from Asagard, Freya, in common with the other Asar, lost her youth and beauty; and Odur, disgusted at the change, fled from her embraces. On the deliverance of Iduna, Freya recovered her youth and beauty, but her Odur never returned. She wandered all over the earth in search of him, but in vain. She weeps continually for his loss, and sheds tears of gold. When she travels, it is in a golden car, drawn by two black cats. Freya has two daughters, Siofna and Hnos, both remarkable for their beauty and gentleness. The Dutch word fraai (handsome), is derived probably from Freya.
FRIGGA is the wife of Odin, the queen of the gods, the Juno and Ceres of the Scandinavian mythology. She sometimes typifies the earth, as Odin does the heavens; they become thus identic with the Ουρανος and Γη of the Greeks. She is pleased with offerings of fruits and flowers, and is herself extremely generous and beneficent. The constellation “Orion’s belt,” is termed by the Scalds the “spinning-wheel of Frigga.” She is the mother of Balder, Hædur, Thor, etc. The etymology of Frigga is friò (seed), gà (to take care of).
FULLA, name of an Asynia, the handmaid and confidante of Frigga, and guardian of her jewels and wardrobe. She hands round the plates to the guests at the banquet of Valhalla. Her name typifies abundance; voll, full, in the German and English languages, and fuld, full, in the Danish and Swedish, all meaning the same thing, are probably derived therefrom.
GARDERIKE, name given by the ancient Scandinavians to a part of Russia.
GARM, name of the mythologic dog, who remains chained at the cavern of Gnypa, until Ragnarok; he will then break his chain, and fight with Tyr; both will perish.
GAUTHIOD (Gothland), a name of Sweden.
GEFION, an Asynia, the goddess of virginity, herself a virgin; she receives in her domain in Asagard women, who die unmarried. She is the founder of the island of Sealand (Denmark), which was supposed to have been formerly joined to the continent of Sweden, and which, at her request, was ploughed around, separated from the mainland, and dragged into the Ocean by the sons of Gyllfe, who, to please her, transformed themselves into oxen, and performed the said service.
GEIRSODD means “point of a lance.” The historical Odin, when on his death-bed, cut his veins with the point of a lance, assuring his surviving followers and companions, that those who died on the field of battle, or in this manner covered with blood, would meet him in Valhalla, and partake of all the delights of the immortals. Hence the natural death by old age or sickness, called emphatically strâ död (death on the straw), was looked upon as ignominious by the northern warriors, and as exposing them to the danger of falling into the clutches of Hela. They, in consequence, when they felt their end approaching, either by old age or sickness, opened their veins, and bled to death; this was called cutting runes to Odin, or otherwise geirsodd rita (to scratch with the point of a lance); and this, as they believed, ensured them admission into Valhalla.
GERDA, a beautiful damsel of Jotun race, daughter of the giant Gymer. She was united to Frey with the consent of all the gods, and admitted among the Asynior. She was renowned for her beauty, piety and virtue. Finn Magnussen thinks that Gerda is a type of the aurora borealis, which replaces the light of the sun in winter, in the extreme northern regions; Frey himself typifying the sun. Others suppose that Gerda typifies the earth, and her amour with Frey the relationship between the earth and the sun.
GESTUR, name of a blind giant who proposes riddles and enigmas to Skirnir on his journey to the world below, for the purpose of visiting Gerda.
GIALLAR, name of the horn of Heimdal, which he blows, to give notice to the gods of those who arrive at, and attempt to cross the bridge Bifrost. Etym.: Icelandic verb gala (to sing, to call out). The English verb call, and the Swedish and Danish verbs kalla, kalde, come from the same root.
GIANTS, called in the Scandinavian dialects Jotun, Jetter, Jâttar, the evil genii of the Gothic mythology. At Ragnarok they are to fight with and defeat the Asar on the plains of Vigrid; but they are themselves to perish in the conflagration that ensues, and they will never be resuscitated (i.e. in a future state of existence there will be no violence or crime). The giants dwell in their peculiar territory, Jotunheim, in Utgard, and are ruled by their sovereign, Lok, commonly called Utgard-Lok, to distinguish him from an Asa of the same name. The giants were supposed to be of various forms and races, some having the heads of wild beasts joined to human bodies, and others the human form entire. They understood magic, were capable of assuming divers shapes, and of increasing or diminishing their stature ad libitum. They seem to bear a great resemblance to the Titans of the Greek, and to the Afrites of the Mohammedan theology, and all are borrowed from the Persian system, the doctrine of the Magi.
GIMLE, the most beautiful of all buildings, in which virtuous mortals are to dwell together with the gods, after the reconstruction of the universe, in eternal joy and felicity. The grave is often termed by the Scalds, “the verdant gate of Gimle.” The German word Himmel (heaven) is derived therefrom. Etym.: from the Icelandic word gimlir (splendour).
GINNUNGAGAP, name of the vast abyss which existed before the present world, and separated Niffelheim (region of fog) from Muspelheim (region of heat). Etym.: Ginning (between), and gapi (to yawn or open). The following verbs, in different languages, all come from the Icelandic verb gapi, and have the very same meaning, viz. to gape, English; gapa, Swedish; gabe, Danish; gapen, Dutch; gaffen, German; and the Greek words χαω, χαος and χασμα (chasm) are likewise from the same root.
GLADHEIM, a general name given to the abodes of the gods in Asagard, and often used as a synonyme for Valhalla. Etym.: glad (joy, gladness), and heim (home, or abode).
GLADHEIMASAL means hall of