Lóðurr

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.

Völuspá

In the Poetic Edda the name "Lóðurr" occurs only once; in "Völuspá" where the gods animate the first humans.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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".

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.

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 [http://etext.old.no/Bugge/voluspa/ 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.