Barri

In Norse mythology, Barri is the place where Freyr and Gerðr are to consummate their union, as stated in the "Skírnismál":

:Barri the grove is named,:which we both know,:the grove of tranquil paths.:Nine nights hence,:there to Niörd’s son:Gerd will grant delight.:::—"För Skirnis eðr Skirnismál" (39), [http://www.northvegr.org/lore/poetic2/011_02.php Thorpe's translation]

In Snorri Sturluson's account of the myth (found in "Gylfaginning", 37), the place is called Barrey or Barey [Two out of the four main manuscripts of the "Prose Edda" ("Trajectinus" and "Wormianus") have the name Barrey, another ("Codex Regius") has the alternative form Barey.] ::And nine nights later she was to come to the place called Barrey, and then go to the bridal with Freyr.:::—"Gylfaginning" (37), [http://www.cybersamurai.net/Mythology/nordic_gods/LegendsSagas/Edda/ProseEdda/GylfaginningXXXI-XL.htm#gylf37 Brodeur's translation]

The meaning of the name is uncertain. Barri is called a grove ("lundr") but Bar(r)ey is probably an island ("ey" being the Old Norse for "island")Faulkes 1988.] and could be connected with Barra, one of the Hebrides islands, which was once called BarreySimek 1996.] . The meaning of the first part of the name, "barr", is not very enlightening for it has several meanings: "pine needle", "conifer", "tree" or "grain" [Dillmann 2003, p.175.] , especially "barley". Magnus Olsen suggested that Barri meant "cornfield". This supports his interpretation of the union of Freyr and Gerðr as a holy wedding between a fertility god and the Earth Mother [Olsen, Magnus. "Fra gammelnorsk myte og kultus". "Maal og minne". 1909.] . But this interpretation has been contested and Barri could be rendered into "coniferous forest" (as Rudolf Simek noticed, it would be a suitable name for a grove) and the signification of Barrey might be "barley-island" or "grain-island", which, John Lindow underlined, "makes no sense in the context of a fertility myth" [Lindow 2002.] .

Notes

References

* Brodeur, Arthur Gilchrist (trans.). 1916. "Snorri Sturluson: The Prose Edda". New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation.
* Thorpe, Benjamin (trans.). 1866. "Edda Sæmundar Hinns Froða: The Edda Of Sæmund The Learned". London: Trübner & Co.
* Dillmann, François-Xavier (trans.). 2003. "Snorri Sturluson. L'Edda". Paris: Gallimard. First published in 1991. ISBN 2-07-072114-0.
* Faulkes, Anthony (ed.). 1988. "Snorri Sturluson: Edda. Prologue and Gylfaginning. London: Viking Society for Northern Research. First published by Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-903521-21-0.
* Lindow, John. 2002. "Norse mythology: a guide to the gods, heroes, rituals, and beliefs". New York: Oxford University Press. , First published in 2001 by ABC-Clio. ISBN 0-19-515382-0.
* Simek, Rudolf. 1996. "Dictionary of Northern Mythology". Translated by Angela Hall. First published by Alfred Kröner Verlang in 1984. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. ISBN 0-85991-513-1.