Óttar (mythology)

"The Ancestry of Ottar" (1908) by W. G. Collingwood

In Norse Mythology, Óttar, also known as Óttar the Simple, is a protégé of the goddess Freyja. He appeared in Hyndluljóð (the Lay of Hyndla), a poem in the Poetic Edda. In this tale, Óttar is said to be very pious to the goddesses. He built a shrine of stones, a hörgr, and on it made many offerings to Freyja. The goddess answered his prayers and went on a journey to help him find his pedigree. Freyja disguised Óttar as her boar Hildisvini (the Battle-Swine) and brought him to the giantess Hyndla, a seeress. There, Freyja forced Hyndla to tell Óttar about his ancestors, as well as to give him a memory potion so that he would remember all that he was told.

It has been theorized that the framework of the poem was created for the 12th century poet to produce a list of mythical heroes' names. The poem does not connect much to other poems in the Edda, and is often viewed as a semi-historical work.^[1] Viktor Rydberg theorized that Óttar is another spelling of the name Óðr.^[2]

References and notes

1. ^ The Poetic Edda, Henry A. Bellows, transl. Princeton University Press (1936).
2. ^ Viktor Rydberg, Gods and Goddesses of the Northland.