Angrboda
Encyclopedia
In Norse mythology
, Angrboða (Old Norse "the one who brings grief" or "she-who-offers-sorrow") is a female jötunn (giantess). In the Poetic Edda
, Angrboða is mentioned only in Völuspá hin skamma
(found in Hyndluljóð
) as the mother of Fenrir by Loki
. However, she is also (by Loki) mother of Fenrir's siblings, Jörmungandr
, the Midgard Serpent, and Hel
. In the Prose Edda
book Gylfaginning
, Angrboða is referenced as a "giantess in Jötunheimr" and mother by Loki of Fenrir, Jörmungandr, and Hel. As indicated following, she may be identical with Iárnvidia, 'She of Iron-wood' mentioned in the list of troll
-wives in the Prose Edda list nafnaþulur
.
(stanzas 40–41 in most editions) speaks of a giantess dwelling in Járnvid
('Iron-wood') whom commentators usually identify with Angrboða (and the Iárnvidia of the list of troll-wives):
gives a prose explanation and a variant form of these stanzas. Brodeur's translation renders:
Perhaps "moon's taker" and "moon hound" or alternately as "the one to steal the sun from the sky" as earlier mentioned was in reference to Hati or Skoll, Fenrir's own children, since similar poems read that Skoll and Hati were birthed by "the witch of the Ironwood".
In stanza 13 of the eddic poem Baldrs draumar
Odin says to the prophesying seeress whom he has brought up from the dead:
This might refer to Angrboda as mother of the three monsters. The seeress states that she will never be charmed from the dead again until Loki is loosed from his bonds.
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
, Angrboða (Old Norse "the one who brings grief" or "she-who-offers-sorrow") is a female jötunn (giantess). In the Poetic Edda
Poetic Edda
The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends, and from the early 19th century...
, Angrboða is mentioned only in Völuspá hin skamma
Völuspá hin skamma
Völuspá hin skamma, Völuspá the Less or the Short Völuspá, is an Old Norse poem which survives as a handful of stanzas in Hyndluljóð, in the Poetic Edda, and as one stanza in the Gylfaginning section of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda...
(found in Hyndluljóð
Hyndluljóð
Hyndluljóð or Lay of Hyndla is an Old Norse poem often considered a part of the Poetic Edda. It is preserved in its entirety only in Flateyjarbók but some stanzas are also quoted in the Prose Edda where they are said to come from Völuspá hin skamma.In the poem, the goddess Freyja meets the völva...
) as the mother of Fenrir by Loki
Loki
In Norse mythology, Loki or Loke is a god or jötunn . Loki is the son of Fárbauti and Laufey, and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. By the jötunn Angrboða, Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr. By his wife Sigyn, Loki is the father of Nari or Narfi...
. However, she is also (by Loki) mother of Fenrir's siblings, Jörmungandr
Jörmungandr
In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr , mostly known as Jormungand, orJörmungand , or Midgard Serpent , or World Serpent, is a sea serpent, and the middle child of the giantess Angrboða and the god Loki...
, the Midgard Serpent, and Hel
Hel (being)
In Norse mythology, Hel is a being who presides over a realm of the same name, where she receives a portion of the dead. Hel is attested 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 the Prose Edda
Prose Edda
The Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda or simply Edda, is an Icelandic collection of four sections interspersed with excerpts from earlier skaldic and Eddic poetry containing tales from Nordic mythology...
book Gylfaginning
Gylfaginning
Gylfaginning, or the Tricking of Gylfi , is the first part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda after Prologue. The Gylfaginning deals with the creation and destruction of the world of the Norse gods, and many other aspects of Norse mythology...
, Angrboða is referenced as a "giantess in Jötunheimr" and mother by Loki of Fenrir, Jörmungandr, and Hel. As indicated following, she may be identical with Iárnvidia, 'She of Iron-wood' mentioned in the list of troll
Troll
A troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In origin, the term troll was a generally negative synonym for a jötunn , a being in Norse mythology...
-wives in the Prose Edda list nafnaþulur
Nafnaþulur
Nafnaþulur is a subsection of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the last part of the Skáldskaparmál. It is a listing in verse of names that may be used in poetry for various items, such as gods, giants, people, animals, and weapons...
.
Poetic Edda
The poem VöluspáVöluspá
Völuspá is the first and best known poem of the Poetic Edda. It tells the story of the creation of the world and its coming end related by a völva addressing Odin...
(stanzas 40–41 in most editions) speaks of a giantess dwelling in Járnvid
Járnviðr
In Norse mythology, Járnviðr is a forest inhabited by troll women who bore giantesses and giant wolves. Járnviðr is attested 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.-Poetic Edda:Járnvid...
('Iron-wood') whom commentators usually identify with Angrboða (and the Iárnvidia of the list of troll-wives):
The giantess old in Ironwood sat,
In the east, and bore the brood of Fenrir;
Among these one in monster's guise
Was soon to steal the sun from the sky.
There feeds he full on the flesh of the dead,
And the home of the gods he reddens with gore;
Dark grows the sun, and in summer soon
Come mighty storms: would you know yet more?
Prose Edda
Snorri's GylfaginningGylfaginning
Gylfaginning, or the Tricking of Gylfi , is the first part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda after Prologue. The Gylfaginning deals with the creation and destruction of the world of the Norse gods, and many other aspects of Norse mythology...
gives a prose explanation and a variant form of these stanzas. Brodeur's translation renders:
A witch dwells to the east of MidgardMidgardMidgard is one of the Nine Worlds and is an old Germanic name for our world and is the home of Humans, with the literal meaning "middle enclosure".-Etymology:...
, in the forest called Ironwood: in that wood dwell the troll-women, who are known as Ironwood-Women [Iárnvidjur]. The old witch bears many giants for sons, and all in the shape of wolves; and from this source are these wolves sprung. The saying runs thus: from this race shall come one that shall be mightiest of all, he that is named Moon-Hound [Mánagarm]; he shall be filled with the flesh of all those men that die, and he shall swallow the moon, and sprinkle with blood the heavens and all the lair; thereof-shall the sun lose her shining, and the winds in that day shall be unquiet and roar on every side. So it says in Völuspá:
Eastward dwells the Old One in Ironwood,
And there gives birth to Fenrir's brethren;
There shall spring of them all a certain one,
The moon's taker in troll's likeness.
He is filled with flesh of fey men.
Reddens the gods' seats with ruddy blood-gouts;
Swart becomes sunshine in summers after,
The weather all shifty. Wit ye yet, or what?
Perhaps "moon's taker" and "moon hound" or alternately as "the one to steal the sun from the sky" as earlier mentioned was in reference to Hati or Skoll, Fenrir's own children, since similar poems read that Skoll and Hati were birthed by "the witch of the Ironwood".
In stanza 13 of the eddic poem Baldrs draumar
Baldrs draumar
Baldrs draumar or Vegtamskviða is an Eddic poem, contained in the manuscript AM 748 I 4to. It relates information on the myth of Baldr's death in a way consistent with Gylfaginning....
Odin says to the prophesying seeress whom he has brought up from the dead:
No wise-woman art thou, nor wisdom hast;
Of giants three the mother art thou.
This might refer to Angrboda as mother of the three monsters. The seeress states that she will never be charmed from the dead again until Loki is loosed from his bonds.