The Daughters of Ægir are the nine daughters of Ægir

Ægir

Ægir is a sea giant, god of the ocean and king of the sea creatures in Norse mythology. He is also known for hosting elaborate parties for the gods.Ægir's servants are Fimafeng and Eldir.- Description :...

 and Rán

Rán

In Norse mythology, Rán is a sea goddess. According to Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, in his retelling of the Poetic Edda poem Lokasenna, she is married to Ægir and they have nine daughters together...

, a giant and goddess

Æsir

In Old Norse, áss is the term denoting a member of the principal pantheon in Norse paganism. This pantheon includes Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Tyr. The second pantheon comprises the Vanir...

 who both represent the sea in Norse mythology

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...

. Their names are poetic terms for different characteristics of ocean waves.

In the Skáldskaparmál

Skáldskaparmál

The second part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda the Skáldskaparmál or "language of poetry" is effectively a dialogue between the Norse god of the sea, Ægir and Bragi, the god of poetry, in which both Norse mythology and discourse on the nature of poetry are intertwined...

section of Snorri Sturluson

Snorri Sturluson

Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...

's 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...

the names of Ægir's daughters are recorded:

The daughters of Ægir and Rán are nine, and their names are recorded before: Himinglæva, Dúfa, Blódughadda, Hefring, Udr, Hrönn, Bylgja, Dröfn, Kólga. - Brodeur's translation

Brodeur gives the following translations of the names:

• Himinglæva - That through which one can see the heavens (a reference to the transparency of water).
• Dúfa - The Pitching One.
• Blóðughadda - Bloody-Hair (a reference to red sea foam).
• Hefring - Riser.
• Uðr (or Unn) - Frothing Wave.
• Hrönn - Welling Wave.
• Bylgja - Billow.
• Dröfn - Foam-Fleck (or "Comber" according to Faulkes).
• Kólga - Cool Wave.

Prose Edda

Snorri lists the nine daughters twice in the Prose Edda but in one instance he replaces Dröfn with Bára. He also includes both Unn and Hrönn in a list of names of rivers.

In Skáldskaparmál, Snorri quotes a verse from the 12th century skald

Skald

The skald was a member of a group of poets, whose courtly poetry is associated with the courts of Scandinavian and Icelandic leaders during the Viking Age, who composed and performed renditions of aspects of what we now characterise as Old Norse poetry .The most prevalent metre of skaldic poetry is...

 Einarr Skúlason

Einarr Skúlason

Einarr Skúlason was an Icelandic priest and skald. He was the most prominent Norse poet of the 12th century.He was descended from the family of Egill Skallagrímsson, the so called Mýramenn. For most of his life he lived in Norway, with the kings Sigurðr Jórsalafari, Haraldr gilli and the sons of...

 in reference to Himinglaeva who "stirs up the roar of the sea against the brave" and who also, according to Háttatal

Háttatal

The Háttatal is the last section of the Prose Edda composed by the Icelandic poet, politician, and historian Snorri Sturluson. Using, for the most part, his own compositions, it exemplifies the types of verse forms used in Old Norse poetry...

, "strokes the high planks".

Also quoted by Snorri is the Nordrsetudrapa by the poet Svein:

"When hard gusts from the white mountain range teased apart and wove together the storm-happy daughters of Ægir, bred on frost."

In addition, he quotes the Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

ic poet Snæbjorn who refers to them as the "nine skerry

Skerry

A skerry is a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low sea stack....

-brides".

Poetic Edda

In stanza 28 of Grímnismál

Grímnismál

Grímnismál is one of the mythological poems of the Poetic Edda. It is preserved in the Codex Regius manuscript and the AM 748 I 4to fragment. It is spoken through the voice of Grímnir, one of the many guises of the god Odin, who is tortured by King Geirröth...

, part of 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...

, Hrönn is again included in a list of names of rivers enumerated during the revelatory visions of Odin

Odin

Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....

.

In the poem Helgakviða Hundingsbana I

Helgakviða Hundingsbana I

Völsungakviða, Helgakviða Hundingsbana I or the First Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane is an Old Norse poem found in the Poetic Edda...

(First Poem of Helgi Hundingsbani), stanza 28 describes Helgi's ship cutting through the waves:

"Then it could be heard: they'd met together,

the sister of Kolga and the longships,

as mountains or surf might break asunder."

Stanza 29 includes a reference to the (singular) daughter of Ægir:

"Helgi ordered the high sail to be set,

his crew did not fail at the meeting of the waves,

when Ægir's terrible daughter

wanted to capsize the stay-bridled wave-horse [ship]"

A reference to Ægir's daughter Uðr appears in Helgakviða Hundingsbana II

Helgakviða Hundingsbana II

Völsungakviða in forna, Helgakviða Hundingsbana II or the Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane is an Old Norse poem found in the Poetic Edda...

, where the Valkyrie

Valkyrie

In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who decides who dies in battle. Selecting among half of those who die in battle , the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin...

 Sigrún

Sigrún

Sigrún is a valkyrie in Norse mythology. Her story is related in Helgakviða Hundingsbana I and Helgakviða Hundingsbana II, in the Poetic Edda...

 puts a curse on her brother Dagr for having murdered her husband Helgi Hundingsbane

Helgi Hundingsbane

Helgi Hundingsbane is a hero in Norse sagas. Helgi appears in Volsunga saga and in two lays in the Poetic Edda named Helgakviða Hundingsbana I and Helgakviða Hundingsbana II. The Poetic Edda relates that Helgi and his mistress Sigrún were Helgi Hjörvarðsson and Sváva of the Helgakviða...

 in spite of the fact that he had sworn a holy oath of allegiance to Helgi on "Uð's ice cold stone" (unnarsteini):

"Þik skyli allir eiðar bíta, þeir er Helga hafðir unna at inu ljósa Leiftrar vatni ok at úrsvölum Unnarsteini."

"Now may every oath thee bite That with Helgi sworn thou hast, By the water bright of Leipt, And the ice-cold stone of Uth."

Theories

It has been noted by scholars including John Lindow and Carolyne Larrington that the daughters of Ægir and Rán are often thought to be the nine mothers of Heimdall, who are all said to be sisters according to both Snorri in 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...

and a surviving fragment of the poem Heimdalargaldr. However, in the poem 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...

(Lay of Hyndla) the nine giantess mothers of Heimdall have different names including Gjálp and Greip

Gjálp and Greip

-Thor's visit to Geirröðr:According to Skáldskaparmál they were daughters of the giant Geirröðr. As Thor was wading across Vimur the river "waxed so greatly that it broke high upon his shoulders"...

 and Járnsaxa

Jarnsaxa

In Norse mythology, Járnsaxa is a jötunn. According to Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, she was Thor's lover. By him she was the mother of Magni. According to the Poetic Edda poem Hyndluljóð, Járnsaxa is the name of one of the Nine Mothers of Heimdallr.-References:*Orchard, Andy . Dictionary of...

which are known from other myths and are not specifically mentioned as sisters in the poem. Thus, this theory has remained speculative.