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...

, the Kerlaugar (plural form of Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 kerlaug "kettle-bath",) i.e. "bath-tub", are two rivers through which the god Thor

Thor

In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...

 wades. The Kerlaugar are attested 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...

, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional material, and in a citation of the same verse 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...

, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson

Snorri Sturluson

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

.

Attestations

The Kerlaugar are mentioned once 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...

. In the Poetic Edda poem 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...

, Grímnir notes that the bridge Asbrú

Bifröst

In Norse mythology, Bifrost or Bilröst is a burning rainbow bridge that reaches between Midgard and Asgard, the realm of the gods...

 "burns all with flames" and that, every day, the god Thor wades through the waters of Körmt and Örmt

Körmt and Örmt

In Norse mythology, Körmt and Örmt are two rivers which Thor wades through every day when he goes to judgment by Yggdrasill. The source for this is a strophe in Grímnismál which is also quoted in the Prose Edda....

 and the two Kerlaugar:

Benjamin Thorpe Benjamin Thorpe Benjamin Thorpe was an English scholar of Anglo-Saxon.-Biography:After studying for four years at Copenhagen University, under the Danish philologist Rasmus Christian Rask, he returned to England in 1830, and in 1832 published an English version of Caedmon's metrical paraphrase of portions of the...  translation: Körmt and Ormt, and the Kerlaugs twain: these Thor must wade each day, when he to council goes at Yggdrasil Yggdrasil In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil is an immense tree that is central in Norse cosmology. It was said to be the world tree around which the nine worlds existed... 's ash Ash tree Fraxinus is a genus flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45-65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous though a few subtropical species are evergreen. The tree's common English name, ash, goes back to the Old English æsc, while the generic name... ; for as the As-bridge is all on fire, the holy waters boil.

Henry Adams Bellows Henry Adams Bellows Henry Adams Bellows was a lawyer, state legislator, and jurist born in Rockingham, Vermont. He was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives from Littleton, New Hampshire in 1839. He was subsequently elected again to the House from Concord, New Hampshire in 1856–1857, and served as...  translation: Kormt and Ormt and the Kerlaugs twain Shall Thor each day wade through, For heaven's bridge burns all in flame, And the sacred waters seethe.

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...

, the rivers are mentioned twice, once 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 once in 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...

. In Gylfaginning, High

High, Just-As-High, and Third

High, Just-As-High, and Third are three men that respond to questions posed by Gangleri in the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning...

 says that Thor wades through rivers to go to court, and then quotes the above cited Grímnismál stanza in support. In Skáldskaparmál, the Kerlaugar appear in the list of rivers in the 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...

.

Theories and interpretations

Rudolf Simek

Rudolf Simek

Rudolf Simek is an Austrian Germanist and Philologian.Simek studied German literature, philosophy and Catholic theology in the University of Vienna, before becoming a librarian and a docent at the institution. He taught among others in the universities of Edinburgh, Tromsø and Sydney...

 comments that the meaning is "strange" and may point to an otherwise lost myth about Thor. On the other hand Guðbrandur Vigfússon

Guðbrandur Vigfússon

Guðbrandur Vigfússon, known in English as Gudbrand Vigfusson, was one of the foremost Scandinavian scholars of the 19th century.-Life:He was born of an Icelandic family in Breiðafjörður...

 argued that it and several other river names in the same poem were Irish in origin and related it to river names beginning in Ker- or Char- such as Cherwell

River Cherwell

The River Cherwell is a river which flows through the Midlands of England. It is a major tributary of the River Thames.The general course of the River Cherwell is north to south and the 'straight-line' distance from its source to the Thames is about...

. He and Frederick York Powell

Frederick York Powell

Frederick York Powell , was an English historian and scholar.- Biography :Frederick York Powell was born in Bloomsbury, London. Much of his childhood was spent in France and Spain, so that he early acquired a mastery of the language of both countries and an insight into the genius of the people...

 rendered it "Charlocks" in Corpus Poeticum Boreale.

Thor frequently crosses rivers in the mythology; John Lindow

John Lindow

John Lindow is a professor specializing in Scandinavian medieval studies and folklore at the University of California, Berkeley and author. Lindow's works include Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Rituals, and Beliefs, a handbook for Norse mythology...

 suggests this is due to the large amount of time he spends in the realms of the jötnar, "who live on the other sides of boundaries", and points to a symbolic connection between jötnar and water, citing the ocean-dwelling 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...

 as an example.

Sources

• Sturtevant, Albert Morey (1951). "Etymological Comments on Certain Words and Names in the Elder Edda". PMLA volume 66, no. 2. JSTOR 459605.