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...

, Nótt (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....

 "night") is night

Night

Night or nighttime is the period of time when the sun is below the horizon. This occurs after dusk. The opposite of night is day...

 personified. In both 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 sources, and 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...

, Nótt is listed as the daughter of a figure by the name of Nörvi (with variant spellings) and is associated with the horse Hrímfaxi, while the Prose Edda features information about Nótt's ancestry, including her three marriages. Nótt's third marriage was with the god Dellingr and this resulted in their son Dagr

Dagr

In Norse mythology, Dagr is day personified. This personification appears 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...

, the personified day. As a proper noun, the word nótt appears throughout Old Norse literature.

Poetic Edda

In stanza 24 of the poem Vafþrúðnismál

Vafþrúðnismál

In Norse mythology, Vafþrúðnismál is the third poem in the Poetic Edda. It is a conversation in verse form conducted initially between the Æsir Odin and Frigg, and subsequently between Odin and the giant Vafþrúðnir...

, the god 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"....

 (disguised as "Gagnráðr") asks the jötunn Vafþrúðnir

Vafþrúðnir

Vafþrúðnir is a wise jötunn in Norse mythology. In the Poetic Edda poem Vafþrúðnismál, Vafþrúðnir acts as both Odin's host and opponent in a deadly battle of wits, resulting in Vafþrúðnir's defeat....

 from where the day comes, and the night and its tides. In stanza 25, Vafþrúðnir responds:

Delling hight he who the day's father is,

but night was of Nörvi born;

the new and waning moons the beneficient powers created,

to count the years for men.

In stanza 14 of the Vafþrúðnismál, Odin states that the horse Hrímfaxi "draws every night to the beneficent gods" and that he lets foam from his bit fall every morning, from which dew comes to the valleys. In stanza 30 of the poem Alvíssmál

Alvíssmál

Alvíssmál is poem collected in the Poetic Edda, probably dating to the 11th century, that relates a conversation between Thor and a Dvergr called Alvíss .-Plot:...

, 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...

 asks the dwarf Alvíss

Alvíss

Alvíss was a dwarf in Norse mythology.Thor's daughter, Þrúðr, was promised to Alvíss. However, Thor did not want Alviss married to his daughter, so he devised a plan to stop Alvíss from doing so. He told Alvíss that, because of his small height, he had to prove his wisdom. Alvíss agreed. Thor made...

 to tell him what night is called in each of the nine worlds, whom "Nórr

Narfi

Narfi in Norse mythology may refer to the son of Loki or the father of Nótt, the personified night.-Son of Loki:In the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, Narfi, also known as Nari or Narvi, is a son of Loki and Sigyn who is killed to punish Loki for his crimes. The gods turned his brother Váli into a...

" birthed. Alvíss responds that night is referred as "night" by mankind, "darkness" by the gods, "the masker by the mighty Powers", "unlight" by the jötunn, "joy-of-sleep" by the elves

Elf

An elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...

, while dwarves call her "dream-Njörun

Njörun

In Norse mythology, Njörun is a goddess attested in the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and various kennings . Scholarly theories have proposed that Njörun may represent the earth...

" (meaning "dream-goddess").

In Sigrdrífumál

Sigrdrífumál

Sigrdrífumál is the conventional title given to a section of the Poetic Edda text in Codex Regius....

, after 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...

 Sigrdrífa is woken from her sleep curse by the hero Sigurd

Sigurd

Sigurd is a legendary hero of Norse mythology, as well as the central character in the Völsunga saga. The earliest extant representations for his legend come in pictorial form from seven runestones in Sweden and most notably the Ramsund carving Sigurd (Old Norse: Sigurðr) is a legendary hero of...

, Sigurd asks her name, and she gives him a "memory-drink" of a drinking horn

Drinking horn

A drinking horn is the horn of a bovid used as a drinking vessel. Drinking horns are known from Classical Antiquity especially in Thrace and the Balkans, and remained in use for ceremonial purposes throughout the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period in some parts of Europe, notably in Germanic...

 full of mead

Mead

Mead , also called honey wine, is an alcoholic beverage that is produced by fermenting a solution of honey and water. It may also be produced by fermenting a solution of water and honey with grain mash, which is strained immediately after fermentation...

, and then Sigrdrifa says a heathen prayer

Prayer

Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...

. The first verse of this prayer features a reference to the "sons of Dagr" and the "daughter of Nótt":

Hail to the Day! Hail to the sons of Day!

To Night and her daughter hail!

With placid eyes behold us here,

and here sitting give us victory.

Hail to the Æsir

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...

! Hail to the Asyniur

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...

!

Hail to the bounteous earth!

Words and wisdom give to us noble twain,

and healing hands while we live!

Prose Edda

In the Prose Edda 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...

, Nótt is again personified. In chapter 10, the enthroned figure of High states that Nótt is the daughter of a jötunn from Jötunheimr

Jötunheimr

Jötunheimr is one of the Nine Worlds and the homeland of the Giants of Norse Mythology — Rock Giants and Frost Giants.-Legend:...

 by the name of "Norfi or Narfi". Nótt is described as "black and swarthy", and has had three marriages. Her first marriage was with Naglfari

Naglfari

In Norse mythology, Naglfari is the father of Auðr by the personified night, Nótt. Naglfar is attested in a single mention in the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, where he is described as one of a series of three husbands of Nótt, and that the couple produced a son, Auðr...

, and the two produced a son by the name of Auðr

Auðr

In Norse mythology, Auðr is the son of the personified night, Nótt, fathered by Naglfari. Auðr is attested in the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and in the poetry of skalds.-Attestations:...

. Nótt's second marriage was to Annar

Annar

In Norse mythology, according to the Gylfaginning, Annar is the father of Jörð 'Earth' by Nótt 'Night'. The form Ónar is found as a variant. Annar/Ónar is also the name of a dwarf in the catalogue of dwarfs in the Völuspá that is repeated in the Gylfaginning...

, resulting in their daughter Jörð

Jörð

In Norse mythology, Jörð and also called Jarð as in Old East Norse, is a female jötunn. She is the mother of Thor and Meili, and the personification of the Earth. Fjörgyn and Hlôdyn are considered to be other names for Jörð...

, the personified earth. Finally, Nótt marries the god Dellingr, and the couple have Dagr

Dagr

In Norse mythology, Dagr is day personified. This personification appears 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...

, who takes after his "father's people" in brightness and fairness. Odin took Nótt and her son Dagr, placed them into the sky with a chariot and a horse each, and they ride around the earth every 24 hours. Nótt rides before Dagr, and foam from her horse Hrímfaxi's bit

Bit (horse)

A bit is a type of horse tack used in equestrian activities, usually made of metal or a synthetic material, and is placed in the mouth of a horse or other equid and assists a rider in communicating with the animal. It rests on the bars of the mouth in an interdental region where there are no teeth...

 sprinkles the earth.

In the Prose Edda book 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...

, means of referring to Jörð are provided, including "daughter of Nótt". Chapter 58 states that "Hrimfaxi or Fiorsvartnir draw the night", and in chapter 64, "nótt" is stated as one of various words for time.