Idun

Idun and the Apples (1890) by J. Doyle Penrose.

Iðunn (romanized "Idun") is one of the goddesses of the Norse pantheon. She is best known in two unrelated roles: as the wife of Bragi (the god of poetry) and as keeper of the golden apples^[1] of immortality (which maintain the youth and vitality of the Aesir).

Despite the lack of any evidence of extensive cultic observance, Idun was nonetheless a notable and relevant member of the pantheon. More specifically, the tale of her kidnapping by the giant Þjazi and her subsequent rescue by Loki provides one of the more exhilarating moments in Norse mythology – one which is recorded in both the Poetic and Prose Eddas, and is the subject of numerous depictions in later artwork (see below).

Idun in a Norse Context

As a Norse deity, Idun belonged to a complex religious, mythological and cosmological belief system shared by the Scandinavian and Germanic peoples. This mythological tradition, of which the Scandinavian (and particularly Icelandic) sub-groups are best preserved, developed in the period from the first manifestations of religious and material culture in approximately 1000 B.C.E. until the Christianization of the area, a process that occurred primarily from 900-1200 C.E..^[2] The tales recorded within this mythological corpus tend to exemplify a unified cultural focus on physical prowess and military might.

Within this framework, Norse cosmology postulates three separate "clans" of primary deities: the Aesir, the Vanir, and the Jotun. The distinction between Aesir and Vanir is relative, for the two are said to have made peace, exchanged hostages, intermarried and reigned together after a prolonged war, which the Aesir had finally won. In fact, the most significant divergence between the two groups is in their respective areas of influence, with the Aesir representing war and conquest, and the Vanir representing exploration, fertility and wealth.^[3] The Jotun, on the other hand, are seen as a generally malefic (though wise) race of giants who represented the primary adversaries of the Aesir and Vanir. Over and above these three, there also existed races of secondary supernatural spirits, including the alfár (elves) and the dwarves (craftsmen for the Aesir).^[4]

Among the deities of the Norse pantheon, Idun is best known as the caretaker of the apples of immortality, which maintained the youthful appearances of the Aesir and Vanir. Also, she is also described as the wife of Bragi, the god of poetry.

Attributes

As mentioned above, Idun's primary role within the Norse mythic corpus was as the custodian of the fruit of immortality: "she guards in her chest of ash those apples which the gods must taste whensoever they grow old; and then they all become young, and so it shall be even unto the Weird [Urd - "Ultimate Fate"] of the Gods ([Ragnarök])."^[5] For this reason, her kidnapping by the giant Þjazi (described below) and the resultant loss of the apples is a moment of ultimate danger for the pantheon, as it could lead to their eventual demise. Building upon this fact, Lindow suggests that the character of Idun (and the tale of her capture) is a metaphor for the necessity of exogamous marriage among the Aesir:

This [her abduction] is one of the most dangerous moments for the gods in the mythological present, for giants are not supposed to be able to mate with goddesses. The fact that the gods grow old and gray — that is, display mortality — indicates what would happen if the flow of females, ordinarily from the giants to the gods, were to be reversed.^[6]

This

- Lindow's contention ^[7]

Idun's second role, as the wife of Bragi, is most strongly attested to in the Lokasenna section of the Poetic Edda, where the goddess is depicted trying to prevent her husband from getting into a physical confrontation with Loki:

Ithun spake:

16. "Well, prithee, Bragi, | his kinship weigh,

Since chosen as wish-son he was;

And speak not to Loki | such words of spite

Here within Ægir's hall."

Loki spake:

17. "Be silent, Ithun! | thou art, I say,

Of women most lustful in love,

Since thou thy washed-bright | arms didst wind

About thy brother's slayer."^[8]

Ithun spake:

18. "To Loki I speak not | with spiteful words

Here within Ægir's hall;

And Bragi I calm, | who is hot with beer,

For I wish not that fierce they should fight."^[9]

In this section, Idun is portrayed as a dutiful wife, ignoring the trickster god's impugning comments in favor of trying to keep her husband from an altercation that he would likely lose.

These two attributes comprise virtually all mythic depictions of the goddess, especially if you include the tale of her abduction (described below). This somewhat "one-dimensional" characterization is exemplified in Snorri Sturluson's guide for aspiring bards (the Skáldskaparmál), where he asks the rhetorical question: How should Idunn be periphrased? Thus: by calling her Wife of Bragi, and Keeper of the Apples; and the apples should be called Age-Elixir of the Aesir. Idunn is also called Spoil of the Giant Thjazi, according to the tale that has been told before, how he took her away from the Aesir.^[10]

Mythic Accounts

As related in Haustlöng Iðunn was at one time abducted with her apples by the giant Þjazi, who used Loki as a stooge to lure Iðunn out of Ásgarðr. During her absence, the Æsir began to age without the rejuvenating qualities of her apples, prompting them to press Loki into the task of rescuing her. Borrowing Freyja's falcon skin, he retrieved Iðunn from Þrymheimr, transforming her into the form of a nut for the flight back. Þjazi, displeased, pursued them in the form of an eagle, but was defeated by having his wings set afire by a bonfire created by the Æsir.

Familiar forms

Iðunn's name is written in various languages as Idun, Idunn, Iduna, Idunna, Ithun or Ithunn.

Gallery

Though Idun is not a highly prominent figure in Norse mythology, she (and the complex of stories surrounding her), were chosen as subject matter for a variety of Western art, likely due to their rousing, exhilarating natures. In fact, all images below (save the first) are from the account of Idun's abduction by Loki (described above).

Bragi is shown with a harp and accompanied by his wife Iðunn in this 19th century painting by Nils Blommér.
Idun and the Apples by J. Doyle Penrose.
520px-Loki and Idun - John Bauer.jpg

Loki lures Iðunn away, by John Bauer.
Idun and Thiazi.jpg

Iðunn is carried off by Þjazi, by H. Theaker, 1920.
Ring8.jpg

The gods become old as they rue the loss of the apples, by Arthur Rackham.

Notes

↑ Though some scholars argue that this reference to "apples" implies that she is a later interpolation, it should be noted that the noun translated as apple is, in fact, a general term "applied to other round fruits, and even to acorns." Turville-Petre, 186.
↑ Lindow, 6-8. Though some scholars have argued against the homogenizing effect of grouping these various traditions together under the rubric of “Norse Mythology,” the profoundly exploratory/nomadic nature of Viking society tends to overrule such objections. As Thomas DuBois cogently argues, “[w]hatever else we may say about the various peoples of the North during the Viking Age, then, we cannot claim that they were isolated from or ignorant of their neighbors…. As religion expresses the concerns and experiences of its human adherents, so it changes continually in response to cultural, economic, and environmental factors. Ideas and ideals passed between communities with frequency and regularity, leading to and interdependent and intercultural region with broad commonalities of religion and worldview.” (27-28).
↑ More specifically, Georges Dumézil, one of the foremost authorities on the Norse tradition and a noted comparitivist, argues quite persuasively that the Aesir / Vanir distinction is a component of a larger triadic division (between ruler gods, warrior gods, and gods of agriculture and commerce) that is echoed among the Indo-European cosmologies (from Vedic India, through Rome and into the Germanic North). Further, he notes that this distinction conforms to patterns of social organization found in all of these societies. See Georges Dumézil's Gods of the Ancient Northmen (especially pgs. xi-xiii, 3-25) for more details.
↑ Lindow, 99-101; 109-110.
↑ Snorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning XXVI, Brodeur 39.
↑ Lindow, 199.
↑ J. T. Williams, "Origin and Population-Structure of the Icelanders," Human Biology 65 (2): April 1993. 167-191. Williams notes that "the western, northern, and southern regions of Iceland exhibit a moderate Celtic component, consistent with historical indications that these regions were settled by Norse Vikings from the British Isles, accompanied by Celtic wives and slaves" (167). This is one example of the type of exogamous marriage that was common among the sea-faring Norsemen.
↑ This seems to be an allusion to a mythic episode that is not among the received Norse materials.
↑ "Lokasenna" in The Poetic Edda. Translated and with notes by Henry Adams Bellows. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1936. Accessed online at sacred-texts.com. 157-158. Bellows notes (ff. 152) that Idun [here romanized as Ithun] is a singularly unpopular figure within the Poetic Edda, and that she is only mentioned by name in the Lokasenna section quoted above.
↑ Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál XXII, Brodeur 129-130.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Burkert, Walter. Greek Religion. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1985. ISBN 0674362810.
DuBois, Thomas A. Nordic Religions in the Viking Age. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999. ISBN 0-8122-1714-4.
Dumézil, Georges. Gods of the Ancient Northmen. Edited by Einar Haugen; Introduction by C. Scott Littleton and Udo Strutynski. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973. ISBN 0-520-02044-8.
Grammaticus, Saxo. The Danish History (Volumes I-IX). Translated by Oliver Elton (Norroena Society, New York, 1905). Accessed online at The Online Medieval & Classical Library.
Lindow, John. Handbook of Norse mythology. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2001. ISBN 1-57607-217-7.
Munch, P. A. Norse Mythology: Legends of Gods and Heroes. In the revision of Magnus Olsen; translated from the Norwegian by Sigurd Bernhard Hustvedt. New York: The American-Scandinavian foundation; London: H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1926.
Orchard, Andy. Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. London: Cassell; New York: Distributed in the United States by Sterling Pub. Co., 2002. ISBN 0-304-36385-5.
Sturluson, Snorri. The Prose Edda. Translated from the Icelandic and with an introduction by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur. New York: American-Scandinavian foundation, 1916. Available online at http://www.northvegr.org/lore/prose/index.php.
Turville-Petre, Gabriel. Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1964. ISBN 0837174201.
"Lokasenna" in The Poetic Edda. Translated and with notes by Henry Adams Bellows. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1936. Accessed online at sacred-texts.com.

External links

Norse Mythology: Idun from Hurstwic, a Viking Age Living History Society

Template:NorseMythology

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[1] Though some scholars argue that this reference to "apples" implies that she is a later interpolation, it should be noted that the noun translated as apple is, in fact, a general term "applied to other round fruits, and even to acorns." Turville-Petre, 186.

[2] Lindow, 6-8. Though some scholars have argued against the homogenizing effect of grouping these various traditions together under the rubric of “Norse Mythology,” the profoundly exploratory/nomadic nature of Viking society tends to overrule such objections. As Thomas DuBois cogently argues, “[w]hatever else we may say about the various peoples of the North during the Viking Age, then, we cannot claim that they were isolated from or ignorant of their neighbors…. As religion expresses the concerns and experiences of its human adherents, so it changes continually in response to cultural, economic, and environmental factors. Ideas and ideals passed between communities with frequency and regularity, leading to and interdependent and intercultural region with broad commonalities of religion and worldview.” (27-28).

[3] More specifically, Georges Dumézil, one of the foremost authorities on the Norse tradition and a noted comparitivist, argues quite persuasively that the Aesir / Vanir distinction is a component of a larger triadic division (between ruler gods, warrior gods, and gods of agriculture and commerce) that is echoed among the Indo-European cosmologies (from Vedic India, through Rome and into the Germanic North). Further, he notes that this distinction conforms to patterns of social organization found in all of these societies. See Georges Dumézil's Gods of the Ancient Northmen (especially pgs. xi-xiii, 3-25) for more details.

[4] Lindow, 99-101; 109-110.

[5] Snorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning XXVI, Brodeur 39.

[6] Lindow, 199.

[7] J. T. Williams, "Origin and Population-Structure of the Icelanders," Human Biology 65 (2): April 1993. 167-191. Williams notes that "the western, northern, and southern regions of Iceland exhibit a moderate Celtic component, consistent with historical indications that these regions were settled by Norse Vikings from the British Isles, accompanied by Celtic wives and slaves" (167). This is one example of the type of exogamous marriage that was common among the sea-faring Norsemen.

[8] This seems to be an allusion to a mythic episode that is not among the received Norse materials.

[9] "Lokasenna" in The Poetic Edda. Translated and with notes by Henry Adams Bellows. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1936. Accessed online at sacred-texts.com. 157-158. Bellows notes (ff. 152) that Idun [here romanized as Ithun] is a singularly unpopular figure within the Poetic Edda, and that she is only mentioned by name in the Lokasenna section quoted above.

[10] Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál XXII, Brodeur 129-130.

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