Skadi

From New World Encyclopedia
Skaði, by Frølich

In Norse mythology, Skaði (Anglicized as Skadi) is a giantess, daughter of Thjazi, wife of Njord and stepmother of Freyr and Freyja. She was also esteemed as a huntress and was known as the "Snowshoe Goddess" for her mode of conveyance through the frozen wilds.

Skadi in a Norse Context

As a Norse deity, Skadi 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.[1] 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 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 major 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.[2] 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.

Skadi was best known in conjunction with her husband (Njord) and her step-children (Freyr and Freyja). However, her attested affiliation with hunting and hunters suggests that she may, at one time, have been a more important figure than the surviving literature suggests.

Attributes

Although Skadi is a giantess, she is traditionally counted among the Æsir, similar to Loki, not only because of her marriage to Njord, but also from kennings that describe her as a goddess and in various lists of Ásynjur throughout Skáldskaparmál that include her name.

Grímnismál

In Grímnismál, during Odin's visions of the various dwelling places of the gods he mentions that of Skadi in stanza 11:

"Thrymheim the sixth is called
where Thjazi lived, the terrible giant,
but now Skadi, shining bride of the gods,
lives in her father's ancient courts"

Lokasenna Skadi replies that if that was true, then he would get only baneful words from her, but Loki reminds her that she was gentler in speech when she invited him into her bed. This love affair is not mentioned in other sources.

Mythic Accounts

Death of Thjazi

See also: Njord

After the death of Skadi's father (the giant Thjazi (which is descibed elsewhere)), the giantess armed herself and sallied out to Asgard to seek revenge. However, instead of agreeing to battle, the gods demurred, offering her "reconciliation and atonement" for her loss. This reconciliation took two forms: first, they promised the giantess her choice of husbands from among the Aesir (albeit with a peculiar proviso); and, second, they offered to make her laugh (as she broken-heartedly stated that she would never feel mirth again in a world without her father).

In fulfilling the first condition, the assembled Aesir stated that she could "choose for herself a husband from among the Aesir and choose by the feet only, seeing no more of him."[3] Walking down the line of eligible gods, the giantess selected the most graceful pair of feet – assuming that they belonged to the beautiful Balder. To her surprise, they belonged to the much older Njord, who agreed to be her husband.

Next, in attempting to provoke a response from the giantess, Loki performed a masochistically vulgar (though comedic) act, tying one end of a cord around the beard of a goat and the other end around his testicles. "Each gave way in turn, and each of the two screeched loudly; then Loki let himself fall onto Skadi's knee [perhaps causing further damage to his private parts], and she laughed."[4] Thus, the Aesir fulfilled the requirements of the reconciliation. However, to further express their sorrow over the giant's death, Odin also "took Thjazi's eyes and cast them up into the heavens, and made of them two stars,"[5] ensuring that part of him would live forever.

Marriage to Njord

See also: Njord

Though the two attempted to make the best of their union, their differences made this difficult. Skadi's mountain homeland was too bleak and desolate for the sea-god, and Njord's seaside abode was too damp for his giant bride. As a compromise, they decided to alternate, first spending nine days in Nóatún, followed by nine in Thyrmheim (Skadi's father's erstwhile abode). Snorri's Gylfaginning describes the response of the two to this arrangement:

But when Njordr came down from the mountain back to Nóatún, he sang this lay:
  Loath were the hills to me, I was not long in them,
    Nights only nine;
  To me the wailing of wolves seemed ill,
    After the song of swans.
Then Skadi sang this:
  Sleep could I never on the sea-beds,
    For the wailing of waterfowl;
  He wakens me, who comes from the deep
    The sea-mew every morn.[6]

In some sources, it is suggested that the two ultimately separated and that Skadi returned to Thrymheim.

Skadi as Secondary Character

(apparently in gylfaginning) Later, when Loki was bound in a cave as punishment for his murder of Baldr, it was Skadi who placed the venomous serpent above his head dripping poison on his face. This is repeated in the prose ending to Lokasenna.

Lokasenna In Lokasenna, Skadi is present during the feasting at the hall of Aegir and takes part in the verbal slandering instigated by Loki. After he berates Heimdall, Skadi comes to his defense and taunts Loki about him being bound in the future (the gods are gifted with prophecy) in a cave with the guts of his son. Loki then makes the claim that he was the "first and foremost" killer of her father.


Skírnismál In Skírnismál, after Freyr becomes lovestruck upon seeing the giantess Gerd for the first time, Skadi wonders why he seems upset and urges Skírnir, his messenger and servant, to speak with him to see what is the matter.


Euhemeristic Understandings of Skadi

In Ynglinga saga, Snorri speaks of Skadi in euhemeristic terms, stating that after leaving Njord she married Odin and bore him many sons, including Saeming, ancestor of a dynasty of jarls. While it may be tempting while reading the Eddas to assume that Skadi is the mother of Freyr and Freyja, Ynglinga saga states that they were the offspring of Njord and his sister, which was allowable by Vanir law before their alliance and integration with the Æsir.

Theories

It is believed by some mythologists that in the early days of Norse mythology, Skaði was venerated as a goddess of the hunt, and rivaled the goddesses Frigg and Freyja in terms of significance and popularity. However, she seems to have faded into the background during the progression of Scandinavian beliefs, and little of her survives in lore or artifact.

(hunt goddess - connection to Ull (also discussed in T-P))

It is interesting to note that Skaði's name appears in the oldest place names in Scandinavia.

Her name could mean "damage" or "shade, shadow" - both of which are compatible with her status as a frost-giant (and thus a being of cold, winter, and death).[7]

Notes

  1. 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).
  2. 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.
  3. Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál I, Brodeur 91-92.
  4. Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál I, Brodeur 92.
  5. ibid.
  6. Snorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning XXIII, Brodeur 37.
  7. Turville-Petre, 164)

Bibliography

  • Björnsson, Eysteinn (ed.). Snorra-Edda: Formáli & Gylfaginning : Textar fjögurra meginhandrita. 2005. http://www.hi.is/~eybjorn/gg/
  • 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.
  • Sturlson, Snorri. The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson: Tales from Norse Mythology. Introduced by Sigurdur Nordal; Selected and translated by Jean I. Young. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1954. ISBN 0-520-01231-3.
  • Snorri Sturluson. 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.
  • "Völuspá" in The Poetic Edda. Translated and with notes by Henry Adams Bellows. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1936. Accessed online at sacred-texts.com.

Template:NorseMythology

da:Skade (nordisk mytologi) de:Skadi et:Skadi es:Skadi fr:Skadi hr:Skadi is:Skaði it:Skaði lt:Skadi hu:Szkádi nl:Skadi (godin) ja:スカディ no:Skade pl:Skadi pt:Skade ro:Skadi ru:Скади sh:Skadi sv:Skade

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.