Herfjǫtur

Herfjǫtur (Old Norse " Heerfessel or Fetter des Army ") is the name of a Valkyrie in Norse mythology .

The figure appears in the Eddic Grímnismál (stanza 36) and in the Thulur of Gylfaginning (chapter 36). The speaking name in the sense of a kenning alludes to the function of the Valkyries as the beings that inhibit the respective enemy in a battle and influence fate . The fettering of the enemy (and vulgo the detachment of friends) is an element that was reflected and received in many ways in the religious rite, in poetry and in the art / iconography of the old Germanic cultures.

In the Grímnismál and in the Gylfaginning, a scene in Valhalla is described in which the Herfj gemeinsamtur, along with other Valkyries named Odin and the Einherjar, attend a feast of mead . Here, as in the Eiríksmál (verse 1), another function of the Valkyries in Norse mythography becomes clear, which presumably reflects the real situation of the 10th century in the drinking halls of chiefs and Jarlen , in that the Valkyries are female followers in their official function as Show servants at ritual drinking ceremonies.

A variant of the name, Herfjǫtra , can be found in the Codex Uppsalensis of the Prose Edda.

literature

• Sigmund Oehrl: Four-legged representations on Swedish rune stones (=  Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde - supplementary volumes . Volume 72 ). de Gruyter, Berlin a. a. 2011, ISBN 978-3-11-022742-0 , pp. 108 ff., 120 ff . ( Fee Germanic Altertumskunde Online at de Gruyter ).
• Rudolf Simek : Lexicon of Germanic Mythology (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 368). 3rd, completely revised edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-520-36803-X , p. 185.
• Ulrich Zimmermann: Valkyries . In: Heinrich Beck, Dieter Geuenich, Heiko Steuer (Hrsg.): Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde . 2nd supplemented edition. tape 35 . de Gruyter, Berlin a. a. 2007, ISBN 978-3-11-018784-7 , pp. 595-601; here 599–600 ( fee-based Germanic antiquity online from de Gruyter ).