Hræsvelgr

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Hræsvelgr , also Häsvelgr or Hräswelg , is a giant in the shape of an eagle in Norse mythology , who kindles the wind with his wings.

swell

In the Song Edda , Hræsvelgr is only mentioned in the song Vafþrúðnismál . There it says:

"Seg [...] hvaðan vindr of kemr,
svá at ferr vág yfir;
æ menn han sjálfan of sjá.

Hræsvelgr is called,
er sitr á himins enda,
jötunn í arnar ham;
af hans vængjum
kvæða vind koma
alla menn yfir. "

“Tell [...] where the wind comes from,
so that it blows over the water;
one never sees him himself.

His name is Hräswelg,
who sits on the edge of the sky,
a giant in the shape of an eagle;
from its wings
- they say - the wind comes
over all people. "

- Vafþrúðnismál 36–37

Snorri Sturluson adds in the Prose Edda that the eagle sits on the northern edge of the sky and that the wind is caused by Hræsvelgr's spreading its wings.

"Hvaðan kemr vindr? [...]
Á norðanverðum himins enda sitr jötunn sá,
he Hræsvelgr heitir.
Hann hefir arnarham, en er hann beinir flight,
þá standa vindar undan vængjum hans. "

“Where does the wind come from? [...]
At the northern
edge of the sky sits the giant called Hräswelg. It has the shape of an eagle,
and when it spreads
its wings, the wind arises under its wings. "

- S NORRI S TURLUSON : Prose Edda: Gylfaginning 18

Furthermore, the Þulur list the name both as Heiti for giant ( Jötunn ) and for eagle. That is, a poet could use Hræsvelgr's name as a synonym for eagle or giant.

reception

According to the song Vafþrúðnismál , Hræsvelgr sits on the edge of the world, in the north as Snorri Sturluson knows.

Its cosmological meaning is that it is the personification of the wind. When he lifts his wings, he kindles the wind that comes over people. The idea is obvious, other peoples also know a giant bird that causes the wind.

Strictly speaking, Hræsvelgr is not an eagle, but a giant that just looks like an eagle. Eagle outside, giant inside. In Norse mythology, it is not uncommon for giants or gods to take the form of eagles. It is said several times that they slip into eagle robes in order to be able to fly. Jacob Grimm believed that the wind and the giant were connected because both were considered voracious. This property even gave the Nordic giants their name. Old Norse iǫtunn 'giant' comes from Germanic * etunaz 'wolverine', a derivation of Germanic * etan 'eat'. According to the more recent opinion, the giant nature goes back to the fact that the eagle was simply imagined as huge.

Hræsvelgr's name, Old Norse Hræsvelgr , means 'corpse devourer, corpse eater'. The word is formed from the Old Norse hræ 'corpse' and svelga 'devour', which is related to New High German wallow . The name is pronounced [hrɛːsvɛlgr] . In Danish it is called Ræsvelg, in Swedish Räsvelg.

The name suggests a relationship eagle - wind - death (carrion). This relationship can also be found in nature. Because the eagle not only has large wings, it is also a scavenger. That alone could explain Hræsvelgr's name. The wind, especially the storm, was regarded by the Germanic peoples as a voracious creature like the giant. At a later time, a victim was made to the storm in Germany in order to appease it. It was called wind feeding .

"The people imagine the storm wind [...] as a voracious, hungry creature and try to appease it by throwing flour into the air."

- Jacob Grimm : German Mythology. Volume 1, p. 528

It was also believed in Germany that a storm arises when someone hangs himself. The approaching storm announces it. Since the eagle was also to be found on Germanic graves, it seems to have had a role as a soul guide - as someone who leads the souls into the realm of the dead.

literature

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Text edition based on the Titus Project, URL: http://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcs/germ/anord/edda/edda.htm , accessed on December 14, 2009.
  2. ^ Translation after Arnulf Krause: The songs of gods and heroes of the Elder Edda. Philipp Reclam jun. Verlag, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 978-3-15050-047-7 .
  3. ↑ Text output according to CyberSamurai Encyclopedia of Norse Mythology, URL: Archive link ( Memento of the original from January 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 14, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cybersamurai.net
  4. ^ Arnulf Krause: The Edda of Snorri Sturluson. Philipp Reclam jun. Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 978-3-15000-782-2
  5. ↑ Þulur III 5. - Jǫtna heiti and Þulur III 53. - Ara heiti, 1 I.
  6. ↑ Lieder-Edda: Vafþrúðnismál 36-37
  7. ↑ a b c d 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. 201.
  8. ↑ Lieder-Edda: Vafþrúðnismál 37
  9. ↑ Jacob Grimm : German Mythology. 3 volumes. Marix Verlag, Wiesbaden 2007, reprint of the 4th edition Berlin 1875-78, ISBN 978-3-86539-143-8 , vol. 1, p. 429 f.
  10. ↑ a b Gerhard Köbler: Old Norse dictionary. 2nd Edition. 2003 (online) .
  11. ^ A b Jacob Grimm : German Mythology. 3 volumes. Marix Verlag, Wiesbaden 2007, reprint of the 4th edition Berlin 1875-78, ISBN 978-3-86539-143-8 , vol. 1, p. 528
  12. ↑ Compare also Handbook of German Superstition - Vol. 9 , Col. 511 - Brothers Grimm: Children and Household Tales. Vol. 1, Appendix "Some things from children's faith", No. 59: "Lie down, - dear wind, - bring that - to your child!"
  13. ↑ Handbook of German Superstition - Vol. 1 , Col. 176