Hyndla
Hyndla is a giantess with magical powers from Norse mythology . She is considered old and wise because she has enormous knowledge of the origins of humans and gods. Wolves serve as mounts. The Hyndlalied describes how she passed this knowledge on to the goddess Freya and her favorite Ottar.
Freya asks Hyndla to ride with her to Valhalla to find out from her the ancestors of her favorite Ottar . He needs this knowledge because he has bet for his inheritance. Hyndla gives - albeit reluctantly - the requested information. When the goddess then tries to persuade Hyndla to give Ottar a potion to make it easier for him to keep what he has heard, Hyndla refuses. Freya then threatens to cast a spell on her that will kindle her insatiable desire for physical love. So Hyndla gives in, but in turn utters a curse over the potion for Ottar, which Freya thwarted.
Hyndla song
What we know about Hyndla today comes from the Hyndlalied in the Elder Edda . It is the last song of the poems of the gods and represents the transition to the poems of heroes. An insert in stanzas 28 to 41, which deals with Ragnarök , is also called the little Völuspá.
literature
- Felix Genzmer (translator): The Edda . Poetry of gods, proverbs and heroic songs of the Germanic peoples . Hugendubel, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-7205-2759-0 .
- Hugo C. Meyer: The Hyndlalied (from the Old Norse Song Edda). Asgard-Verlag, Munich around 1913.
- Klaus von See u. a. (Ed.): Götterlieder: (Volundarkviða, Alvíssmál, Baldrs draumar, Rígsþula, Hyndlolióð, Grottasongr) . Winter, Heidelberg 2000, ISBN 3-8253-1136-8 (Commentary on the songs of the Edda; Vol. 3).
- Julia Zernack: Lemma: Hyndlulióð . In: Johannes Hoops (term): Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde , Vol. 15. Hobel-Iznik . 2nd Edition. De Gruyter, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-11-016649-6 .
