In Norse mythology, the Nine Mothers of Heimdallr are nine sisters who gave birth to the god Heimdallr. The Nine Mothers of Heimdallr are attested in the ''

Prose Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' ( is, Snorra Edda) or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often assumed to have been t ...

'', written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson; in the poetry of skalds; and possibly also in a poem in the ''

Poetic Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the ''Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic med ...

'', a book of poetry compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional material. Scholars have debated what being "born of nine mothers" implies and have sought to connect the notion to other European folk motifs. Scholars have theorized that Heimdallr's Nine Mothers may be identical to the

Nine Daughters of Ægir and Rán In Norse mythology, the goddess Rán and the jötunn Ægir both personify the sea, and together they have nine daughters who personify waves. Each daughter's name reflects poetic terms for waves. The sisters are attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', com ...

, who personify waves. In turn, Heimdallr would be born of the sea.

Attestations

The Nine Mothers of Heimdallr are mentioned in two books of the ''

''; ''

Gylfaginning ''Gylfaginning'' (Old Norse: 'The Beguiling of Gylfi' or 'The Deluding of Gylfi'; c. 20,000 words; 13th century Old Norse pronunciation ) is the first part of the 13th century ''Prose Edda'' after the Prologue. The ''Gylfaginning'' deals with t ...

'' and ''

Skáldskaparmál ''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'The Language of Poetry'; c. 50,000 words; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda''. The section consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bragi, the god of poetry, ...

''. In ''Gylfaginning'', Heimdallr is introduced in chapter 25, where the enthroned figure of High tells the disguised mythical king Gangleri details about the god. Among other details, High says that Heimdallr is the son of nine sisters and, as a reference, provides two lines of the (otherwise now lost) poem '' Heimdalargaldr'', in which Heimdallr says that he was born of nine sisters:

:"Offspring of nine mothers am I, of nine sisters am I the son."Faulkes (1995:25-26).

In chapter 16 of ''Skáldskaparmál'' a work by the 10th century skald Úlfr Uggason is quoted. The poem refers to Heimdallr as the "son of eight mothers plus one". Prose following the poem points out that the poem refers to Heimdallr as the son of nine mothers.Faulkes (1995:77). The poem ''

Völuspá hin skamma ''Völuspá hin skamma'' (Old Norse: 'The Short Völuspá) is an Old Norse poem which survives as a handful of stanzas in ''Hyndluljóð'', in the ''Poetic Edda'', and as one stanza in the ''Gylfaginning'' section of Snorri Sturluson's ''Prose Edda ...

'' (contained within the poem '' Hyndluljóð'', often considered a part of the ''Poetic Edda'') contains three stanza that scholars have frequently theorized as referring to Heimdallr and his nine mothers. According to the stanzas, long ago, a mighty god was born by nine

jötunn A (also jotun; in the normalised scholarly spelling of Old Norse, ; ; plural / ) or, in Old English, (plural ) is a type of supernatural being in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, they are often contrasted with gods ( Æsir and Vani ...

maidens at the edge of the world. This boy grew strong, nourished by the strength of the earth, the ice-cold sea, and the blood of swine. Names are provided for these nine maidens. For discussion of these names, see ''Names'' section below (note that the translations below present anglicizations of Old Norse forms). The stanzas in question read as follows:

Names

Some of the names of Heimdallr's mothers found in ''

'' appear in a variety of other sources, where they may or may not refer to separate entities:

Scholarly reception and interpretation

The names of all nine mothers mentioned above in ''Völuspá hin skamma'' appear elsewhere as the names of female jötnar (generally in the þulur). Adding to the confusion, Orchard points out, Gjálp and Greip are otherwise mentioned as jötunn maidens who seek to contravene the god

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...

from reaching their father, and

Járnsaxa Járnsaxa (; Old Norse: , "iron dagger") is a jötunn in Norse mythology. In Snorri Sturluson's ''Prose Edda'', she is portrayed as Thor's lover and as the mother of Magni, a three-year-old boy with prodigious force. Name The Old Norse name ' ...

is otherwise the mother of Thor's son, Magni.Orchard (1997:78). Some scholars have linked the Nine Mothers of Heimdallr with the

(who personify

waves Waves most often refers to: *Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that travel through space or mass. *Wind waves, surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water. Waves may also refer to: Music *Waves (band) ...

), an identification that would mean that Heimdallr was thus born from the waves of the sea. However, this connection has been questioned on the grounds that the names presented for the Nine Daughters of Ægir and Rán and the Nine Mothers of Heimdallr (as found in ''Völuspá hin skamma'') do not match.Simek (2007:136). Scholar

John Lindow John Frederick Lindow (born July 23, 1946) is an American philologist who is Professor Emeritus of Old Norse and Folklore at University of California, Berkeley. He is a well known authority on Old Norse religion and literature. Biography John Lin ...

comments that the identification of Heimdallr's mothers as Ægir and Rán's daughters do, however, match on the grounds that Ægir and Rán's daughters, like Heimdallr's mothers, are sisters, and that two separate traditions about Heimdallr's mothers may explain the differences between the two.Lindow (2002:169).

Notes

References

* Bellows, Henry Adams (1923). ''The Poetic Edda''.

The American-Scandinavian Foundation The American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) is an American non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting international understanding through educational and cultural exchange between the United States and Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Swede ...

. * Dodds, Jeramy. Trans. 2014. ''The Poetic Edda''.

Coach House Books Coach House Books is an independent book publishing company located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Coach House publishes experimental poetry, fiction, drama and non-fiction. The press is particularly interested in writing that pushes at the boundar ...

. * Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995). ''Edda''.

Everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...

. * Lindow, John (2002). ''Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs''.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. * Orchard, Andy (1997).
Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend
'. Cassell. * Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall.
Dictionary of Northern Mythology
'. D.S. Brewer * Thorpe, Benjamin (Trans.) (1866) ''The Elder Edda of Saemund Sigfusson''. Norrœna Society. * Magnússon, Finnur (Danish) (1822) ''Den Ældre Edda: En samling af de nordiske folks ældste sagn og sange, Volume 1''. Gyldendahl. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nine Mothers Of Heimdallr Female supernatural figures in Norse mythology Gýgjar Nonets Sisters