Beyla (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

: ) is one of

Freyr Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord'), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested god in Norse mythology, associated with kingship, fertility, peace, and weather. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden an ...

's servants along with her husband,

Byggvir Byggvir is a figure in Norse mythology. The only surviving mention of Byggvir appears in the prose beginning of '' Lokasenna'', and stanzas 55 through 56 of the same poem, where he is referred to as one of Freyr's servants and as the husband of Bey ...

, in Norse mythology. Beyla is mentioned in stanzas 55, 66, and the prose introduction to 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 ...

poem ''

Lokasenna ''Lokasenna'' (Old Norse: 'The Flyting of Loki', or 'Loki's Verbal Duel') is one of the poems of the '' Poetic Edda''. The poem presents flyting between the gods and Loki. It is written in the ljóðaháttr metre, typical for wisdom verse. ''Lo ...

''. Since this is the only mention of Beyla, scholars have turned to the

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

of Beyla's name for additional information about her. However, the meaning of her name is unclear and her name has been proposed as related to "cow," "bean," or "bee."

''Lokasenna''

In the prose introduction to ''Lokasenna'', Beyla and Byggvir are cited as attending In stanza 55 of ''Lokasenna'', after his verses with

Sif In Norse mythology, Sif (Old Norse: ) is a golden-haired goddess associated with earth. Sif is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century ...

, Loki accuses Beyla of being filthy but the reason for this is unclear.Lindow (2001:78). Stanza 55: Stanza 56: In relation to Loki's comments in ''Lokasenna'', proposals have been made that Beyla and her husband are personifications of

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

associated with Freyr: Beyla as the

manure Manure is organic matter that is used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Most manure consists of animal feces; other sources include compost and green manure. Manures contribute to the Soil fertility, fertility of soil by adding organic ma ...

that softens the earth and develops the seed, Byggvir as the refuse of the mill, chaff.Thorpe (1851:198-199.)

Notes

References in Popular Culture

* Beyla is one of the monster bosses for the Fjordur DLC in the Ark: Survival Evolved

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

* Beyla appears as a supporting character in the 2022 game,

God of War Ragnarök ''God of War Ragnarök'' is an action-adventure game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was released worldwide on November 9, 2022, for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, marking the first cros ...

. In the game, she is depicted as a Dark Elf who has married a Light Elf Byggvir and is part of

's resistance group in Vanaheim.

References

* Lindow, John (2001).
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 ...

. * Thorpe, Benjamin (1851). ''Northern Mythology'' Vol. I. London: Edward Lumley {{Norse paganism topics Freyr Servants in Norse mythology Personifications in Norse mythology Manure ja:ビュグヴィルとベイラ#ベイラ