In
Norse mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern per ...
, Meili (
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 settlement ...
: , "the lovely one"
[Simek (2007:210).]) is a
god, son of the god
Odin
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory, ...
and brother of 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, ...
. Meili is attested in the ''
Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and 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 ...
'', written in the 13th century by
Snorri Sturluson. Other than Meili's relation to Odin and Thor, no additional information is provided about the deity in either source.
Attestations
In the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''
Hárbarðsljóð'', Meili receives a single mention; the god Thor declares that, even if he were an
outlaw, he would reveal his name and his homeland, for he is the son of Odin, the brother of Meili, and the father of
Magni.
[Larrington (1999:70).]
Meili receives four mentions in the ''Prose Edda'' book ''
Skáldskaparmál''. In chapter 17, verses from the poem ''
Haustlöng'' (attributed to the 10th century
skald Þjóðólfr of Hvinir) are provided, where Thor is referred to as "Meili's brother."
[Faulkes (1995:80).] In chapter 22, additional quotes from ''Haustlöng'' are provided where a
kenning is employed for the god
Hœnir that refers to Meili ("step-Meili").
[Faulkes (1995:87).] In chapter 23, a quote by a work from the skald
Þjóðólfr of Hvinir is provided that refers to Thor as "Meili's brother".
[Faulkes (1999:89).] In chapter 75, Meili is listed among names of the
Æsir and as a son of Odin (between the god
Baldr and the god
Víðarr).
[Faulkes (1995:156).]
Reception
Some 19th-century scholars proposed that Meili's mother should be understood as
Jörð, a goddess and the personified Earth.
[Examples include Pierer (1844:204), Barth (1846:396), and Uhland (1868:18).] Also during the 19th century,
Viktor Rydberg theorized that
Baldr and Meili are one and the same.
[Rydberg (2003:191).]
Notes
References
* Barth, Christian K. (1846). ''Teutschlands Urgeschichte, Vol. 5''. Erlangen: J. J. Palm & Ernst Enke.
* Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995). ''Edda''.
Everyman.
* Larrington, Carolyne (Trans.) (1999). ''The Poetic Edda''.
Oxford World's Classics
Oxford World's Classics is an imprint of Oxford University Press. First established in 1901 by Grant Richards and purchased by OUP in 1906, this imprint publishes primarily dramatic and classic literature for students and the general public. ...
.
* Pierer, Heinrich A. (1844). ''Universallexikon der Gegenwart und Vergangenheit, Vol. 21''. Altenburg: H. A. Pierer.
*
Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''.
D.S. Brewer.
* Rydberg, Viktor (2003). ''Our Father's Godsaga: Retold for the Young''. Lincoln: iUniverse.
* Uhland, Ludwig (1868). ''Schriften zur Geschichte der Dichtung und Sage, Vol. 6''. Stuttgart: Verlag der J. G. Cotta'schen Buchhandlung.
{{Norse mythology
Æsir
Sons of Odin
Norse gods
Baldr