Grani
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In Scandinavian heroic legend, Grani (
Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
: ) is a
horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...
owned by the hero
Sigurd Sigurd ( ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon — known in Nordic tradition as Fafnir () — and who was later murdered. In the Nordic countries, he is referred t ...
. He is the horse that Sigurd receives through advice from
Odin Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...
. Grani is a descendant of Odin's own steed,
Sleipnir In Norse mythology, Sleipnir (Old Norse: "slippy"Orchard (1997:151). or "the slipper"Kermode (1904:6).) is an eight-legged horse ridden by Odin. Sleipnir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional ...
.


Attestations

In chapter 13 of ''
Völsunga saga The ''Völsunga saga'' (often referred to in English as the ''Volsunga Saga'' or ''Saga of the Völsungs'') is a legendary saga, a late 13th-century prose rendition in Old Norse of the origin and decline of the Völsung clan (including the story ...
'', the hero Sigurðr is on his way to a wood when he meets a long-bearded old man he had never seen before. Sigurd tells the old man that he is going to choose a horse, and asks the old man to come with him to help him decide. The old man says that they should drive the horses down to the river Busiltjörn. The two drive the horses down into the deeps of Busiltjörn, and all of the horses swim back to land but a large, young, and handsome gray horse that no one had ever mounted. The grey-bearded old man says that the horse is from "Sleipnir's kin" and that "he must be nourished heedfully, for it will be the best of all horses". The old man vanishes. Sigurd names the horse Grani, and the narrative adds that the old man was none other than Odin.Morris (2008:54).


Archeological evidence

Grani is believed to be depicted on several of the Sigurd stones, which depict imagery from the legend of Sigurd the dragon slayer, including the inscription on Sö 327 in Gök,
Södermanland County Södermanland County (, ) is a Counties of Sweden, county or ''län'' on the southeast coast of Sweden. In the local Sörmlandic dialects it is virtually universally shortened and pronounced as Sörmlands län, or simply Sörmland, which is the ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. In Norse
iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...
, the depiction of a horse carrying a chest was sufficient to represent Grani carrying the treasure after Sigurd had slain the dragon Fafnir. This is supported by a
kenning A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech, a figuratively-phrased compound term that is used in place of a simple single-word noun. For instance, the Old English kenning () means , as does (). A kenning has two parts: a base-word (a ...
in a Norse poem that refers to "Grani's beauteous burden," indicating a common understanding of the motif.


Modern influence

In Wagner's Ring cycle of operas the name (as "Grane") is given to Brünnhilde's horse. In ''
Digimon Tamers is a Japanese anime television series and the third television series in the ''Digimon'' franchise, produced by Toei Animation. The series takes place in a new setting separate from the preceding series, '' Digimon Adventure'' and ''Digimon ...
'', Grani was the name of the refitted 'Ark', which was used as a steed by Gallantmon late in the series. It was directly stated in episode 47 that it was named by its creators after
Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...
's horse, Grani. Grani would later be used to upgrade Gallantmon into his Crimson Mode during the finale of the series and in one of the theatrical movies. Grani also forms the theoretical Old Norse root of the etymology of the island of
Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...
via Anglo-Norman, from "Granis" (Grani's) + "ey" (dialectical term for "little island"); although it is probable that this was from a Viking's personal name rather than a direct appellation to the divine horse. In '' Fire Emblem Heroes'', Grani's Shield is a skill that protects cavalry units against bonus damage from enemies who have anti-cavalry weapons. In ''
Final Fantasy XIV ''Final Fantasy XIV'' is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Square Enix. Directed and produced by Naoki Yoshida and released worldwide for PlayStation 3 and Windows in August 2013, it replaced ...
'', Grani is a mount available to players that pre-ordered the ''Shadowbringers'' expansion. It is described in-game as a "heroic steed from a realm not your own." In '' Arknights'', Grani is a character based on a horse-inspired race. In '' Granblue Fantasy'', Grani can be fought as a raid boss and be obtained as a summon.


See also

* List of horses in mythology and folklore


Notes


References

* * * Morris, William (Trans.) and Magnússon, Eiríkr (Trans.) (2008).
The Story of the Volsungs
'. Forgotten Books. {{Norse mythology Horses in Norse mythology Mythological horses