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 as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

, Járnviðr (

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 ...

"Iron-wood"Lindow (2001:204-205).) is a forest located east of Midgard, inhabited by trollwomen who bore '' jötnar'' and giant

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

. Járnviðr is attested in the ''

Poetic Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems in alliterative verse. It is distinct from the closely related ''Prose Edda'', although both works are seminal to the study of Old Norse ...

'', 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'' () or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often considered to have been to some exten ...

'', written in the 13th century by

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...

''Poetic Edda''

Járnvid is mentioned in ''

Völuspá ''Völuspá'' (also ''Vǫluspá'', ''Vǫlospá'', or ''Vǫluspǫ́''; Old Norse: 'Prophecy of the völva, a seeress') is the best known poem of the ''Poetic Edda''. It dates back to the tenth century and tells the story from Norse Mythology of ...

'' (40): :In the east sat an old woman in Iron-wood :and nurtured there offspring of Fenrir :a certain one of them in monstrous form :will be the snatcher of the moon : ::—''Völuspá''Larrington (1999:9). The one that will be "the snatcher of the moon" is Mánagarmr (or Hati), and the "old woman" may refer to Fenrir's mother Angrboða.

''Prose Edda''

quotes this stanza and expands it in his '' Gylfaginning'' (12): :A witch dwells to the east of Midgard, in the forest called Ironwood: in that wood dwell the troll-women, who are known as Ironwood-Women 'járnviðjur'' The old witch bears many giants for sons, and all in the shape of wolves; and from this source are these wolves sprung. The saying runs thus: from this race shall come one that shall be mightiest of all, he that is named Moon-Hound 'Mánagarmr'' he shall be filled with the flesh of all those men that die, and he shall swallow the moon : ::—''Gylfaginning''Brodeur's (1999:XI-XX).
The form ''"Járnviðjur"'' ("Ironwoodite") is nowhere else to be found, but in singular, Járnviðja is listed in the þulur as a troll-wife, and in 10th century

skald A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry in alliterative verse, the other being Eddic poetry. Skaldic poems were traditionally compo ...

Eyvindr Skáldaspillir's '' Háleygjatal'' (2), referring to the goddess

Skaði In Norse mythology, Skaði (; Old Norse: ; sometimes anglicized as Skadi, Skade, or Skathi) is a jötunn and Æsir, goddess associated with bowhunting, skiing, winter, and mountains. Skaði is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 1 ...

Notes

References

* Larrington, Carolyne (Trans.) (1999). ''The Poetic Edda''. Oxford World's Classics. * Brodeur, Arthur Gilchrist (Trans.) (1916). ''The Prose Edda''. New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation. * Lindow, John (2001).
Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs
'.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jarnvidr Places in Norse mythology Mythological forests