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 ...

, Kára is a

valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ( or ; from ) is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become ('single fighters' or 'once fighters').Orchard (1997:36) and Li ...

, attested in the prose epilogue of 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 ...

'' poem ''

Helgakviða Hundingsbana II "Völsungakviða in forna" or "Helgakviða Hundingsbana II" ("The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane") is an Old Norse poem found in the ''Poetic Edda''. It constitutes one of the Helgi lays together with '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana I'' and ''Helgak ...

''. The epilogue details that "there was a belief in the pagan religion, which we now reckon an old wives' tale, that people could be reincarnated," and that the deceased valkyrie

Sigrún Sigrún (Old Norse "victory rune"Orchard (1997:194).) is a valkyrie in Norse mythology. Her story is related in '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana I'' and '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana II'', in the ''Poetic Edda''. The original editor annotated that she ...

and her dead love

Helgi Hundingsbane Helgi Hundingsbane is a hero in Norse sagas. Helgi appears in '' Volsunga saga'' and in two lays in the ''Poetic Edda'' named '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana I'' and '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana II''. The ''Poetic Edda'' relates that Helgi and his mist ...

were considered to have been reborn as another Helgi and valkyrie couple; Helgi as

Helgi Haddingjaskati Helgi Haddingjaskati (Old Norse: , meaning "Helgi the lord of the Haddingjar") was a legendary Norse hero of whom only fragmentary accounts survive. It is said in the end section of ''Helgakviða Hundingsbana II'', a poem of the ''Poetic Edda'', t ...

and Sigrún as the daughter of

Halfdan Halfdan (, , Medieval : "half Dane") was a late 5th and early 6th century legendary Danish king of the Scylding (Skjöldung) lineage, the son of king named Fróði in many accounts, noted mainly as the father to the two kings who succeeded hi ...

—the valkyrie Kára. According to the epilogue, further information about the two can be found in the work '' Káruljóð'', which has not survived.Larrington (1999:141). The name ''Kára'' either means "the wild, stormy one" (based on Old Norse ''afkárr'', meaning "wild") or "curl" or "the curly one" (from Old Norse ''kárr'').

Otto Höfler Otto Eduard Gottfried Ernst Höfler (10 May 1901 – 25 August 1987) was an Austrian philologist who specialized in Germanic studies. A student of Rudolf Much, Höfler was Professor and Chair of German Language and Old German Literature at the Un ...

theorizes a connection between the "curl" etymology and the

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 ...

ic cult name '' Odinkar'' that appears in

runic inscriptions A runic inscription is an inscription made in one of the various runic alphabets. They generally contained practical information or memorials instead of magic or mythic stories. The body of runic inscriptions falls into the three categories of E ...

, which means "the one with the (long?) Odin's curls."Simek (2007:182) citing Höfler (1952).

Notes

References

* Höfler, Otto (1952). ''Germanisches Sakralkönigtum''. Tübingen, Münster, Köln. * 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. ...

. * Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. D.S. Brewer {{DEFAULTSORT:Kara Valkyries