Heiðr
Heiðr (also rendered Heid, Hed, Heith, Hetha etc, from the Old Norse adjective meaning "bright" or the noun meaning "honour") is a Norse female personal name. Several individuals by the name appear in Norse mythology and history.
A seeress
[edit]
A seeress and witch (völva) named Heiðr is mentioned in one stanza of Völuspá, related to the story of the Æsir-Vanir war:
- Heith they named her
- who sought their home,
- The wide-seeing witch,
- in magic wise;
- Minds she bewitched
- that were moved by her magic,
- To evil women
- a joy she was.
-
- —Völuspá (22), Bellows’ translation[1]
The general assumption is that here, "Heiðr" is an alternate name for the witch Gullveig, mentioned in the previous stanza, who, in turn, is often thought to be a hypostasis of Freyja. But it is sometimes argued that the völva who recites the poem refers to herself.
Heiðr is also a seeress in several works such as Landnámabók (S 179 / H 45), Hrólfs saga kraka (3) and Örvar-Odds saga (2), where she predicts Örvar's death.
A jotun
[edit]Heiðr is also the name of a child of the giant Hrímnir according to Völuspá hin skamma (Hyndluljóð, 32).
A shield maiden
[edit]Saxo Grammaticus reported a shield-maiden bearing this name as captain of the contingent from Sle fighting for the Danes at the Battle of Brávellir in the year 750. She was said to be the daughter of King Harald Hildetand.[2] This may draw on the tale from the earlier Chronicon Lethrense, in which a woman named Hethae, who had fought with Harald, became queen of Denmark after Harald's defeat in that battle. In this version, she founded the city of Hedeby ("Hethæby"), which was named after her.[3]
Heiðr also appears as a shield-maiden under Harald at the Battle of Brávellir in Sögubrot af nokkrum fornkonungum. No relationship to Harald is indicated in this version (a separate shieldmaiden named Visma carried Harald's banner; Visma is defeated by Starkad the Old). Heiðr is positioned on the wing of Harald's forces with her own standard, perhaps in command of the wing, with a hundred of her own champions and accompanied by other commanders. Her berserkers are named: Grim, Geir, Holmstein, Eysodul, Hedinn the Slim, Dag of Lifland and Harald Olafsson. Before the battle, Heiðr accompanies Harald's commander Bruni to scout the enemy forces of Sigurd Hring.[4][5]
References
[edit]- ^ Bellows, Henry Adams (trans.). 1923. The poetic Edda. New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation.
- ^ Elton, Oliver (2006-02-11). THE DANISH HISTORY, BOOKS I-IX by Saxo Grammaticus. Retrieved 16 June 2015 – via Project Gutenberg.
- ^ Chronicon Lethrense, with translation and commentary by Mischa Hooker of Augustana College
- ^ Fragment of a Saga about Certain Early Kings in Denmark and Sweden, English translation by Peter Tunstall
- ^ Sögubrot af nokkurum fornkonungum í Dana ok Svíaveldi, Old Norse text
 | This article relating to a Norse myth or legend is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |