Auðumbla

Auðumbla licks freeBúrias she produces rivers of milk from her udders in an illustration from an Icelandic 18th century manuscript of theProse Edda

Audumbla milk company inStockholm1908. This house was alsoAlfred Nobel's birthplace.

InNorse mythology,Auðumbla(Old Norse pronunciation:[ˈɔuðˌumblɑ];also Auðhumla[ˈɔuðˌhumlɑ]and Auðumla[ˈɔuðˌumlɑ]) is a primevalcow.The primordial frostjötunnYmirfed upon her milk, and over the course of three days shelicked awaythe salty rime rocks and revealedBúri,grandfather of the gods and brothersOdin,Vili and Vé.The creature is attested solely in theProse Edda,composed in the 13th century by IcelanderSnorri Sturluson.Scholars identify her as stemming from a very early stratum ofGermanic mythology,and ultimately belonging tolarger complexofprimordial bovinesorcow-associated goddesses.

Name

The cow's name variously appears inProse Eddamanuscripts asAuðumbla[ˈɔuðˌumblɑ],Auðhumla[ˈɔuðˌhumlɑ],andAuðumla[ˈɔuðˌumlɑ],and is generally accepted as meaning 'hornless cow rich in milk' (from Old Norseauðr'riches' and *humala'hornless').

The compound presents some level of semantic ambiguity. A parallel occurs inScottish Englishhumble-cow'hornless cow', and Northern Europeans have bred hornless cows since prehistoric times. As highlighted above,Auð-may mean 'rich' and in turn 'rich hornless cow' remains generally accepted among scholars as a gloss of the Old Icelandic animal name. However,auðrcan also mean 'fate' and 'desolate; desert', and soAuðhum(b)lamay also have been understood as the 'destroyer of the desert'. This semantic ambiguity may have been intentional.

Attestations

Auðumbla's sole attested narrative occurs in theGylfaginningsection of theProse Edda,and her name appears among ways to refer to cows later in theNafnaþulursection of the book. InGylfaginning,Gangleri (described earlier inGylfaginningas kingGylfiin disguise) asks where, in the distant past, Ymir lived and what he ate.Highsays that the cow Auðumbla's teats produced four rivers of milk, from which Ymir fed. Gylfi asks what Auðumbla ate, and High says that she licked salty rime stones for sustenance. He recounts that Auðumbla once licked salts for three days, revealingBúri:The first day she licked free his hair, the second day his head, and the third day his entire body.

The second and final mention of Auðumbla occurs in theNafnaþulur,wherein the author provides a variety of ways to refer to cows. Auðumbla is the only cow mentioned by name, and the author adds that "she is the noblest of cows".

Scholarly reception and interpretation

The primordial beingYmirsuckles at the udder of Auðumbla as she licks Búri out of the ice in a painting byNicolai Abildgaard,1790

On the topic of Auðumbla,John Lindowsays that cows appear commonly in creation narratives around the world, yet "what is most striking about Audhumla is that she unites the two warring groups in the mythology, by nourishing Ymir, ancestor of all the giants, and bringing into the light Búri, progenitor of the æsir."

Rudolf Simekhighlights that Roman senatorTacitus's first century CE work ethnography of theGermanic peoplesGermaniamentions that they maintained hornless cattle (seenamesection above), and notes that theGermaniarelates how an image of the Germanic goddessNerthuswas borne through the countryside in a wagon drawn by cattle. Simek compares the deity to a variety of cow-associated deities among non-Germanic peoples, such as the Egyptian goddessHathor(depicted as cow-headed) andIsis(whose iconography contains references to cows), and the Ancient GreekHera(described as 'the cow-eyed').

See also

• Amalthea,goat who raisedZeus,who suckled on her breast milk, in ClassicalGreek mythology
• Bull of Heaven,a celestial bull fromSumerian mythology
• El,creator bull deity inCanaanite mythology
• Gavaevodata,primordial cow inZoroastrian mythology
• Heiðrún,a nanny goat in Norse mythology whose teats produce mead for theEinherjar
• Kamadhenu,cow fromHindu mythology
• Hathor,cow goddess fromEgyptian mythology
• Mehet-Weret,celestial cow from Egyptian mythology

References

• Faulkes, Anthony (1995 [1985]). Trans.Edda.Everyman.ISBN0-460-87616-3
• Lindow, John(2001).Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs.Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-515382-0
• Liberman, Anatoly(2016).In Prayer and Laughter. Essays on Medieval Scandinavian and Germanic Mythology, Literature, and Culture.Paleograph Press.ISBN9785895260272
• Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall.Dictionary of Northern Mythology.D.S. Brewer.ISBN0-85991-513-1

External links

• MyNDIR (My Norse Digital Image Repository)Illustrations of Auðhumbla from manuscripts and early print books.