Hnoss
Hnoss(Old Norse:[ˈhnosː],"jewel" or "treasure" ) is one of the daughters ofFreyjaandÓðrinNorse mythology.[1]
Name[edit]
TheOld NorsetermHnosshas been translated in a variety of ways by scholars and folklorists. David Leeming and Christopher Fee in their joint bookThe Goddess: Myths of the Great Mother[2]claim that Hnoss' name was drawn from the word for "gem," in which she is described as sparkling like a diamond. Given Hnoss is the daughter of the most beautiful goddess Freyja, it should come as no surprise that jewels bear her name.
Hilda Ellis Davidson in herRoles of the Northern Goddess[3]similarly claims that Hnoss' name derives from a great beauty whose name may be "used for treasure in poetry"[3]or simply "treasure."[3]This translation shares semantic and etymological similarities with the Icelandic wordhnoss(meaning "nipper" ) as well as theOld Danishwordsnoss(meaning "sweetheart" ) andnusse(meaning "infant" ). In theProse Edda,Snorri Sturlusonstates that beautiful things were calledhnossir(Old Norse: 'treasures') after her name.
Despite various interpretations,The Concept of The Goddess,[4]states that Hnoss "bears her mother's eyelash-rain,"[4]which translates to "there is gold on the precious object."[4]
Attestations[edit]
InGylfaginning(The Beguiling ofGylfi), Hnoss is portrayed as the beautiful daughter ofFreyjaandÓð:
Freyia is highest in rank next to Frigg. She was married to someone called Od. Hnoss is the name of their daughter. She is so beautiful that from her name whatever is beautiful and precious is called hnossir [treasures].
— Gylfaginning,34–35, trans. A. Faulkes, 1987.
InSkáldskaparmál(The Language of Poetry), aþulur(18–22)mentions Hnoss as the daughter ofFreyja( "How shall Freyia be referred to? By calling her (...) mother of Hnoss" ),[5]and inYnglinga sagaa passage(Chapter Ten)describes "Hnoss and Gersimi" as her daughters.[6]Gersemi(whose name also means 'treasure' and only appears in this passage of theProse Edda) could be the same figure as Hnoss.[7]
The 12th-centuryskaldEinarr Skúlason,cited bySnorriinSkáldskaparmál,refers to Hnoss in a kenning as Freyia's "glorious child" and Freyr’s niece:
I am able to possess Horn’s [Freyia’s] gold-wrapped glorious child [Hnoss; hnoss = treasure]. We received a valuable treasure. Ocean’s fire [gold] rests on shield’s damager [axe]. Freyr’s niece [Hnoss] bears her mother’s eyelash-rain [tears]
— Einarr Skúlason,Skáldskaparmál,36–37, trans. A. Faulkes, 1987.
References[edit]
- ^Orchard 1997,p. 87.
- ^Fee, Christopher; Leeming, David (2016)."The Goddess: Myths of the Great Mother".ProQuest.
- ^abcDavidson, Hilda Ellis (1998)."Roles of the Northern Goddess".ProQuest.
- ^abcBillington, Sandra; Green, Miranda."The Concept of The Goddess".ProQuest.
- ^Faulkes 1987,p. 186.
- ^Faulkes 1987,p. 157.
- ^Orchard 1997,p. 67.
Bibliography[edit]
- de Vries, Jan(1962).Altnordisches Etymologisches Worterbuch(1977 ed.). Brill.ISBN978-90-04-05436-3.
- Faulkes, Anthony, trans. (1987).Edda(1995 ed.). Everyman.ISBN0-460-87616-3.
- Lindow, John(2001).Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-983969-8.
- Orchard, Andy(1997).Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend.Cassell.ISBN978-0-304-34520-5.