Freya

Lore & Background

Freyja rules over her heavenly field, Fólkvangr, where she receives half of those who die in battle. The other half go to the god Odin's hall, Valhalla. Within Fólkvangr lies her hall, Sessrúmnir. Freyja assists other deities by allowing them to use her feathered cloak, is invoked in matters of fertility and love, and is frequently sought after by powerful jötnar who wish to make her their wife. Freyja's husband, the god Óðr, is frequently absent. She cries tears of red gold for him, and searches for him under assumed names. Freyja has numerous names, including Gefn, Hörn, Mardöll, Skjálf, Sýr, Thröng, Thrungva, Vanadís, and Valfreyja. In the poem Þrymskviða, Loki borrows Freyja's cloak of feathers to search for Thor's missing hammer, Mjöllnir. When Thor later asks Freyja to dress as a bride to fool the jötunn Þrymr, she becomes furious—the halls of the gods shake, she snorts in anger, and the necklace Brísingamen falls from her. In Hyndluljóð, Freyja turns her faithful servant Óttar into her boar Hildisvíni and, by flattery and threats of death by fire, pries information from the jötunn Hyndla. In Lokasenna, Loki accuses Freyja of promiscuity, saying each of the gods and elves in the hall have been her lover, and conjures a scenario where Freyja was once astride her brother when all the gods, laughing, surprised the two.

In Their Own Story

In the poem Þrymskviða, Thor wakes to find his hammer Mjöllnir missing. He and Loki go to Freyja's court, and Thor asks if she will lend him her cloak of feathers so he may try to find his hammer. Freyja agrees: 'I would give it to you, even if it were made of gold, and trust it to you, even if it were made of silver.' Loki flies away in the whirring feather cloak to Jötunheimr, where Þrymr reveals he has hidden the hammer deep within the earth and will only return it if Freyja is brought to him as his wife. When Thor later tells Freyja to dress as a bride, she is furious—the halls of the gods shake, she snorts in anger, and the necklace Brísingamen falls from her. She responds: 'You have me called the most man-crazy of beings, if I let myself drive with you to Jötunheimr.' The gods then assemble and decide to dress Thor as a bride instead, with Loki as his maid, to fool the jötnar and recover the hammer.

Reader's Guide

Freyja is attested in the Poetic Edda (compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources), the Prose Edda and Heimskringla (composed by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century), several Sagas of Icelanders, the short story 'Sörla þáttr', the poetry of skalds, and into the modern age in Scandinavian folklore. In the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, High says that Freyja is 'the most approachable one for people to pray to, and from her name is derived the honorific title whereby noble ladies are called fruvor [noble ladies].' High adds that Freyja has a particular fondness for love songs, and that 'it is good to pray to her concerning love affairs.' Next to Frigg, Freyja is highest in rank among the goddesses. She owns the necklace Brísingamen, is married to Óðr (who goes on long travels), and has a very fair daughter named Hnoss. While Óðr is absent, Freyja weeps tears of red gold. Scholars have debated whether Freyja and the goddess Frigg ultimately stem from a single goddess common among the Germanic peoples. In Scandinavia, Freyja's name frequently appears in the names of plants, especially in southern Sweden. Various plants once bore her name, such as Freyja's tears and Freyja's hair (Polygala vulgaris), but were renamed to honor the Virgin Mary during the Christianization of Scandinavia. Rural Scandinavians continued to acknowledge Freyja as a supernatural figure into the 19th century.

Did You Know?

• Freyja's name transparently means 'lady, mistress' in Old Norse, stemming from Proto-Germanic *frawjōn.
• She receives half of those who die in battle in her hall Fólkvangr, while Odin gets the other half in Valhalla.
• In the poem Þrymskviða, Freyja's furious reaction to being asked to dress as a bride causes the necklace Brísingamen to fall from her.
• Freyja has numerous names, including Gefn, Hörn, Mardöll, Skjálf, Sýr, Thröng, Thrungva, Vanadís, and Valfreyja.
• Various plants in Scandinavia once bore her name, such as Freyja's tears and Freyja's hair (Polygala vulgaris), but were renamed to honor the Virgin Mary during Christianization.