Vanaheimr

in myths and legends around the world collection 17 from myths of the Norsemen from the Eddas and Sagas author H.

A. Gerber this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit chapter x freya the goddess of love freya the fair northern goddess of beauty and love was the sister of frey and the daughter of nord and nerthus or skadi she was the most beautiful and beloved of all the goddesses and while in germany she was identified with frigga in norway sweden denmark and iceland she was considered a separate divinity Freya, having been born in Vanaheim, was also known as Vanadise, the goddess of Vanis, or as Vanabride.

When she reached Asgard, the gods were so charmed by her beauty and grace that they bestowed upon her the realm of Folkfang and the great hall, Sessor Minner, the room he seated, where they assured her she could easily accommodate all her guests.

volkvang tis called where freyja has right to dispose of the hall-seats every day of the slain she chooses the half and leaves half to odin norse mythology r b anderson queen of the valkyries although goddess of love freya was not soft and pleasure-loving only for the ancient northern races believed that she had very martial tastes and that as val freya she often led the valkyrs down to the battlefields choosing and claiming one-half of the heroes slain she was therefore represented with corslet and helmet shield and spear the lower part of her body only being clad in the usual flowing feminine garb freya transported the chosen slain to volksfang where they were duly entertained there she also welcomed all pure maidens and faithful wives that they might enjoy the company of their lovers and husbands after death the joys of her abode were so enticing to the heroic northern women that they often rushed into battle where their loved ones were slain hoping to meet with the same fate or they fell upon their swords or were voluntarily burned on the same funeral pyre as the remains of their beloved as freya was believed to lend a favourable ear to lovers prayers she was often invoked by them and it was customary to compose in her honour love-songs which were sung on all festive occasions her very name in germany being used as the verb to woo freya and odur freya the golden-haired and blue-eyed goddess was also at times considered as a personification of the earth as such she married odur a symbol of the summer sun whom she dearly loved and by whom she had two daughters hnos and jersamie these maidens were so beautiful that all things lovely and precious were called by their names while odur lingered contentedly at her side freya was smiling and perfectly happy but alas the god was a rover at heart and wearying of his wife's company he suddenly left home and wandered far out into the wide world Freya, sad and forsaken, wept abundantly, and her tears fell upon the hard rocks, which softened at their contact.

She was the most beautiful and beloved of all the goddesses, and while in Germany she was identified with Frigga, in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland she was considered a separate divinity.

Freya, having been born in Vanaheim, was also known as Vanadis, the goddess of Vanis, or as Vana Bride.

When she reached Asgard, the gods were so charmed by her beauty and grace that they bestowed upon her the realm of Folkvang and the great hall Sesserminner, the room he seated where they assured her she could easily accommodate all her guests.

Folkvang, tis called, where Freya has right to dispose of the hall seats every day of the slain.

Orfans and offersteads he rules by hundreds, yet was not among the Aesir born.

Vafthrudnir: In Vanaheim wise powers him created and to the gods a hostage gave.

At the world's dissolution he will return to the wise Vanir.

Gungrad: Tell me eleventhly, since all the condition of the gods thou knowest, Vafthrudnir, what the Einheriar do in Herrfather's halls unto the powers perish.

He rules over the winds and checks the fury of the sea and of fire, and is therefore invoked by seafarers and fishermen.

He is so wealthy that he can give possessions and treasures to those who call on him for them.

Yet Njord is not of the lineage of the Aesir, for he was born and bred in Vanaheim.

But the Vanir gave him as hostage to the Aesir, receiving from them in his stead Honir.

in myths and legends around the world collection 17 from myths of the Norsemen from the Eddas and Sagas author H.

A. Gerber this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit chapter x freya the goddess of love freya the fair northern goddess of beauty and love was the sister of frey and the daughter of nord and nerthus or skadi she was the most beautiful and beloved of all the goddesses and while in germany she was identified with frigga in norway sweden denmark and iceland she was considered a separate divinity Freya, having been born in Vanaheim, was also known as Vanadise, the goddess of Vanis, or as Vanabride.

When she reached Asgard, the gods were so charmed by her beauty and grace that they bestowed upon her the realm of Folkfang and the great hall, Sessor Minner, the room he seated, where they assured her she could easily accommodate all her guests.

volkvang tis called where freyja has right to dispose of the hall seats every day of the slain she chooses the half and leaves half to odin norse mythology r b anderson queen of the valkyries although goddess of love freya was not soft and pleasure-loving only for the ancient northern races believed that she had very martial tastes and that as val freya she often led the valkyrs down to the battlefields choosing and claiming one-half of the heroes slain she was therefore represented with corslet and helmet shield and spear the lower part of her body only being clad in the usual flowing feminine garb freyja transported the chosen slang to volkswang where they were duly entertained there she also welcomed all pure maidens and faithful wives that they might enjoy the company of their lovers and husbands after death the joys of her abode were so enticing to the heroic northern women that they often rushed into battle where their loved ones were slain hoping to meet with the same fate or they fell upon their swords or were voluntarily burned on the same funeral pyre as the remains of their beloved as freya was believed to lend a favourable ear to lovers prayers she was often invoked by them and it was customary to compose in her honour love-songs which were sung on all festive occasions her very name in germany being used as the verb to woo freya and odur freya the golden-haired and blue-eyed goddess was also at times considered as a personification of the earth as such she married odur a symbol of the summer sun whom she dearly loved and by whom she had two daughters hnos and jersamie these maidens were so beautiful that all things lovely and precious were called by their names while odur lingered contentedly at her side freya was smiling and perfectly happy but alas the god was a rover at heart and wearying of his wife's company he suddenly left home and wandered far out into the wide world freya sad and forsaken wept abundantly and her tears fell upon the hard rocks which softened at their contact we are told even that they trickled down to the very centre of the stones where they were transformed to gold some tears fell into the sea and were changed into trancelant amber weary of her widowed condition and longing to clasp her beloved in her arms once more freya finally started out in search of him passing through many lands where she became known by different names such as mordaille porne gaphin sir scylla and throng inquiring of all who she met whether her husband had passed that way and shedding everywhere so many tears that gold is to be found in all parts of the earth and freya next came nigh with golden tears the lovely goddess she in heaven by all most honoured after freya odin's wife her long-ago wandering order took to mate but left her to roam distant lands since then she seeks him and weeps tears of gold names hath she many vanadis on earth they call her freya is her name in heaven baldur dead matthew arnold far away in the sunny south under the flowering myrtle trees freya found odur at last and her love being restored to her she was happy and smiling once again and radiant as a bride it is perhaps because freya found her husband beneath the flowering myrtle that northern brides to this very day wore myrtle in preference to the conventional orange wreath of other climes hand in hand odur and freya now gently wended their way home once more and in the light of their great happiness the grass grew green the flowers bloomed and the birds sang for all nature sympathized as heartily with freya's joy as it had mourned with her when she was in sorrow out of the morning land over the snowdrifts beautiful freya came tripping to scoring white were the moorlands and frozen before her green were the moorlands and blooming behind her out of her golden locks shaking the spring flowers out of her garments shaking the south wind around the birches awakening the throstles and making chaste housewives all long for their hero's home loving and love-giving came she to scoring the long-beard saga charles kingsley the prettiest plants and flowers in the north were called freya's hare or freya's eyedew while the butterfly was called freya's hen this goddess was also supposed to have special affection for the fairies whom she loved to watch dancing in the moonbeams and for whom she reserved her daintiest flowers and sweetest honey adour freya's husband being considered a personification of the sun was also regarded as an emblem of passion or of the intoxicating pleasures of love so the ancients declared that it was no wonder his wife could not be happy without him freya's necklace being goddess of beauty freya naturally was very fond of the toilet of glittering adornments and of precious jewels one day while she was in svartalfheim the underground kingdom she saw four dwarfs fashioning the most wonderful necklace she had ever seen almost beside herself with longing to possess this treasure which was called and was an emblem of the stars or of the fruitfulness of the earth freya implored the dwarfs to give it to her but they obstinately refused to do so unless she would promise to grant them her favor having secured the necklace at this price freya hastened to put it on and its beauty so enhanced her charms that she wore it night and day and only occasionally could be persuaded to lend it to other divinities thor however wore this necklace when he personated freya in jontanheim and loki coveted and would have stolen it had it not been for the watchfulness of heimdall freya was also the proud possessor of a falcon garb or falcon plumes which enabled the wearer to flit through the air as a bird and this garment was so invaluable that it was twice borrowed by loki and was used by freya herself when she went in search of the missing odur freya one day falcon wings took and through space hied away northward and southward she sought her dearly loved odur frithahof's saga tagur stephen's translation as freya was considered the goddess of fruitfulness she was sometimes represented as riding about with her brother frey in the chariot drawn by the golden-bristled boar scattering with lavish hands fruits and flowers to gladden the hearts of mankind she had a chariot of her own however which she generally travelled this was drawn by cats her favourite animals the emblems of caressing fondness and sensuality or the personifications of fecundity then came dark-bearded norred and after him freya then robed about her ankles slim the grey cat's playing lovers of gundran william morris frey and freya were held in such high honour throughout the north that their names and modified forms are still used for master and mistress and one day of the week is called freya's day or friday by the english-speaking race freya's temples were very numerous indeed and were long maintained by her votaries the last in madgeburg germany being destroyed by order of charlemagne story of hauteur and engentaire the northern people were wont to invoke freya not only for success in love prosperity and increase but also at times for aid and protection this she vouchsafed to all who served her truly as appeared in the story of otar and nangatir two men who after disputing for some time concerning the rights to a certain piece of property laid their quarrel before the thing that popular assembly decreed that the man who could prove that he had the longest line of noble ancestors should be declared the winner and a special day was appointed to investigate the genealogy of each claimant ottar unable to remember the names of more than a few of his progenitors offered sacrifices to freyr entreating her aid the goddess graciously heard his prayer and appearing before him she changed into a boor and rode off upon his back to the dwelling of the sorceress a most renowned witch by threats and entreaties freya compelled the old woman to trace otara's genealogy back to odin and to every name every individual in turn with a synopsis of his achievements thus fearing lest her votary's memory should be unable to retain so many details freya further compelled hndela to brew a potion of remembrance which she gave him to drink he shall drink delicious draughts all the gods i pray to favour othur samon's edda thropp's translation thus prepared o'tar presented himself before the thing on the appointed day and glibly reciting his pedigree he named so many more ancestors than negentier could recollect that he was easily awarded possession of the property he coveted a duty tis to act so that the young prince his paternal heritage may have after his kindred summons edda thropp's translation husbands of freya freya was so beautiful that all the gods giants and dwarfs longed for her love and in turn tried to secure her as wife but freya scorned the ugly giants and refused even thrym when urged to accept him by loki and thor she was not so obdurate where the gods themselves were concerned if the various mythologies are to be believed for as the personification of the earth she is said to have wedded odin the sky frey the fruitful rain odur the sunshine c until it seems as if she deserves the accusation hurled against her by the archfiend loki of having loved and wedded all the gods in turn worship of freya it was customary on solemn occasions to drink freya's health with that of the other gods and when christianity was introduced in the north this toast was transferred to the virgin or to st gertrude freya herself like all the heathen divinities was declared a demon or witch and banished to the mountain peaks of norway sweden or germany where the brocken is pointed out as her special abode and the general tryst place of her demon train on chorus of witches on to the brock and the witches are flocking merry meet merry part how they gallop and drive yellow stubble and stalk are rocking and young green corn is merry alive with the shapes and shadows swimming by to the highest heights they fly where sir urine sits on high throughout and about with clamour and shout drives the maddening rout over stock over stone shriek laughter and moan before them are blown gothfost anster's translation as the swallow cuckoo and cat were held sacred to freya in heathen times these creatures were supposed to have demoniacal attributes and to this day witches are always depicted with coal-black cats beside them

They moved with calm reverence, a quiet passage guiding them ever onward through the sacred stillness.

From the calming embrace of Helheim, the two travelled to the distant and sparkling realm of Vanaheim.

This world, suffused with the quiet strength of the Vanir gods, the guardians of nature's hidden wisdom, welcomed them with open arms.

Light flickered softly through the silver leaves of ancient trees, and a tender breeze kissed the air as though the very breath of the world sighed out in contentment.

myths and legends around the world collection 17 from myths of the Norsemen from the Eddas and Sagas author H.

A. Gerber this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit chapter x freya the goddess of love freya the fair northern goddess of beauty and love was the sister of frey and the daughter of nord and nerthus or skadi she was the most beautiful and beloved of all the goddesses and while in germany she was identified with frigga in norway sweden denmark and iceland she was considered a separate divinity Freya, having been born in Vanaheim, was also known as Vanadise, the goddess of Vanis, or as Vanabride.

When she reached Asgard, the gods were so charmed by her beauty and grace that they bestowed upon her the realm of Folkfang and the great hall, Sessor Minner, the room he seated, where they assured her she could easily accommodate all her guests.

volkvang tis called where freyja has right to dispose of the hall-seats every day of the slain she chooses the half and leaves half to odin norse mythology r b anderson queen of the valkyries although goddess of love freya was not soft and pleasure-loving only for the ancient northern races believed that she had very martial tastes and that as val freya she often led the valkyrs down to the battle-fields choosing and claiming one-half of the heroes slain she was therefore represented with corslet and helmet shield and spear the lower part of her body only being clad in the usual flowing feminine garb freya transported the chosen slain to volkswang where they were duly entertained there she also welcomed all pure maidens and faithful wives that they might enjoy the company of their lovers and husbands after death the joys of her abode were so enticing to the heroic northern women that they often rushed into battle where their loved ones were slain hoping to meet with the same fate or they fell upon their swords or were voluntarily burned on the same funeral pyre as the remains of their beloved as freya was believed to lend a favourable ear to lovers prayers she was often invoked by them and it was customary to compose in her honour love-songs which were sung on all festive occasions her very name in germany being used as the verb to woo freya and odur freya the golden-haired and blue-eyed goddess was also at times considered as a personification of the earth as such she married odur a symbol of the summer sun whom she dearly loved and by whom she had two daughters hnos and jersamie these maidens were so beautiful that all things lovely and precious were called by their names while odur lingered contentedly at her side freya was smiling and perfectly happy but alas the god was a rover at heart and wearying of his wife's company he suddenly left home and wandered far out into the wide world freya sad and forsaken wept abundantly and her tears fell upon the hard rocks which softened at their contact we are told even that they trickled down to the very centre of the stones where they were transformed to gold some tears fell into the sea and were changed into amber weary of her widowed condition and longing to clasp her beloved in her arms once more freya finally started out in search of him passing through many lands where she became known by different names such as mordell porne gaffin sir sculief and throng inquiring of all who she met whether her husband had passed that way and shedding everywhere so many tears that gold is to be found in all parts of the earth and freya next came nigh with golden tears the lovely goddess she in heaven by all most honoured after freya odin's wife her long ago wandering order took to mate but left her to roam distant lands since then she seeks him and weeps tears of gold names hath she many vanadis on earth they call her freya is her name in heaven baldur dead matthew arnold far away in the sunny south under the flowering myrtle trees freya found odur at last and her love being restored to her she was happy and smiling once again and radiant as a bride it is perhaps because freya found her husband beneath the flowering myrtle that northern brides to this very day wore myrtle in preference to the conventional orange wreath of other climes hand in hand odur and freya now gently wended their way home once more and in the light of their great happiness the grass grew green the flowers bloomed and the birds sang for all nature sympathized as heartily with freya's joy as it had mourned with her when she was in sorrow out of the morning land over the snowdrifts beautiful freya came tripping to scoring white were the moorlands and frozen before her green were the moorlands and blooming behind her out of her golden locks shaking the spring flowers out of her garments shaking the south wind around the birches awakening the throstles and making chaste housewives all long for their hero's home loving and love-giving came she to scoring the long-beard saga charles kingsley the prettiest plants and flowers in the north were called freya's hare or freya's eyedew while the butterfly was called freya's hen this goddess was also supposed to have special affection for the fairies whom she loved to watch dancing in the moonbeams and for whom she reserved her daintiest flowers and sweetest honey adour freya's husband being considered a personification of the sun was also regarded as an emblem of passion or of the intoxicating pleasures of love so the ancients declared that it was no wonder his wife could not be happy without him freya's necklace being goddess of beauty freya naturally was very fond of the toilet of glittering adornments and of precious jewels one day while she was in svartalfheim the underground kingdom she saw four dwarfs fashioning the most wonderful necklace she had ever seen almost beside herself with longing to possess this treasure which was called and was an emblem of the stars or of the fruitfulness of the earth freya implored the dwarfs to give it to her but they obstinately refused to do so unless she would promise to grant them her favour having secured the necklace at this price freya hastened to put it on and its beauty so enhanced her charms that she wore it night and day and only occasionally could be persuaded to lend it to other divinities thor however wore this necklace when he personated freya in jontanheim and loki coveted and would have stolen it had it not been for the watchfulness of heimdall frey was also the proud possessor of a falcon garb or falcon plumes which enabled the wearer to flit through the air as a bird and this garment was so invaluable that it was twice borrowed by logi and was used by freya herself when she went in search of the missing freya one day falcon wings took and through space hied away northward and southward she sought her dearly loved frithehoff's saga tagur stephen's translation as freya was considered the goddess of fruitfulness she was sometimes represented as riding about with her brother in the chariot drawn by the golden-bristled boar scattering with lavish hands fruits and flowers to gladden the hearts of mankind she had a chariot of her own however which she generally travelled this was drawn by cats her favourite animals the emblems of caressing fondness and sensuality or the personifications of fecundity then came dark-bearded norred and after him freya then robed about her ankles slim the grey cat's playing lovers of guntran william morris frey and freya were held in such high honour throughout the north that their names in modified forms are still used for master and mistress and one day of the week is called freya's day or friday by the english-speaking race freya's temples were very numerous indeed and were long maintained by her votaries the last in madgeburg germany being destroyed by order of charlemagne story of hauteur and engentaire the northern people were wont to invoke freya not only for success in love prosperity and increase but also at times for aid and protection this she vouchsafed to all who served her truly as appeared in the story of otar and nangatir two men who after disputing for some time concerning the rights to a certain piece of property laid their quarrel before the thing that popular assembly decreed that the man who could prove that he had the longest line of noble ancestors should be declared the winner and a special day was appointed to investigate the genealogy of each claimant ottar unable to remember the names of more than a few of his progenitors offered sacrifices to freyr entreating her aid the goddess graciously heard his prayer and appearing before him she changed into a boor and rode off upon his back to the dwelling of the sorceress a most renowned witch by threats and entreaties freya compelled the old woman to trace otara's genealogy back to odin and to every name every individual in turn with a synopsis of his achievements thus fearing lest her votary's memory should be unable to retain so many details freya further compelled hndela to brew a potion of remembrance which she gave him to drink he shall drink delicious draughts all the gods i pray to favour othur samon's edda thropp's translation thus prepared otar presented himself before the thing on the appointed day and glibly reciting his pedigree he named so many more ancestors than nagantir could recollect that he was easily awarded possession of the property he coveted a duty tis to act so that the young prince his paternal heritage may have after his kindred summons edda thropp's translation husbands of freya freya was so beautiful that all the gods giants and dwarfs longed for her love and in turn tried to secure her as wife but freya scorned the ugly giants and refused even thram when urged to accept him by loki and thor she was not so obdurate where the gods themselves were concerned if the various mythologies are to be believed for as the personification of the earth she is said to have wedded odin the sky frey the fruitful rain odur the sunshine c until it seems as if she deserves the accusation hurled against her by the archfiend loki of having loved and wedded all the gods in turn worship of freya it was customary on solemn occasions to drink freya's health with that of the other gods and when christianity was introduced in the north this toast was transferred to the virgin or to st gertrude freya herself like all the heathen divinities was declared a demon or witch and banished to the mountain peaks of norway sweden or germany where the brocken is pointed out as her special abode and the general tryst place of her demon train on chorus of witches on to the brock and the witches are flocking merry meet merry part how they gallop and drive yellow stubble and stalk are rocking and young green corn is merry alive with the shapes and shadows swimming by to the highest heights they fly where sir uran sits on high throughout and about with clamour and shout drives the maddening rout over stock over stone shriek laughter and moan before them are blown gothfost as the swallow cuckoo and cat were held sacred to freya in heathen times these creatures were supposed to have demoniacal attributes and to this day witches are always depicted with coal-black cats beside them