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| "A Blonde Beauty" by Styka |
The usual starting place, when looking to the written sources on Germanic Gods, is Snorri Sturluson – an Icelandic Christian who wrote the Prose Edda, the
most extensive resource we have on Norse mythology. Of Freyja he writes:
“Njord [a Vanir fertility God associated
with the sea] … had two children. The son was called Frey and the daughter
Freyja. They were beautiful and powerful … Freyja is the most splendid of the
Goddesses. She has a home in heaven called Folkvangar [Warriors’ Field].
Wherever she rides into battle, half the slain belong to her. Odin takes the
other half … Her hall, Sessrumnir (With Many Seats], is large and beautiful.
When she travels, she drives a chariot drawn by two cats. She is easily
approachable for people who want to pray to her, and from her name comes the title of honour
whereby women of rank are called frovur
[the Scandinavian Fru and German frau are derived from Freyja’s name] …
She delights in love songs, and it is good to call on her in matters of love …
Freyja, along with Frigg, is the most
noble. She married the man called Od. Their daughter, Hnoss, is so beautiful
that from her name comes the word for a treasure that is exceptionally handsome
and valuable. Od went travelling on distant paths, while Freyja remained
behind, crying tears of red gold. Freyja has many names, because she gave
herself different names as she travelled among unknown peoples searching for
Od. She is called Mardoll and Horn and Gefn and Syr. Freyja owned Brisingamen
[a famous necklace]. She is called the Goddess of the Vanir [Vanir Gods tend to be associated with fertility in the land and sea] ...
[After his involvement with the
disappearance of the Goddess Idunn, Loki] said he would go into Giant Land to
find Idunn if Freyja would lend him her falcon shape ...
How should Freyja be referred to? By
calling her the daughter of Njord, the sister of Frey, the wife of Od, the
mother of Hnoss, the possessor of the fallen in battle, of the hall Sessumnir,
of male cats and of the ring of the Brisings, the God of the Vanir, the
household deity of the Vanir and the God whose weeping is beautiful [Sturluson, Prose Edda, Penguin Classics at 35, 42-43, 82 and 111].”
