Editing Brísingamen (section)

==Attestations==

===''Beowulf''===
Brísingamen is referred to in the Anglo-Saxon epic ''[[Beowulf]]'' as ''Brosinga mene''. The brief mention in ''Beowulf'' is as follows (trans. by Howell Chickering, 1977):

{{Poem quote|[S]ince Hama bore off
to the shining city the Brosings' necklace,
Gem-figured filigree. He gained the hatred
Of Eormanric the Goth, chose eternal reward.}}

The ''Beowulf''  poet is clearly referring to the [[legends about Theoderic the Great]]. The ''[[Legends about Theoderic the Great#The Thidrekssaga|Þiðrekssaga]]'' tells that the warrior [[Háma|Heime]] (''Háma'' in Old English) takes sides against [[Ermanaric]] ("Eormanric"), king of the [[Goths]], and has to flee his kingdom after robbing him; later in life, Hama enters a monastery and gives them all his stolen treasure. However, this saga makes no mention of the great necklace.

===''Poetic Edda''===
In the poem ''[[Þrymskviða]]'' of the ''[[Poetic Edda]]'', [[Þrymr]], the king of the [[Jötunn|jǫtnar]], steals [[Thor]]'s hammer, [[Mjölnir]]. Freyja lends [[Loki]] her [[Fjaðrhamr|falcon cloak]] to search for it; but upon returning, Loki tells Freyja that Þrymr has hidden the hammer and demanded to marry her in return. Freyja is so wrathful that all the [[Æsir]]’s halls beneath her are shaken and the necklace Brísingamen breaks off from her neck. Later Thor borrows Brísingamen when he dresses up as Freyja to go to the wedding at [[Jötunheimr|Jǫtunheimr]].<ref name="larrington1999">{{harvp|Larrington|1999}} "Thrym's Poem", pp. 97–101</ref>

===''Prose Edda''===
''[[Húsdrápa]]'', a [[skald]]ic poem partially preserved in the ''[[Prose Edda]]'', relates the story of the theft of Brísingamen by [[Loki]]. One day when Freyja wakes up and finds Brísingamen missing, she enlists the help of [[Heimdallr]] to help her search for it. Eventually they find the thief, who turns out to be [[Loki]] who has transformed himself into a seal. Heimdallr turns into a seal as well and fights Loki (trans. Byock 2005):
{{Blockquote|...it was on this occasion that [Heimdall] and Loki came to blows over the ring of the Brisings. The skald Ulf Uggason devotes a lengthy passage to that story in his poem ''Husdrapa'', and it is stated there that Heimdall and Loki took on the shape of seals.}}
After a lengthy battle at [[Singasteinn]], Heimdallr wins and returns Brísingamen to Freyja.

[[Snorri Sturluson]] quoted this old poem in ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'', saying that because of this legend Heimdallr is called "Seeker of Freyja's Necklace" (''Skáldskaparmál'', section 8) and Loki is called "Thief of Brísingamen" (''Skáldskaparmál'', section 16). A similar story appears in the later ''Sörla þáttr'', where Heimdallr does not appear.

===''Sörla þáttr''===
[[Sörla þáttr]] is a short story in the later and extended version of the ''[[Flateyjarbók|Saga of Olaf Tryggvason]]''<ref>The ''[[Younger Edda]]''. [[Rasmus B. Anderson]] transl. (1897) Chicago: Scott, Foresman & Co. (1901).</ref> in the manuscript of the ''[[Flateyjarbók]]'', which was written and compiled by two Christian [[priest]]s, Jon Thordson and Magnus Thorhalson, in the late 14th century.<ref name=RAMUS>[[Rasmus B. Anderson]], Introduction to the ''[[Flateyjarbók|Flatey Book]]''. [[Norrœna Society]], London (1908). "The priest Jon Thordson wrote the story of Erik Vidforle and both the Olaf Sagas; but the priest Magnus Thorhalson wrote what follows and also what goes before, and revised the whole, thus dedicating the work: "May God Almighty and the Virgin Mary bless both the one that wrote and the one that dictated!"</ref> In the end of the story, the arrival of [[Christianity]] dissolves the old curse that traditionally was to endure until [[Ragnarök]].

{{Blockquote|Freyja was a human in Asia and was the favorite [[concubinage|concubine]] of Odin, King of Asialand. When this woman wanted to buy a golden necklace (no name given) forged by four dwarves (named Dvalinn, Alfrik, Berlingr, and Grer), she offered them gold and silver but they replied that they would only sell it to her if she would lie a night by each of them. She came home afterward with the necklace and kept silent as if nothing happened. But a man called Loki somehow knew it, and came to tell Odin. King Odin commanded Loki to steal the necklace, so Loki turned into a fly to sneak into Freyja's bower and stole it. When Freyja found her necklace missing, she came to ask king Odin. In exchange for it, Odin ordered her to make two kings, each served by twenty kings, fight forever unless some [[Baptism|christened]] men so brave would dare to enter the battle and slay them. She said yes, and got that necklace back. Under the spell, king Högni and king Heðinn battled for one hundred and forty-three years, as soon as they fell down they had to stand up again and fight on. But in the end, the Christian lord [[Olaf Tryggvason]], who has a great fate and luck, arrived with his christened men, and whoever slain by a Christian would stay dead. Thus the pagan curse was finally dissolved by the arrival of Christianity. After that, the noble man, king Olaf, went back to his realm.<ref>This short story is also known as "The Saga of Högni and Hedinn". English translation can be found at [http://www.northvegr.org/lore/love/00401.php Northvegr: Three Northern Love Stories and Other Tales.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080424041149/http://www.northvegr.org/lore/love/00401.php |date=2008-04-24 }}</ref>}}

The battle of Högni and Heðinn is recorded in several medieval sources, including the skaldic poem ''[[Ragnarsdrápa]]'', ''Skáldskaparmál'' (section 49), and ''[[Gesta Danorum]]'': king Högni's daughter, Hildr, is kidnapped by king Heðinn. When Högni comes to fight Heðinn on an island, Hildr comes to offer her father a necklace on behalf of Heðinn for peace; but the two kings still battle, and [[Hildr]] resurrects the fallen to make them fight until Ragnarök.<ref name=BRODEURPROSE>{{cite book|last=Brodeur|first=Arthur Gilchrist|author-link=Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur|title=The Prose Edda|url=https://archive.org/details/proseedda01brodgoog|year=1916|publisher=American-Scandinavian Foundation}}</ref> None of these earlier sources mentions Freyja or king Olaf Tryggvason, the historical figure who [[Christianize]]d Norway and Iceland in the 10th Century.