Editing Árvakr and Alsviðr

{{Short description|Pair of horses in Norse mythology}}
In [[Norse mythology]], '''Árvakr''' ([[Old Norse]] "early awake"<ref name="SIMEK19">Simek (2007:19).</ref>) and '''Alsviðr''' ("very quick"<ref name="SIMEK10">Simek (2007:10—11).</ref>) are the [[horse]]s which pull the sun, or [[Sól (Sun)|Sól]]'s chariot, across the sky each day.<ref name="SIMEK10"/> It is said that the gods fixed bellows underneath the two horses' shoulders to help cool them off as they rode.<ref>{{cite book|last=Matthews|first=John and Caitlin|title=The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures|year=2005|publisher=Harper Element|isbn=978-1-4351-1086-1|page=17}}</ref>

Both horses are mentioned in ''[[Gylfaginning]]'' and ''[[Grímnismál]]'' and their names are frequently associated with descriptions of the Sun.<ref name="dalyrengel">{{cite book|author1=Kathleen N. Daly|author2=Marian Rengel|title=Norse Mythology A to Z|publisher=Infobase Publishing|year=2009|isbn=9781604134117|page=5}}</ref> In Nordic mythology, gods govern the passage of days, nights, and seasons,<ref name="wagner1">{{cite book|author=Marc-André Wagner|title=The horse in Germanic paganist beliefs|year=2005|publisher=Honoré Champion|isbn=978-2-7453-1216-7|page=293}}</ref> and shape the Sun from a spark of the flame [[Muspelheim]], but the Sun stands still without a driver. [[Sól (sun)|Sól]] is kidnapped by the gods to drive the Sun in a chariot pulled by two horses. Two large bellows (''ísarnkol''; cold iron) were placed under the shoulders of the two horses to protect them from the immense heat of the Sun. Sól is unable to stop driving the chariot or else [[Sköll]] will catch the Sun and devour it; the Sun is expected to be caught and devoured on the day of [[Ragnarök]].<ref name="snorris">Snorri Sturluson, Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning: Edited by Anthony Faulkes, London, Viking Society for Northern Research. {{ISBN|0-903521-21-0}}.</ref><ref name="guelpa1">{{cite book|author=Patrick Guelpa|title=Gods & Nordic myths|date=26 November 2009|volume=27|publisher=Presses Univ|isbn=9782757401200|pages=45–46}}</ref>

{{poemquote|''Árvakr ok Alsviðr · þęir skulu upp heðan''
''svangir sól draga.''
''En und þęira bógum · fǫ́lu blíð ręgin,''
''ę́sir ísarn-kol.''|title=Grímnismál 37}}

: “Early-waker and All-swift—they will henceforth, slender horses, pull up the sun.
: And under their shoulders the blithe Powers, the [[Æsir]], hid cool iron.”

The myth of the Sun pulled by horses is not exclusive to Norse or Germanic religion. Many other mythologies and religions contain a [[solar deity]] or carriage of the Sun pulled by horses. In Persian and Phrygian mythology, [[Mithras]] and [[Attis]] perform this task. In Greek mythology, [[Apollo]] performs this task, although it was previously performed by [[Helios]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Jane Alexander|title=The Body, Mind, Spirit Miscellany: The Ultimate Collection of Fascinations, Facts, Truths, and Insights|publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.|year=2009|isbn=9781844838370|page=[https://archive.org/details/bodymindspiritmi0000alex/page/14 14]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/bodymindspiritmi0000alex/page/14}}</ref> The myth of Árvakr and Alsviðr is thought to have inspired English dramatist and poet [[James Shirley]]'s play ''The Triumph of Peace'' (1663).<ref name="o'donoghue">{{cite book|title=English Poetry and Old Norse Myth: A History|author=Heather O'Donoghue|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|isbn=9780199562183|page=37}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Skinfaxi and Hrímfaxi]], the horses that pull Day and Night in Norse mythology
* [[Alcis (gods)]]
* [[Ashvins]]
* [[Horses in Germanic paganism]]
* [[List of horses in mythology and folklore]]
* [[Trundholm sun chariot]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin|2}}
* Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. [[Boydell & Brewer|D.S. Brewer]]. {{ISBN|0-85991-513-1}}
{{refend}}

{{Norse cosmology}}
{{Norse mythology}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Arvakr and Alsvidr}}
[[Category:Mythological horses]]
[[Category:Solar chariot]]
[[Category:Horses in Norse mythology]]