Editing Jörð

{{short description|Earth-goddess in Norse mythology}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
[[File:Moder Jord.jpg|thumb|alt=Stone statue of a seated female figure with two children on her lap|''Moder Jord'' (Mother Earth) by [[Stephan Sinding]]]]
'''Jörð''' ({{langx|non|[[wikt:jǫrð|Jǫrð]]|lit=[[Soil|earth]]}}), also named '''Fjorgyn''' or '''Hlodyn''', is the [[personification]] of [[earth]] and a goddess in [[Norse mythology]]. She is the mother of the thunder god [[Thor]] and a sexual partner of [[Odin]].{{sfn|Lindow|2002|p=205}} Jörð is attested in Danish history {{Lang|la|[[Gesta Danorum]]}}, composed in the 12th century by Danish historian [[Saxo Grammaticus]]; the ''[[Poetic Edda]]'', compiled in the 13th century by an unknown individual or individuals; and the ''[[Prose Edda]]'', also composed in the 13th century. Her name is often employed in [[skald]]ic poetry and [[kenning]]s as a poetic term for land or earth.

== Name ==
=== Etymology ===
[[Old Norse]] {{lang|non|jǫrð}} means 'earth, land', serving both as a [[noun|common noun]] ('earth') and as a [[theonymic]] incarnation of the noun ('Earth-goddess'). It stems from [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] ''*erþō''- ('earth, [[soil]], land'), as evidenced by the [[Gothic language|Gothic]] {{lang|got|airþa}}, [[Old English]] {{lang|ang|eorþ}}, [[Old Saxon]] {{lang|osx|ertha}}, or [[Old High German]] (OHG) {{lang|goh|erda}}.{{sfn|de Vries|1962|p=295}}{{sfn|Orel|2003|p=86}}{{sfn|Kroonen|2013|p=118}} The [[Ancient Greek]] word {{lang|grc-latn|éra}} ({{lang|grc|ἔρα}}; 'earth') is also possibly related.{{sfn|de Vries|1962|p=295}}{{sfn|Kroonen|2013|p=118}} The word is most likely [[cognate]] with Proto-Germanic ''*erwa'' or ''erwōn-'', meaning 'sand, soil' (cf. Old Norse {{lang|non|jǫrfi}} 'sand, gravel', OHG {{lang|goh|ero}} 'earth').{{Sfn|Orel|2003|p=86}}{{sfn|Kroonen|2013|p=118}}

=== Alternative names ===
''[[Fjörgyn and Fjörgynn|Fjörgyn]]'' is considered by scholars to be another name for Jörð. She is similarly described as [[Thor]]'s mother and her name is also used as a poetic synonym for 'land' or 'the earth' in [[skald]]ic poems.{{Sfn|Simek|1996|p=86}}{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=117}} The name ''Hlóðyn'', mentioned in ''[[Völuspá]]'' <small>(50)</small> (as "son of Hlódyn" for Thor), is most likely also used as a synonym for ''Jörð.{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=206}}'' The etymology of ''Hlóðyn'' remains unclear, although it is often thought to be related to the goddess ''[[Hludana]]'', to whom [[Romano-Germanic culture|Romano-Germanic]] votive tablets have been found on the Lower Rhine.{{Sfn|de Vries|1962|p=239|ps=: "... aber die deutung bleibt ungewiss."}}{{sfn|Dronke|1997|p=150}}

== Attestations ==
=== ''Gesta Danorum'' ===
Jörð receives mention in Danish historian [[Saxo Grammaticus]]'s {{Lang|la|[[Gesta Danorum]]}} as ''Iuritha''.{{sfn|McKinnell|2022|p=541}}

=== ''Poetic Edda'' ===
In the ''Poetic Edda'', Jörð receives mention in the poems ''[[Völuspá]]'' and ''[[Lokasenna]]''. In ''[[Völuspá]]'', Thor is referred to as ''mǫgr Hlóðyniar'' and ''Fjǫrgyniar burr'' (child of Hlóðyn, Fjörgyn's child).<ref>[[Völuspá]] 53 (56).</ref>{{sfn|Dronke|1997|p=22}} Hlóðyn, although etymologically unclear, must therefore have been another name of Jörð.{{sfn|Lindow|2002|p=206}}

In ''[[Lokasenna]]'', Thor is called ''Jarðar burr'' ("son of Jörð").<ref>[[Lokasenna]] 58.</ref><ref>In ''[[Hárbarðsljóð]]'' 9, Thor calls himself son of Odin and brother of [[Meili]], who therefore may also be Jörð's son.</ref>

=== ''Prose Edda'' ===
Jörð is attested in the ''Prose Edda'' books ''[[Gylfaginning]]'' and ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]''. According to section 10 of ''Gylfaginning'':{{sfn|Faulkes|1995|p=13}}
Additionally, the section describes Jörð's ancestry as follows (the included note is Faulkes's own; Faulkes uses the anglicization ''Iord'' throughout his edition of the ''Prose Edda''):

<blockquote>Narfi or Narfi was the name of a giant who lived in Giantland. He had a daughter called Night. She was black and dark in accordance with her ancestry. She was married to a person called Naglfari. Their son was called Aud. Next she was married to someone called Annar. Their daughter was called Iord [Earth].{{sfn|Faulkes|1995|pp=13–14}}</blockquote>
This section, however, varies by manuscript (see discussion below).

Section 25 of ''Gylfaginning'' lists Jörð among the ''ásynjur'' (Old Norse 'goddesses', singular ''ásynja''):

<blockquote>Thor's mother Iord and Vali's mother Rind are reckoned among the Asyniur.{{sfn|Faulkes|1995|p=31}}</blockquote>

''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'' mentions Jörð numerous times, including in several quotes from skaldic poetry. The second section 4 of the book list [[kenning]]s for the god Thor, including "son of Odin and Iord".{{sfn|Faulkes|1995|p=72}} Section 17 quotes [[Þjóðólfr of Hvinir]]'s composition ''[[Haustlöng]]'', in which the skald refers to Thor as "the son of Iord" twice. The poem is quoted again in section 23.{{sfn|Faulkes|1995|pp=80–81, 89}} Section 18 quotes [[Eilífr Goðrúnarson]]'s composition ''[[Þórsdrápa]]'', in which the skald refers to Thor as "Iord's son".{{sfn|Faulkes|1995|p=85}}

Section 19 contains a list of kennings for the goddess Frigg, including "rival of Iord and Rind and [[Gunnlöð|Gunnlod]] and [[Gerðr|Gerd]]".{{sfn|Faulkes|1995|p=86}} Section 90 contains a list of kennings for Jörð, referencing a variety of skaldic kennings for the goddess:

<blockquote>How shall earth be referred to? By calling it [[Ymir]]'s flesh and mother of Thor, daughter of Onar, bride of Odin, rival of Frigg and Rind and Gunnlod, mother-in-law of Sif, floor and base of winds' hall, sea of the animals, daughter of Night, sister of Aud and Day.{{sfn|Faulkes|1995|p=90}}</blockquote>

The section contains quotes from poems by [[Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld]] and [[Þjóðólfr of Hvinir]].{{sfn|Faulkes|1995|pp=90–91}} The [[Nafnaþulur]] section of ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'' includes Jörð in a list of ''ásynjur'' names.{{sfn|Faulkes|1995|p=157}}

Additionally, as the common noun ''jörð'' also simply means 'earth', references to earth occur throughout the ''Prose Edda''.<ref name="FAULKES-1995-244">Faulkes highlights these occurrences in the index of his translation of the ''Prose Edda''; cf. {{harvp|Faulkes|1995|p=244}}</ref>

== Scholarly reception ==
According to philologist [[Rudolf Simek]], Jörð is "[a]n Æsir goddess, even though she is also called a giantess". Simek highlights parallels between Thor and the [[Vedas|Vedic]] deity [[Indra]]: "Just as Thor's counterpart in Indian mythology, Indra, is begotten by the god of the heavens [[Dyaus]] and the Earth, so Thor is also the son of the Earth, just like the proto-ancestor [[Tuisto]] ... ".{{sfn|Simek|2007|p=179}}

According to folklorist [[John Lindow]], "Jörd must have been a giantess in the beginning. If so, Odin’s marriage (or, more likely, sexual relationship outside marriage, perhaps not even a willing one on her part) to Jörd should be regarded as parallel to his other strategically minded relationships with giantesses."{{sfn|Lindow|2002|p=205}}

Philologist Haukur Thorgeirsson points out that the four manuscripts of ''Gylfaginning'' vary in their descriptions of the family relations between [[Nótt]], Jörð, [[Dagr]], and [[Dellingr]]. Depending on the manuscript, either Jörð or Nótt is the mother of Dagr and partner of Dellingr. Haukur details that "the oldest manuscript, U, offers a version where Jǫrð is the wife of Dellingr and the mother of Dagr while the other manuscripts, R, W and T, cast Nótt in the role of Dellingr's wife and Dagr's mother", and argues that "the version in U came about accidentally when the writer of U or its antecedent shortened a text similar to that in RWT. The results of this accident made their way into the Icelandic poetic tradition".{{sfn|Thorgeirsson|2008|pp=159–168}}

Some 19th-century scholars proposed that Thor's brother [[Meili]] should be understood as the son of Jörð.<ref name="JORD-MOTHER">Examples include {{harvp|Pierer|1844|p=204}}, {{harvp|Barth|1846|p=396}}, and {{harvp|Uhland|1868|p=18}}.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Æcerbot]], an Old English charm and ritual invoking the personified Earth
* [[Mat Zemlya]], the Slavic 'Mother Earth'

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|20em}}

=== General and cited references ===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Barth |first=Christian K. |date=1846 |title=Teutschlands Urgeschichte |trans-title=Germany's Prehistory |volume=5 |location=Erlangen |publisher=J. J. Palm & Ernst Enke |language=de}}
* {{Cite book |last=de Vries |first=Jan |title=Altnordisches Etymologisches Worterbuch |trans-title=Old Norse Etymological Dictionary |date=1962 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |isbn=978-90-04-05436-3 |edition=1977 |language=de |author-link=Jan de Vries (linguist)}}
* {{Cite book |last=Dronke |first=Ursula |title=The Poetic Edda II: Mythological Poems |publisher=[[Clarendon Press]] |year=1997 |isbn=978-0198111818 |author-link=Ursula Dronke}}
* {{Cite book |translator-last=Faulkes |translator-first=Anthony |date=1995 |orig-date=1989 |title=Edda |publisher=Everyman |isbn=0-460-87616-3 |ref={{sfnref|Faulkes|1995}} }}
* {{Cite book |last=Kroonen |first=Guus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cgmFRAAACAAJ |title=Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic |date=2013 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |isbn=9789004183407 |language=en |access-date=9 April 2020 |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420122734/https://books.google.com/books?id=cgmFRAAACAAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite book |last=Lindow |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KlT7tv3eMSwC |title=Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs |date=2002 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-983969-8 |language=en |author-link=John Lindow }}
* {{Cite journal |last=McKinnell |first=John |date=2022 |title=The Earth as Body in Old Norse |journal=Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift |volume=74 |pages=534–550 |doi=10.7146/rt.v74i.132122 |s2cid=248289445 |url=https://www.academia.edu/81536741 |doi-access=free |access-date=20 July 2022 |archive-date=21 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821173347/https://www.academia.edu/81536741 |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite book |last=Orchard |first=Andy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uIujQgAACAAJ |title=Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend |date=1997 |publisher=Cassell |isbn=978-0-304-34520-5 |language=en |author-link=Andy Orchard }}
* {{Cite book |last=Orel |first=Vladimir E. |url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofgerman0000orel |title=A Handbook of Germanic Etymology |date=2003 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |isbn=978-90-04-12875-0 |language=en |author-link=Vladimir Orel |url-access=registration }}
* {{Cite book |last=Pierer |first=Heinrich A. |date=1844 |title=Universallexikon der Gegenwart und Vergangenheit |trans-title=Universal Dictionary of the Present and the Past |volume=21 |location=Altenburg |publisher=H. A. Pierer |language=de}}
* {{Cite book |last=Simek |first=Rudolf |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MZ24QgAACAAJ |title=Dictionary of Northern Mythology |date=1996 |publisher=D.S. Brewer |isbn=978-0-85991-513-7 |language=en |author-link=Rudolf Simek |access-date=31 May 2020 |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420122659/https://books.google.com/books?id=MZ24QgAACAAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last=Simek |first=Rudolf |date=2007 |translator=Angela Hall |title=Dictionary of Northern Mythology |publisher=[[Boydell & Brewer|D.S. Brewer]] |isbn=978-0-85991-513-7}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Thorgeirsson |first=Haukur |date=2008 |title=Hinn fagri foldar son |trans-title=The Beautiful Fold Son |journal=Gripla XIX |pages=159–168 |language=is |publisher=[[Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies]]}}
* {{Cite book |last=Uhland |first=Ludwig |date=1868 |title=Schriften zur Geschichte der Dichtung und Sage |trans-title=Writings on the History of Poetry and Legend |volume=6 |location=Stuttgart |publisher=Verlag der J. G. Cotta'schen Buchhandlung |language=de}}
{{Refend}}

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jord}}
[[Category:Earth goddesses]]
[[Category:Gýgjar]]
[[Category:Personifications in Norse mythology]]