Editing Sæhrímnir

{{Short description|Creature in Norse mythology}}
In [[Norse mythology]], '''Sæhrímnir''' is the creature killed and eaten every night by the [[Æsir]] and [[einherjar]]. The cook of the gods, [[Andhrímnir]], is responsible for the slaughter of Sæhrímnir and its preparation in the cauldron [[Eldhrímnir]]. After Sæhrímnir is eaten, the beast is brought back to life again to provide sustenance for the following day. Sæhrímnir is attested in the ''[[Poetic Edda]]'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional material, and the ''[[Prose Edda]]'', written in the 13th century by [[Snorri Sturluson]].

The enthroned figure of [[High, Just-As-High, and Third|High]] quotes this stanza in the ''Prose Edda'' book ''[[Gylfaginning]]'' and specifically states that Sæhrímnir is a [[wild boar|boar]]. However, some scholars have translated the ''Poetic Edda'' attestation, which the ''Prose Edda'' attestation quotes, as not referring to the creature as any specific type. Those scholars who recognize a difference in the taxonomy of the creature between the two sources have commented on the matter, further issues have been raised about the apparently contradictory etymology of the name of the creature in relation to its apparent status as a boar, and some scholars have theorized that the ritual killing of the animal may ultimately stem from religious practices in [[Germanic paganism]].

==Etymology==
The etymology of the [[Old Norse]] name ''Sæhrímnir'' is problematic; in contradiction to the ''Gylfaginning'' (and, depending upon translator, ''Grímnismál'') description of the animal as a boar, ''Sæhrímnir'' is, in modern scholarship, commonly proposed to mean "sooty sea-beast" or "sooty sea-animal" (which may be connected to Old Norse ''seyðir'', meaning 'cooking ditch').<ref name="SEA-BEAST">Orchard (1997:136), Lindow (2001:263), and Simek (2007:273). ''Seyðir'' connection is from Simek (2007:273).</ref> Attempts at explaining the apparent contradiction have been made by scholars (see ''theories'' section below).

==Attestations==
Sæhrímnir is mentioned once in the ''Poetic Edda'' and twice in the ''Prose Edda''. In the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''Grímnismál'', [[List of names of Odin|Grímnir]] (the god [[Odin]] in disguise) comments on the creature. Translations of the stanza vary:
<blockquote>
{|
| 
:<small>[[Benjamin Thorpe]] translation:</small>
:Andhrimnir makes, in Eldhrimnir, 
:Sæhrimnir to boil,
:of meats the best; 
:but few know how many Einheriar it feeds.<ref name="THORPE21">Thorpe (1907:21).</ref>
| 
:<small>[[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Henry Adams Bellows]] translation:</small>
:In Eldrhimnir Andrhrimnir cooks
:Sæhrimnir’s seething flesh,—
:The best of food, but few men know
:On what fare the warriors feast.<ref name="BELLOWS-92">Bellows (1923:92).</ref> 
|
:<small>[[Lee M. Hollander]] translation:</small>
:By Andhrímnir in Eldrímnir
:Sæhrímnir, the boar, is boiled,
:the best of bacons; though 'tis barely known
:what the einherjar eat.<ref name="HOLLANDER57">Hollander (1990:57).</ref>
|
:<small>[[Anthony Faulkes]] translation:</small>
:Andrhrimnir has Sæhrimnir cooked in Eldrhrimnir,
:best of meats.
:But there are few that know
:on what the Einheriar feed.<ref name="FAULKES32">Faulkes (1995:32).</ref>
| 
|}
</blockquote>

In chapter 38 of the ''Prose Edda'' book ''Gylfaginning'', Gangleri (king [[Gylfi]] in disguise) comments that "you say that all those men that have fallen in battle since the beginning of the world have now come to Odin in Val-hall. What has he got to offer them food? I should have thought that there must be a pretty large number there." High replies that it is true there are a pretty large number of men there, adding many more have yet to arrive, yet that "there will seem too few when [[Fenrir|the wolf]] comes." However, High adds that food is not a problem because there will never be so many people in Valhalla that the meat of Sæhrímnir (which he specifically calls a [[boar]]) cannot sufficiently feed them. High adds that Sæhrímnir is cooked every day by the cook Andhrímnir in the pot Eldhrimnir, and is again whole every evening. High then quotes the above-mentioned ''Grímnismál'' stanza in support. Gangleri then asks if Odin eats the same, to which High responds that Odin gives the food on his table to [[Geri and Freki|his wolves]], for Odin himself consumes only wine and needs no food (and again High thereafter quotes a stanza from ''Grímnismál'' in support).<ref name="FAULKES32-33">Faulkes (1995:32—33).</ref>

A final mention of the beast appears in a list of hog names in the ''[[Nafnaþulur]]'' section of the ''Prose Edda'' book ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]''.<ref name="FAULKES164">Faulkes (1995:164).</ref>

==Theories==
Scholar [[Rudolf Simek]] comments that the theme of the eternally renewing beast is also found in myths of the god [[Thor]]'s goats ([[Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr]]) and may point to sacrificial rites in [[shamanism|shamanic]] practices. Simek finds a difference between the ''Grímnismál'' and ''Gylfaginning'' and explains it as a result of an embellishment on [[Snorri_Sturluson|Snorri]]'s part, which he says owes more to the introduction of "characteristics of a medieval [[paradise]]".<ref name="SIMEK273">Simek (2007:273).</ref>

19th century scholar [[Jacob Grimm]] says that no information has survived about the [[Greek hero cult|worship of heroes]] in [[Germanic paganism]] (as opposed to the worship of the gods) but proposes a potential connection between Sæhrímnir and hero worship:
<blockquote>
:[[Religion in ancient Greece|Grecian sacrifices]] to heroes differed from those offered to gods: a god had only the viscera and fat of the beast presented to him, and was content with the mounting odour; a deified hero must have the very flesh and blood to consume. Thus the einherjar admitted into [[Valhalla|Valhöll]] feast on the boiled flesh of the boar Sæhrîmnir, and drink with the [[Æsir|Ases]]; it is never said that the Ases shared in the food [...]. Are we to infer from this a difference in the sacrifices offered to gods and to demigods?"<ref name="GRIMM386">Grimm (1882:386).</ref>
</blockquote>

==See also==
* [[Rebirth in Norse religion]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* [[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Bellows, Henry Adams]] (1923). ''The Poetic Edda''. [[The American-Scandinavian Foundation]].
* Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995). ''Edda''. [[Everyman's Library|Everyman]]. {{ISBN|0-460-87616-3}}
* [[Jacob Grimm|Grimm, Jacob]] (James Steven Stallybrass Trans.) (1882). ''[[Deutsche Mythologie|Teutonic Mythology: Translated from the Fourth Edition with Notes and Appendix by James Stallybrass]]''. Volume I. London: George Bell and Sons.
* [[Lee M. Hollander|Hollander, Lee M.]] (Trans.) (1990). ''The Poetic Edda''. [[University of Texas Press]]. {{ISBN|0-292-76499-5}}
* [[John Lindow|Lindow, John]] (2001). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=KlT7tv3eMSwC Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs]''. [[Oxford University Press]]. {{ISBN|0-19-515382-0}}
* Orchard, Andy (1997). ''Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend''. [[Orion Publishing Group|Cassell]]. {{ISBN|0-304-34520-2}}
* [[Rudolf Simek|Simek, Rudolf]] (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. [[Boydell & Brewer|D.S. Brewer]]. {{ISBN|0-85991-513-1}}
* [[Benjamin Thorpe|Thorpe, Benjamin]] (Trans) (1866). ''The Elder Edda of Saemund Sigfusson''. [[Norrœna Society]].

{{refend}}

{{Norse mythology}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sehrimnir}}
[[Category:Animals in Norse mythology|Saehrimnir]]
[[Category:Mythological pigs]]
[[Category:Mythological food and drink]]
[[Category:Wild boars]]