Editing Sessrúmnir

{{short description|In Norse mythology hall located in Asgard}}
In [[Norse mythology]], '''Sessrúmnir''' ([[Old Norse]] "seat-room"<ref name=ORCHARD138>Orchard (1997:138).</ref> or "seat-roomer"<ref name=SIMEK2007>Simek (2007:280).</ref>) is both the goddess [[Freyja]]'s hall located in [[Fólkvangr]], a field where Freyja receives half of those who die in battle ([[Odin]] takes the other half to [[Valhalla]]), and also the name of a [[ship]]. Both the hall and the ship are attested in the ''[[Prose Edda]]'', written in the 13th century by [[Snorri Sturluson]]. Scholarly theories have been proposed regarding a potential relation between the hall and the ship.

==Attestations==
Sessrúmnir is specifically referred to as a hall in chapter 24 of the ''Prose Edda'' book ''[[Gylfaginning]]''. After describing [[Fólkvangr]], [[High, Just-As-High, and Third|High]] tells [[Gylfi|Gangleri]] (described as king [[Gylfi]] in disguise) that Freyja has the hall Sessrúmnir, and that "it is large and beautiful".<ref name=FAULKES24>Faulkes (1995:24).</ref>

Sessrúmnir is secondly referred to in chapter 20 of the ''Prose Edda'' book ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]''. In the chapter, means of referring to Freyja are given, including a reference to Sessrúmnir: "possessor of the fallen slain and of Sessrúmnir [...]".<ref name=FAULKES86>Faulkes (1995:86).</ref> Sessrúmnir is referenced a third and final time within a list of ship names in chapter 75.<ref name=FAULKES162>Faulkes (1995:162).</ref>

==Theories==
[[Rudolf Simek]] theorizes that one of the two notions of Sessrúmnir (as a ship or as a hall) may come from a misunderstanding, as the meaning of the name can be understood in both cases as "space with many or roomy seats."<ref name=SIMEK280>Simek (1995:280).</ref> In a 2012 paper, Joseph S. Hopkins and Haukur Þorgeirsson propose a connection between Fólkvangr, Sessrúmnir, and numerous [[stone ship]]s found throughout Scandinavia. According to Hopkins and Haukur, Fólkvangr and Sessrumir together paint an image of a ship and a field, which has broader implications and may connect Freyja to the [["Isis" of the Suebi]] mentioned by Roman senator [[Tacitus]] in his first century ''[[Germania (book)|Germania]]''.<ref name="HOPKINS-HAUKUR-14-17">Hopkins and Haukur (2012:14-17).</ref>

==See also==
*[[Rán]], a goddess and personification of the sea—the sea may be referred to as 'Rán's Hall'
*[[Freyja#Alternative_names|Valfreyja]], a name appearing in a kenning ''Njals saga'' meaning 'lady of the slain' or 'Freyja of the slain'

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995). ''Edda''. [[Everyman's Library|Everyman]]. {{ISBN|0-460-87616-3}}
* Hopkins, Joseph S. and Haukur Þorgeirsson (2012). "[https://www.academia.edu/1825953/The_Ship_in_the_Field The Ship in the Field]". ''[[RMN Newsletter]]'' 3, 2011:14-18. [[University of Helsinki]].
* Orchard, Andy (1997). ''Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend''. [[Orion Publishing Group|Cassell]]. {{ISBN|0-304-34520-2}}
* Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. [[Boydell & Brewer|D.S. Brewer]]. {{ISBN|0-85991-513-1}}
{{refend}}

{{Norse mythology}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sessrumnir}}
[[Category:Locations in Norse mythology]]
[[Category:Ships in Norse mythology]]
[[Category:Freyja]]