Editing Snotra

{{short description|Norse deity}}
In [[Norse mythology]], '''Snotra''' ([[Old Norse]]: {{IPA|non|ˈsnotrɑ|}}, "clever")<ref name=ORCHARD152>Orchard (1997:152).</ref> is a [[Áss|goddess]] associated with wisdom. Snotra is attested in the ''[[Prose Edda]]'', written in the 13th century by [[Snorri Sturluson]]. Scholars have proposed theories about the implications of the goddess.

A character named Snotra also appears in a darkly comedic tale at the start of ''[[Gautreks saga]]'', in which she is a human woman, the youngest daughter in a family of foolish farmers. Her parents in this story are called Skafnörtungr ('Skinflint') and Tötra ('Tatters'), and she has three brothers (Fjolmod, Imsigull, and Gilling) and two sisters (Hjotra and Fjotra). The family is visited by King [[Gauti]] of [[West Gotaland]], the eponymous ancestor of the [[Geats]] and [[Goths]], by whom Snotra becomes pregnant with [[Gautrek]].

==Attestations==
In chapter 35 of the ''Prose Edda'' book ''[[Gylfaginning]]'', [[High, Just-As-High, and Third|High]] provides brief descriptions of 16 [[ásynjur]]. High lists Snotra thirteenth, and says that Snotra "is wise and courteous". In addition, High adds that, after Snotra's name, a wise man or woman can be called ''snotr''.<ref name=FAULKES30>Faulkes (1995:30).</ref> In the ''Prose Edda'' book ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'', Snotra is included among a list of 27 ásynjur names.<ref name=FAULKES157>Faulkes (1995:157).</ref> Apart from these two sources, Snotra is otherwise unattested.<ref name=SIMEK296>Simek (2007:296).</ref>

==Reception==
Andy Orchard and [[Rudolf Simek]] state that, as Snotra is unattested beyond the ''Prose Edda'', Snotra may be an invention of Snorri's.<ref name=ORCHARDSIMEK>Orchard (1997:152) and Simek (2007:296).</ref> Orchard theorizes that, otherwise, Snorri may have had access to a lost source, and that the little information Snorri presents may be derived from the meaning of her name.<ref name=ORCHARD152>Orchard (1997:152).</ref>
[[File:Beowulf - snotra.jpg|thumb|[[Beowulf]]'s author used word "snotra," for 'wise,' 'prudent'<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=OCc8TF53RhMC&pg=PA195 Beowulf; a heroic poem of the 8th century, with tr., note and appendix by T. Arnold], 1876, p. 195.</ref>]]

Simek says that Snorri may have invented Snotra from the Old Norse word ''snotr'' ("clever") and "placed [her] next to other insignificant goddesses."<ref name=SIMEK296>Simek (2007:296).</ref> However, Simek also writes that the goddesses Snotra, [[Sága]], [[Hlín]], [[Sjöfn]], [[Vár]], and [[Vör]] should be considered vaguely defined figures who "should be seen as female protective goddesses" that are all responsible for "specific areas of the private sphere, and yet clear differences were made between them so that they are in many ways similar to [[Matres and Matrones|matrons]]."<ref name=SIMEK274>Simek (2007:274).</ref>

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

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995). ''Edda''. [[Everyman's Library|Everyman]]. {{ISBN|0-460-87616-3}}
* 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}}

[[Category:Ásynjur]]
[[Category:Wisdom goddesses]]