Object or horse
|
Names in medieval languages
|
Name meaning
|
Role/possessor
|
Notes
|
Barnstokkr
|
Old Norse
:
Barnstokkr
|
"Child trunk".
|
A tree in Volsung's hall in the
Volsunga saga
.
|
It is noted in connection to Barnstokkr that
family trees
are still a living tradition in Norway and Sweden, where a centrally positioned tree is "the symbolic centre of the farm and a mimesis of the life and growth of the farm and family".
See also
Sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology
.
|
Belche
|
Middle High German
:
Belche
|
From PGmc
*balaz-
, Gothic
bals
("white"), referring to the mark on the horse's forehead.
|
Dietleib von Steier's horse, which is from the same stud as Dietrich von Bern's horse Valke.
|
|
Blanke
|
Middle High German
:
Blanke
,
Old Norse
:
Blanka
|
From OHG
blanc
("white").
|
The horse ridden by Ilsan.
|
In the
Þiðreks saga
, the horse is a gift from Alibrandr (Hadubrand).
|
Boymont
|
Middle High German
:
Boymont
|
A form of the Norman name
Bohemund
.
|
Rudiger von Bechalaren's horse.
|
|
Dog king
|
Old Norse
:
Raki
,
Old Norse
:
Saurr
|
In Old Icelandic the name
Raki
means "dog" but in Danish the verb
rake
can mean "mistreat", "soil" or "spoil".
Saurr
means "dirt" and "excrement".
|
Chronicon lethrense
tells that the Swedish king Athisl (
Eadgils
) subjugated the Danes and put a dog as king over them. The dog was called Raki and the king loved it so much that the one who told him of its death would die. The dog died while trying to stop a fight between two other dogs, and it was only by using a guessing game that man called Snjo could tell Athisl of its death and survive.
In
Gesta Danorum (VII)
, a Swede named Gunnar makes a dog the king of Norway.
In
Hakonar saga goða
, a king Eysteinn and a dog named Saurr appear in a Norwegian setting where Eysteinn makes the dog Saurr the king of
Trøndelag
.
In
Skaldatal
, the skald
Erpr lutandi
who serves the Swedish king
Eysteinn Beli
saves his life by composing a poem for king
S?r
, who probably is
Saurr
.
|
The tale of the dog king has counterparts outside of Scandinavia.
|
Geri and Freki
|
Old Norse
:
Geri og Freki
|
"The ravenous" or "greedy one"
|
Two wolves who accompanied the God Odin
|
Mentioned in
Poetic Edda
and
Prose Edda
|
Glaum
|
Old Norse
:
Glaumr
|
Glaumr
means "noisy merriment" from PGmc *
?laumaz
.
|
The horse of
Attila
the Hun, in
Skaldskaparmal
and
Atlakviða
.
[13]
|
Poetic Edda
|
Goti
|
Old Norse
:
Goti
|
"
Goth
"
|
In Norse tradition,
Gunnar
's horse.
|
Mentioned in the
Prose Edda
and the
Poetic Edda
.
|
Grani
|
Old Norse
:
Grani
|
The name means "the one with the upper lip".
|
In Norse tradition, Sigurd's horse. It is descended from
Sleipnir
,
Odin
's horse.
[15]
|
Mentioned in the
Prose Edda
and the
Poetic Edda
.
|
Habrok
|
Old Norse
:
Habrok
|
The name means "hawk",
a name derived from
har
("high"),
and
brok
("breeches").
|
Hrolfr kraki
's hawk that he brings with him when he visits Aðils (
Eadgils
) in
Uppsala
. It kills all Aðils' hawks.
|
|
Ho and Hopp
|
Old Norse
:
Ho ok Hoppr
|
Ho
is an interjection and a shepherd's call,
and the neuter noun
hopp
means "a jump".
|
In
Hrolfs saga kraka
, two dogs belonging to a hermit wizard named Vifil (one of the two meanings of the name is "pagan priest"
). When the two young princes Hroarr (
Hrothgar
) and Helgi (
Halga
) hide with him, he warns them of arriving search parties by calling to them by the names of his two dogs.
A seeress later reveals to their enemy that Ho and Hopp referred to the boys.
|
|
Holkvir
|
Middle High German
:
H?lkvir
|
The name may be from PGmc *
halkwiaz
("runner").
|
Hagen
's horse in Scandinavian tradition.
|
|
Hrafn
1
|
Old Norse
:
Hrafn
|
"
raven
"
|
King
Eadgils
' horse that he captured from
Onela
.
|
Mentioned in the
Prose Edda
.
|
Hrafn
2
|
Old Norse
:
Hrafn
|
See Hrafn
1
|
King
Eadgils
' horse he bred from Hrafn
1
.
|
Mentioned in
Ynglinga saga
, ch. 29.
|
Huginn and Muninn
|
Old Norse
:
Huginn og Munin
|
"Thought" and "Memory"
|
Two ravens who bring information to the God Odin
|
Mentioned in
Poetic Edda
and
Prose Edda
|
Leo
|
Latin
:
Leo
|
Leo
means "lion" in Latin.
|
Walter of Aquitaine's horse in
Waltharius.
|
In
Rosengarten zu Worms
d, Walter has a lion painted on his shield.
|
Lewe (Lowe)
|
Middle High German
:
Lewe
|
From MHG
lewe
("lion").
|
Hildebrand's horse in
Virginal
.
|
|
Melnir
|
Old Norse
:
Melnir
|
The name means "bit bearer" from ON
mel
meaning "mouth piece".
|
One of the horses ridden by
Hothbrodd
's men mustering allies for defense against
Helgi Hundingsbane
.
[31]
|
Poetic Edda
|
Mylnir
|
Old Norse
:
Mylnir
|
The name means "the horse with a halter" from ON
muli
meaning "muzzle".
|
One of the horses ridden by
Hothbrodd
's men mustering allies for defense against
Helgi Hundingsbane
.
[31]
|
Poetic Edda
|
Rispa
|
Old Norse
:
Rispa
,
Middle High German
: *
Rispe
|
From MHG
rispe
("branches, brushes") or
rispeln
("to curl").
|
Heime's horse in the
Þiðreks saga
.
|
|
Rusche
|
Middle High German
:
Rusche
or
Roschlin
|
Probably from MHG
rosch
,
rosche
("quick, fresh, brave"), or MHG
rusch
("bush").
|
Eckehart's horse.
|
|
Schemming
|
Middle High German
:
Schemminc
,
Old Norse
:
Skemmingr
|
Probably from the same root as OHG
scimo
("shine, glitter"), referring to a white horse (cf. modern German
Schimmel
, "white horse").
|
Witige's horse.
|
In the
Rosengarten zu Worms
, Dietrich exchanges Schemming for the horse Valke, while in
Dietrich Flucht
, he gives him the horse when Witige reaffirms his allegiance to Dietrich. In
Rabenschlacht
, Dietrich is unable to chase down Witige while the latter rides Schemming and Dietrich is mounted on Valke, allowing Witige to escape into the sea. In
Þiðreks saga
, the horse is a gift to Witige from his father Wayland, and is related to Dietrich's horse Valke, Hama's horse Rispa, and Sigurd's horse Grani. Dietrich's brother Diether kills Schemming in the Battle of Gronsport, after which Witige kills him and steals his horse.
|
Sibilja
|
Old Norse
:
Sibilja
|
In
Hindu mythology
, there was a cow that in addition to providing sustenance, could be unleashed against the enemy named
Savala
("piebald", "variegated"), and the tradition may have been transmitted to the Germanic tribes through a
Middle Iranian language
, such as that of the
Saka
, of which the form would have corresponded closely to Sibilja. In Scandinavia, it would have been reinterpreted as the "constantly bellowing".
|
Sibilja was a demonic cow in
Ragnars saga loðbrokar
that the Swedish king Eysteinn used to sacrifice to so that her bellowing was insupportable. When the king was attacked the cow went in the front line and her bellowing made the enemy so confused that they started fighting each other.
When Ragnar's sons Agnar and Eric attacked him, she also caused mayhem by goring enemy warriors with her horns.
When
Ivar the Boneless
attacked, drowning her bellowing with the sound of weapons had no effect, nor had shooting her with arrows into her eyes, so Ivar killed her by being thrown upon her and crushing her under his weight.
|
There are two other cows that are killed in the saga in Hvitabœr, and these cows were probably derived from a Scandinavian tradition on dangerous and supernatural cows that are killed by heroes.
Cows that become supernaturally powerful appear in other sagas. A man-eating sacrifice-bull with a terrifying bellowing appears in
Hjalmþes saga ok ?lvis
. In
Olafs saga Tryggvasonar
, there is a king of old who worshiped a cow and drank its milk. The primordial being
Ymir
was nourished by the primeval cow
Auðumbla
, and from the
Nordic Bronze Age
, there are many petroglyphs with cows in cultic contexts.
|
Skæfaðr
|
Old Norse
:
Skæfaðr
|
The name means "race horse".
|
Mentioned in
Kalfsvisa
as the horse of the prince of the Haddings (
skati haddingja
),
i.e.
Helgi Haddingjaskati
.
|
Prose Edda
|
Slongvir, Slungnir
|
Old Norse
:
Sl?ngvir
or
Old Norse
:
Slungnir
|
"The one who slings away".
|
King
Eadgils
's horse
.
|
Mentioned in the
Prose Edda
.
|
Sporvitnir
|
Old Norse
:
Sporvitnir
|
Spor
means "track"
and
vitnir
means "wolf" or "sword".
|
One of the horses ridden by
Hothbrodd
's men mustering allies for defense against
Helgi Hundingsbane
.
[31]
|
Poetic Edda
|
Svipud
|
Old Norse
:
Svipuðr
|
The name means "the fast moving".
|
One of the horses ridden by
Hothbrodd
's men mustering allies for defense against
Helgi Hundingsbane
.
[31]
|
Poetic Edda
|
Svegjud
|
Old Norse
:
Sveggjuðr
|
The name means "the one who makes the rider vibrate".
|
One of the horses ridden by
Hothbrodd
's men mustering allies for defense against
Helgi Hundingsbane
.
[31]
|
Poetic Edda
|
Valke
|
Middle High German
:
Valke
,
Old Norse
:
Falka
|
Related to MHG
valke
("falcon") and
val/valwe
("pale").
|
Dietrich von Bern's horse. The horse had also earlier belonged to Wolfdietrich.
|
In
Rosengarten zu Worms
, Dietrich exchanges Schemming for Valke. In
Wolfdietrich
, the horse saves Wolfdietrich's life by fighting off a dragon while Wolfdietrich is asleep. In the
Þiðreks saga
, the horse comes from Hama's father Studas; the horse helps Dietrich defeat Ecke by breaking the giant's back.
|
Val
|
Old Norse
:
Valr
|
The name means "the slain" or "carrion hawk".
|
Mentioned as Vestein's horse in
Kalfsvisa
at the
Battle on the Ice of Lake Vanern
.
Its master Vesteinn appears as
Weohstan
in
Beowulf
.
|
Prose Edda
|