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In Norse mythology hall located in Asgard
In
Norse mythology
,
Sessrumnir
(
Old Norse
"seat-room"
[1]
or "seat-roomer"
[2]
) is both the goddess
Freyja
's hall located in
Folkvangr
, 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
[
edit
]
Sessrumnir is specifically referred to as a hall in chapter 24 of the
Prose Edda
book
Gylfaginning
. After describing
Folkvangr
,
High
tells
Gangleri
(described as king
Gylfi
in disguise) that Freyja has the hall Sessrumnir, and that "it is large and beautiful".
[3]
Sessrumnir is secondly referred to in chapter 20 of the
Prose Edda
book
Skaldskaparmal
. In the chapter, means of referring to Freyja are given, including a reference to Sessrumnir: "possessor of the fallen slain and of Sessrumnir [...]".
[4]
Sessrumnir is referenced a third and final time within a list of ship names in chapter 75.
[5]
Theories
[
edit
]
Rudolf Simek
theorizes that one of the two notions of Sessrumnir (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."
[6]
In a 2012 paper, Joseph S. Hopkins and Haukur Þorgeirsson propose a connection between Folkvangr, Sessrumnir, and numerous
stone ships
found throughout Scandinavia. According to Hopkins and Haukur, Folkvangr 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
.
[7]
See also
[
edit
]
- Ran
, a goddess and personification of the sea?the sea may be referred to as 'Ran's Hall'
- Valfreyja
, a name appearing in a kenning
Njals saga
meaning 'lady of the slain' or 'Freyja of the slain'
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Orchard (1997:138).
- ^
Simek (2007:280).
- ^
Faulkes (1995:24).
- ^
Faulkes (1995:86).
- ^
Faulkes (1995:162).
- ^
Simek (1995:280).
- ^
Hopkins and Haukur (2012:14-17).
References
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]
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