In Norse mythology, Jörð (Old Norse "earth", pronounced /jɔrð/, sometimes Anglicized as Jord or Jorth), is a female jötunn, the mother of Thor, and the personification of the Earth. Fjörgyn and Hlôdyn are considered to be other names for Jörð. Jörð is reckoned a goddess, like other jötnar who coupled with the gods.[1] Jörð's name appears in skaldic poetry both as a poetic term for the land and in kennings for Thor.
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Etymology
Jörð is the common word for earth in Old Norse, as are the word's descendants in the modern Scandinavian languages; Icelandic jörð, Faroese jørð, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian jord. It is cognate to English "earth" through Old English eorðe.[2]
Attestations
Gylfaginning
In Gylfaginning, the first part of the Prose Edda, Jörð is described as one of Odin's concubines and the mother of Thor.[3] She is the daughter of Annar and Nótt and sister of Auð and Dagr.
Skáldskaparmál
In Snorri Sturluson's Skáldskaparmál, Jörð is called the rival of Odin's wife Frigg and his other giantess concubines, Rindr and Gunnlod.[4]
Notes
- ^ Orchard (1997:98).
- ^ "Earth" in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ Gylfaginning 10, 36.
- ^ Lindow (2001:205).
References
- Lindow, John (2001). 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. Cassell, London: ISBN 0304345202
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