In Norse mythology, Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord, Master') is a god associated with kingship, peace, fertility, prosperity, fair weather, and good harvest. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden and seen as an ancestor of the Swedish royal house. According to Adam of Bremen, Freyr was associated with peace and pleasure, and was represented with a phallic statue in the Temple at Uppsala. According to Snorri Sturluson, Freyr was "the most renowned of the Æsir", and was venerated for good harvest and peace.
In the mythological stories in the Icelandic books the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, Freyr, one of the Vanir, is the son of the god Njörðr and his unnamed twin sister, and the twin brother of the goddess Freyja. The gods gave him Álfheimr, the realm of the Elves, as a teething present. He rides the shining dwarf-made boar Gullinbursti, and possesses the ship Skíðblaðnir, which always has a favorable breeze and can be folded together and carried in a pouch when it is not being used. Freyr is also known to have been associated with the horse cult. He also kept sacred horses in his sanctuary at Trondheim in Norway. He has three servants: Skírnir, Byggvir and Beyla.
The most extensive surviving Freyr myth relates Freyr's falling in love with the female jötunn Gerðr. Eventually, she becomes his wife but first Freyr has to give away his sword, which fights on its own "if wise be he who wields it." Although deprived of this weapon, Freyr defeats the jötunn Beli with an antler. However, lacking his sword, Freyr will be killed by the fire jötunn Surtr during the events of Ragnarök.
Like other Germanic deities, veneration of Freyr was revived during the modern period through the Heathenry movement.
Name The Old Norse name Freyr ('lord') is generally thought to descend from a Proto-Norse form reconstructed as , stemming from the Proto-Germanic noun *frawjaz ~ *fraw(j)ōn ('lord'), and cognate with Gothic , Old English , or Old High German , all meaning 'lord, master'.
The runic form , derived from an earlier , may also be related. An etymology deriving the name of the god from a nominalized form of the Proto-Scandinavian adjective *fraiw(i)a- ('fruitful, generative') has also been proposed. According to linguist Guus Kroonen, "within Germanic, the attestation of ON frjar, frjór, frær, Icel. frjór adj. 'fertile; prolific' < *fraiwa- clearly seems to point to a stem *frai(w)- meaning 'fecund'. Both in form and meaning, fraiwa- ('seed') is reminiscent of Freyr 'fertility deity' < *frauja-. The possibility must be considered, therefore, that *fraiwa- was metathesized from *frawja-, a collective of some kind."
Freyr is also known by a series of other names which describe his attributes and role in religious practice and associated mythology.
Adam of Bremen Written 1080, one of the oldest written sources on pre-Christian Scandinavian religious practices is Adam of Bremen's . Adam claimed to have access to first-hand accounts on pagan practices in Sweden. He refers to Freyr with the Latinized name Fricco (= Frigg) and mentions that an image of him at Skara was destroyed by the Christian missionary Bishop Egino. (Book 4, ix (9)) Adam's description of the Temple at Uppsala gives some details on the god.
In hoc templo, quod totum ex auro paratum est, statuas atrium deorum veneratur populus, ita ut potentissimus eorum Thor in medio solium habeat triclinio; hinc et inde locum possident Wodan et Fricco. Quorum significationes eiusmodi sunt: 'Thor', inquiunt, 'praesidet in aere, qui tonitrus et fulmina, ventos ymbresque, serena et fruges gubernat. Alter Wodan, id est furor, bella gerit, hominique ministrat virtutem contra inimicos. Tertius est Fricco, pacem voluptatem que largiens mortalibus'. Cuius etiam simulacrum fingunt cum ingenti priapo. Gesta Hammaburgensis 26, Waitz' editionIn this temple, entirely decked out in gold, the people worship the statues of three gods in such wise that the mightiest of them, Thor, occupies a throne in the middle of the chamber; Woden and Frikko have places on either side. The significance of these gods is as follows: Thor, they say, presides over the air, which governs the thunder and lightning, the winds and rains, fair weather and crops. The other, Woden—that is, the Furious—carries on war and imparts to man strength against his enemies. The third is Frikko, who bestows peace and pleasure on mortals. His likeness, too, they fashion with an immense phallus. Gesta Hammaburgensis 26, Tschan's translation (Book 4, xxvi (26)) 164815
Later in the account Adam states that when a marriage is performed a libation is made to the image of Fricco.
Historians are divided on the reliability of Adam's account.Haastrup 2004, pp. 18–24.
Prose Edda When Snorri Sturluson was writing in 13th century Iceland, the indigenous Germanic gods were still remembered although they had not been openly worshiped for more than two centuries.
Gylfaginning In the Gylfaginning section of his Prose Edda, Snorri introduces Freyr as one of the major gods.
Njörðr í Nóatúnum gat síðan tvau börn, hét sonr Freyr en dóttir Freyja. Þau váru fögr álitum ok máttug. Freyr er hinn ágætasti af ásum. Hann ræðr fyrir regni ok skini sólar, ok þar með ávexti jarðar, ok á hann er gott at heita til árs ok friðar. Hann ræðr ok fésælu manna. Gylfaginning 24, EB's editionNjördr in Nóatún begot afterward two children: the son was called Freyr, and the daughter Freyja; they were fair of face and mighty. Freyr is the most renowned of the Æsir; he rules over the rain and the shining of the sun, and therewithal the fruit of the earth; and it is good to call on him for fruitful seasons and peace. He governs also the prosperity of men. Gylfaginning XXIV, Brodeur's translation
This description has similarities to the older account by Adam of Bremen but the differences are interesting. Adam assigns control of the weather and produce of the fields to Thor but Snorri says that Freyr rules over those areas. Snorri also omits any explicitly sexual references in Freyr's description. Those discrepancies can be explained in several ways. Adam and Snorri were writing with different goals in mind. It is possible that the Norse gods did not have exactly the same roles in Icelandic and Swedish paganism. Either Snorri or Adam may also have had distorted information.
The only extended myth related to Freyr in the Prose Edda is the story of his marriage.
Þat var einn dag er Freyr hafði gengit í Hliðskjálf ok sá of heima alla. En er hann leit í norðrætt, þá sá hann á einum bœ mikit hús ok fagrt, ok til þess húss gekk kona, ok er hon tók upp höndum ok lauk hurð fyrir sér þá lýsti af höndum hennar bæði í lopt ok á lög, ok allir heimar birtusk af henni. Gylfaginning 37, EB's editionIt chanced one day that Freyr had gone to Hlidskjálf, and gazed over all the world; but when he looked over into the northern region, he saw on an estate a house great and fair. And toward this house went a woman; when she raised her hands and opened the door before her, brightness gleamed from her hands, both over sky and sea, and all the worlds were illumined of her. Gylfaginning XXXVII, Brodeur's translation
The woman is Gerðr, a beautiful giantess. Freyr immediately falls in love with her and becomes depressed and taciturn. After a period of brooding, he consents to talk to Skírnir, his foot-page. He tells Skírnir that he has fallen in love with a beautiful woman and thinks he will die if he cannot have her. He asks Skírnir to go and woo her for him.
Þá svarar Skírnir, sagði svá at hann skal fara sendiferð en Freyr skal fá honum sverð sitt. Þat var svá gott sverð at sjálft vásk. En Freyr lét eigi þat til skorta ok gaf honum sverðit. Þá fór Skírnir ok bað honum konunnar ok fekk heitit hennar, ok níu nóttum síðar skyldi hon þar koma er Barey heitir ok ganga þá at brullaupinu með Frey. Gylfaginning 37, EB's editionThen Skírnir answered thus: he would go on his errand, but Freyr should give him his own sword—which is so good that it fights of itself—and Freyr did not refuse, but gave him the sword. Then Skírnir went forth and wooed the woman for him, and received her promise; and nine nights later she was to come to the place called Barrey, and then go to the bridal with Freyr. Gylfaginning XXXVII, Brodeur's translation
The loss of Freyr's sword has consequences. According to the Prose Edda, Freyr had to fight Beli without his sword, and slew him with an antler. But the result at Ragnarök, the end of the world, will be much more serious. Freyr is fated to fight the fire-giant Surtr, and since he does not have his sword he will be defeated.
Even after the loss of his weapon Freyr still has two magical artifacts, both dwarf-made. One is the ship Skíðblaðnir, which will have favoring breeze wherever its owner wants to go and can also be folded together like a napkin and carried in a pouch. The other is the boar Gullinbursti whose mane glows to illuminate the way for his owner. No myths involving Skíðblaðnir have come down to us but Snorri relates that Freyr rode to Baldr's funeral in a wagon pulled by Gullinbursti.
Skaldic poetry Freyr is referred to several times in skaldic poetry. In Húsdrápa, partially preserved in the Prose Edda, he is said to ride a boar to Baldr's funeral.
Ríðr á börg til borgar böðfróðr sonar Óðins Freyr ok folkum stýrir fyrstr enum golli byrsta. Húsdrápa 7, FJ's editionThe battle-bold Freyr rideth First on the golden-bristled Barrow-boar to the bale-fire Of Baldr, and leads the people. Húsdrápa 7, Brodeur's translation
In a poem by Egill Skalla-Grímsson, Freyr is called upon along with Njörðr to drive Eric Bloodaxe from Norway. The same skald mentions in Arinbjarnarkviða that his friend has been blessed by the two gods.
[E]n Grjótbjörn of gæddan hefr Freyr ok Njörðr at féar afli. Arinbjarnarkviða 17, FJ's editionFrey and Njord have endowed rock-bear with wealth's force. Arinbjarnarkviða 17, Scudder's translation
Nafnaþulur In Nafnaþulur Freyr is said to ride the horse Blóðughófi (Bloody Hoof).
Poetic Edda
Freyr is mentioned in several of the poems in the Poetic Edda. The information there is largely consistent with that of the Prose Edda while each collection has some details not found in the other.
Völuspá Völuspá, the best known of the Eddic poems, describes the final confrontation between Freyr and Surtr during Ragnarök.
Surtr fer sunnan með sviga lævi, skínn af sverði sól valtíva. Grjótbjörg gnata, en gífr rata, troða halir helveg, en himinn klofnar.
Þá kømr Hlínar harmr annarr fram, er Óðinn ferr við úlf vega, en bani Belja bjartr at Surti, þá mun Friggjar falla angan. Völuspá 51–52, EB's editionSurtr moves from the south with the scathe of branches:A kenning meaning "fire". there shines from his sword the sun of Gods of the Slain. Stone peaks clash, and troll wives take to the road. Warriors tread the path from Hel, and heaven breaks apart.
Then is fulfilled Hlín's second sorrow, when Óðinn goes to fight with the wolf, and Beli's slayer, bright, against Surtr. Then shall Frigg's sweet friend fall. Völuspá 50–51, Dronke's translation
Some scholars have preferred a slightly different translation, in which the sun shines "from the sword of the gods". The idea is that the sword which Surtr slays Freyr with is the "sword of the gods" which Freyr had earlier bargained away for Gerðr. This would add a further layer of tragedy to the myth. Sigurður Nordal argued for this view but the possibility represented by Ursula Dronke's translation above is equally possible.
Grímnismál Grímnismál, a poem which largely consists of miscellaneous information about the gods, mentions Freyr's abode.
Alfheim Frey gáfu í árdaga tívar at tannféi. Grímnismál 5, GJ's editionAlfheim the gods to Frey gave in days of yore for a tooth-gift. Grímnismál 5, Thorpe's translation