Sessrúmnir
In Norse mythology, Sessrúmnir (Old Norse "seat-room"[1] or "seat-roomer"[2] ) is both the goddess Freyja's hall located in Fólkvangr, 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 ]Sessrúmnir is specifically referred to as a hall in chapter 24 of the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning . After describing Fólkvangr, High tells Gangleri (described as king Gylfi in disguise) that Freyja has the hall Sessrúmnir, and that "it is large and beautiful".[3]
Sessrúmnir is secondly referred to in chapter 20 of the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál . In the chapter, means of referring to Freyja are given, including a reference to Sessrúmnir: "possessor of the fallen slain and of Sessrúmnir [...]".[4] Sessrúmnir 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 Sessrúmnir (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 Fólkvangr, Sessrúmnir, and numerous stone ships found throughout Scandinavia. According to Hopkins and Haukur, Fólkvangr 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 ]- Rán, a goddess and personification of the sea—the sea may be referred to as 'Rán's Hall'
- Valfreyja, a name appearing in a kenning Njals saga meaning 'lady of the slain' or 'Freyja of the slain'
Notes
[edit ]References
[edit ]- Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995). Edda. Everyman. ISBN 0-460-87616-3
- Hopkins, Joseph S. and Haukur Þorgeirsson (2012). "The Ship in the Field". RMN Newsletter 3, 2011:14-18. University of Helsinki.
- Orchard, Andy (1997). Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. Cassell. ISBN 0-304-34520-2
- Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. Dictionary of Northern Mythology. D.S. Brewer. ISBN 0-85991-513-1