'I have heard tell of no better treasure fit for princes, since Hama carried back to the shining citadel Brosingamen.' Quoted from Lost Gods of England: by Brian Branston Of course the Brosingamen of Beowulf seems to be the very same as the Norse Brisingamen. And the character Hama could possibly be one and the same as the Norse Heimdall. Also the 'shining citadel' could possibly be Asgard, home and stronghold of the Norse gods. In Norse myth Freya is regarded as the sister of the god Frey, and judging from all the examples in the Ingui section, that give strong evidence to the Anglo-Saxons worshipping the god Frey in the guise of Ingui, it would seem strange for them not to have known his sister Freya. Although that said, the Norse did have many centuries to advance and add to their myths and legends concerning their gods whilst the Anglo-Saxons were slowly being Christianised. So if Freo was known to them, she may have been very different to the Freya known to Norse myth. |
Freo |
'I have heard tell of no better treasure fit for princes, since Hama carried back to the shining citadel Brosingamen.' Quoted from Lost Gods of England: by Brian Branston Of course the Brosingamen of Beowulf seems to be the very same as the Norse Brisingamen. And the character Hama could possibly be one and the same as the Norse Heimdall. Also the 'shining citadel' could possibly be Asgard, home and stronghold of the Norse gods. In Norse myth Freya is regarded as the sister of the god Frey, and judging from all the examples in the Ingui section, that give strong evidence to the Anglo-Saxons worshipping the god Frey in the guise of Ingui, it would seem strange for them not to have known his sister Freya. Although that said, the Norse did have many centuries to advance and add to their myths and legends concerning their gods whilst the Anglo-Saxons were slowly being Christianised. So if Freo was known to them, she may have been very different to the Freya known to Norse myth. |
Freo is the Anglo-Saxon name or word that corresponds to that of the Norse name for the goddess Freya. And whilst it is plain to see the |
importance of Freya in Norse myth and legend sadly, assuming the Anglo-Saxons knew of a goddess Freo/Freya, she has been almost completely lost in Anglo-Saxon myth. Probably our strongest evidence pointing to the Anglo-Saxon knowledgeof Freo is found in the poem Beowulf. In Norse myth the troublesome Loki is said to steal Freya's necklace or treasure, which was called Brisingamen. But the god Heimdall, after a fight with Loki, retrieved it and returned Brisingamen to Freya. In Beowulf we find the following lines which seem to hint, almost identically, to the Norse Brisingamen legend. We read: |
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updated on: July 22,
2003
