Hljod

Hljod or Ljod (Old Norse Hljóð) is a jötunn in Norse mythology. She is the spouse of Völsung, the daughter of the jötunn Hrímnir, and the mother of Sigmund and Signy.[1]

Name

The Old Norse name Hljóð has been translated as 'howling'.[1]

Attestation

In the first chapter of Völsunga saga, Hljóð is portrayed as the daughter of the jötunn Hrímnir, and as a 'wish-maiden' of the god Odin, which could be interpreted as 'Valkyrie of Odin'.[2][1]

Völsunga saga:
Þat er nú sagt, at Frigg heyrir bæn þeira ok segir Óðni, hvers þau biðja. Hann verðr eigi örþrifráða ok tekr óskmey sína, dóttur Hrímnis jötuns.[3]
 It is now said that Frigg heard their prayers and told Óðinn what they prayed. He was not without resources and took his wish-maid, the daughter of the jötunn Hrímnir.[3]

Hljóð then assumes the shape of a crow and provides the apple of fertility to the childless Rerir, who eventually begets Hljóð's own husband Völsung.[1]

Völsunga saga:
Nú þá er hann var alroskinn at aldri, þá sendir Hrímnir honum Hljóð, dóttur sína, er fyrr er getit, þá er hún fór með eplit til Reris, föður Völsungs.[3]
 Now when he was fully come to man's estate, Hrimnir the giant sends to him Ljod his daughter; she of whom the tale told, that she brought the apple to Rerir, Volsung's father.[3]

References
  1. Orchard 1997, p. 86.
  2. Clunies Ross 1994, p. 184.
  3. Völsunga saga chapter 2, online with the translation by Eiríkr Magnússon and William Morris from Völsunga Saga: The Story of the Volsungs and Niblungs, with certain Songs from the Elder Edda, ed. H. Halliday Sparling, London: Scott, [1888] at voluspa.org.

Bibliography
  • Clunies Ross, Margaret (1994). Prolonged Echoes: The Myths. University Press of Southern Denmark. ISBN 978-87-7838-008-1.
  • Orchard, Andy (1997). Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. Cassell. ISBN 978-0-304-34520-5.
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