View source for Eggþér

{{short description|Norse mythical character}}
{{Redirect|Eggther|the moon of Saturn|Eggther (moon)}}
[[File:Járnviðr and Eggthér by Frølich.jpg|thumb|240px|Illustration by [[Lorenz Frølich]]: Eggþér and [[Fjalar (rooster)|Fjalar]] on the right, [[Járnviðr]] on the left]]
'''Eggþér''' (also '''Eggthér''', or '''Egdir'''; [[Old Norse]]: {{IPA-non|ˈeɡːˌθeːz̠|}}, 'Edge-Servant') is a [[jötunn]] in [[Norse mythology]]. He is the [[herder]] of the female jötunn (probably [[Angrboða]]) who lives in [[Járnviðr]] (Ironwood) and raises monstrous wolves.{{Sfn|Salus|Taylor|1969|p=79}}{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=35}}{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=102}} In the poem ''[[Völuspá]]'', Eggþér is described as sitting on a [[mound]] and joyfully striking his [[harp]] while the red rooster [[Fjalar (rooster)|Fjalarr]] begins to crow to herald the onset of [[Ragnarök]].{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=35}}
== Name ==
The [[Old Norse]] name {{lang|non|Eggþér}} ('edge-servant') is a [[Compound (linguistics)|compound]] formed with the word {{wikt-lang|non|egg}} ('edge') attached to {{wikt-lang|non|þér}} ('servant').{{Sfn|de Vries|1962|p=|pp=94–95, 609}}{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=35}} It could have denoted a 'bearer of a sword' or 'one who is servant of the sword', perhaps 'one who provides victims for battle'.{{Sfn|Salus|Taylor|1969|p=78}}
''Eggþér'' is [[cognate]] with the [[Old English]] personal name [[Ecgþeow|''Ecgþéow'']], borne by the father of [[Beowulf (hero)|Beowulf]] in [[Old English literature|Old English poetry]],{{Sfn|Salus|Taylor|1969|p=78}}{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=102}} and with the [[Old High German]] name ''Eggideo'' (or ''Eckideo'').{{Sfn|de Vries|1962|p=|pp=94–95, 609}} They may stem from a common [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] form [[Linguistic reconstruction|reconstructed]] as {{lang|gem-x-proto|*Agjō-þe(g)waz}}.{{Sfn|de Vries|1962|p=|pp=94–95, 609}}{{Sfn|Orel|2003|p=|pp=3, 419}}{{Sfn|Kroonen|2013|p=4, 541|pp=3, 419}}
According to [[Peter H. Salus]] and Paul B. Taylor, the Old Norse {{lang|non|Eggþér}} ('Edge-Servant') is a descriptive [[agnomen]] derived from his function as the arouser of the [[Jötunn|jötnar]] and wolves to battle during [[Ragnarök]]. They argue that there is a "remote similarity" with [[Ecgþeow|Ecgþéow]], since the latter was also known for the feuds he have brought about by his fighting. Both names could embody, in their respective tradition, the role of arousers of great battles and feuds.{{Sfn|Salus|Taylor|1969|p=80}} [[Andy Orchard]] and [[John Lindow]] contend however that a mythological parallel between the two figures is most likely a "[[red herring]]".{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=35}}{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=102}}
== Attestation ==
Eggþér is mentioned in the poem ''[[Völuspá]]'' (Prophecy of the [[Seeress (Germanic)|Völva]]) as the herder of the [[jötunn]] living in [[Járnviðr]] (Ironwood) and raising "the kinfolk of [[Fenrir]]" (wolves).{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=35}} While the red rooster [[Fjalar (rooster)|Fjalarr]] is heralding the onset of [[Ragnarök]], Eggþér is portrayed as joyfully striking his harp.{{Sfn|Salus|Taylor|1969|p=78}}
{|
|
:<small>''[[Völuspá]]'' 42:</small>
:: {{lang|non|Sat þar á haugi    ok sló hörpu}}
:: {{lang|non|gýgjar hirðir    glaðr Egðir;}}
:: {{lang|non|gól um hánum    í gaglviði}}
:: {{lang|non|fagrrauðr hani,    sá er Fjalarr heitir}}.{{Sfn|Salus|Taylor|1969|p=78}}
|
: <small>[[Peter H. Salus|Salus]] & Taylor translation (1969):</small>
: The giantesses' herder, joyful Eggthér,
: sits on his cairn and strikes the harp;
: the red cock, called All-Wise,
: crows to him from Birdwood.{{Sfn|Salus|Taylor|1969|p=78}}
|
:[[Carolyne Larrington|<small>C. Larrington</small>]] <small>translation (1995):</small>
: He sat on the mound and plucked his harp
:the herdsman of the giantess, cheerful Eggther
:a rooster crowed in Gallows-wood
:that bright-red cockerel who is called Fialar
:
|}
== Theories ==
Scholar [[Andy Orchard]] notes that the scene of [[Ragnarök]] has a "curious echo" in the Icelandic [[Njáls saga]], where the hero Gunnar is portrayed as singing joyfully within his own burial mound.{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=35}}
The identity of the {{lang|non|[[gýgr]]}} mentioned in the poem is unclear. According to scholars, she is probably the one described in [[stanza]] 40 of the same poem, a figure possibly identified with the [[jötunn]] [[Angrboða]]. She is said to dwell in the forest of [[Járnviðr]] (Ironwood), where she raises the offspring of the wolf [[Fenrir]].{{Sfn|Salus|Taylor|1969|p=79}}{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=102}} Salus and Taylor contend that the herdsman Eggþér is not a shepherd, but rather a wolf-herder. In this view,  Eggþér is portrayed as 'joyful' or 'cheerful' in ''[[Völuspá]]'' because the "rearing of the wolves will bring about the downfall of the gods", and he is striking his harp to "arouse his charge to ferocious deeds".{{Sfn|Salus|Taylor|1969|p=80}}
== Legacy ==
Saturn's moon [[Eggther (moon)|Eggther]] is named after him.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
===Bibliography===
*{{Cite book|last=de Vries|first=Jan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hLceAAAAIAAJ|title=Altnordisches Etymologisches Worterbuch|date=1962|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-05436-3|edition=1977|author-link=Jan de Vries (linguist)}}
*{{Cite book|last=Kroonen|first=Guus|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cgmFRAAACAAJ|title=Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic|publisher=Brill|year=2013|isbn=9789004183407}}
*{{Cite book|last=Lindow|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KlT7tv3eMSwC|title=Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs|date=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-983969-8|language=en|author-link=John Lindow}}
*{{Cite book|last=Orchard|first=Andy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uIujQgAACAAJ|title=Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend|date=1997|publisher=Cassell|isbn=978-0-304-34520-5|language=en|author-link=Andy Orchard}}
*{{Cite book|last=Orel|first=Vladimir E.|url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofgerman0000orel|title=A Handbook of Germanic Etymology|publisher=Brill|year=2003|isbn=978-90-04-12875-0|author-link=Vladimir Orel|url-access=registration}}
*{{Cite journal|last=Salus|first=Peter H.|author-link=Peter H. Salus|last2=Taylor|first2=Paul B.|date=1969|title=Eikinskjaldi, Fjalarr, And Eggþér: Notes on Dwarves and Giants in the Völuspá|journal=Neophilologus|language=en|volume=53|issue=1|pages=76–81|doi=10.1007/BF01511692|issn=1572-8668}}
{{Norse mythology}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eggther}}
[[Category:Jötnar]]
[[Category:Herding]]