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{{Short description|Giant, father of Nótt in Norse mythology}}
{{About|the father of [[Nótt]]|the son of [[Loki]]|Narfi (son of Loki)}}
{{Infobox character
| name               = Narfi
| series             = Norse mythology
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| alias              = Nörfi
| species            = Jötunn
| gender             = Male
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| children           = Nótt
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'''Narfi''' ([[Old Norse]]: {{IPA-non|ˈnɑrve}}), also '''Nörfi''' (O.N.: {{lang|non|Nǫrfi}} {{IPA-non|ˈnɔrve}}), '''Nari''' or '''Nörr''' (O.N.: {{lang|non|Nǫrr}} {{IPA-non|ˈnɔrː}}), is a [[jötunn]] in [[Norse mythology]], and the father of [[Nótt]], the personified [[night]].
== Name ==
The [[Old Norse]] name ''Nǫrr'' has been related to the [[Old Saxon]] {{lang|osx|narouua}} ('night'), a name which occurs in the verse {{lang|osx|narouua naht an skion}} of the fragmentary ''[[Old Saxon Genesis|Genesis]]'' poem.<ref group="n">See [[Otto Behaghel|Behaghel, Otto]] (1933). ''Heliand und Genesis'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=xMA7DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA245 p. 245]. Not in [[Old English]], an error made in {{Harvnb|de Vries|1962|pp=414–415}}, reproduced in {{Harvnb|Simek|1996|p=235}}.</ref> In [[Adjective|adjectival]] form, the Old Norse ''nǫrr'' means 'narrow',''{{Sfn|de Vries|1962|pp=414–415}}'' and the name ''Nar(f)i'' may have shared the same meaning.{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=117}}
Thus, the jötunn's name, as first suggested by [[Adolf Noreen]], may be a synonym for "night" or, perhaps more likely, an adjective related to [[Old English]] {{lang|ang|nearwe}}, "narrow", meaning "closed-in" and thus "oppressive".<ref>[[Sophus Bugge]], ''The Home of the Eddic poems: With Especial Reference to the Helgi-Lays'', tr. William Henry Schofield, Grimm library 11, London: Nutt, 1899, {{OCLC|2857921}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=JdQyNzo-9PcC&dq=narouua+night&pg=PA99 p. 99].</ref><ref>[[Hugo Gering]] and Barend Symons, ''Kommentar zu den Liedern der Edda'', Germanistische Handbibliothek  7(3), Halle: Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses, 1927, {{OCLC|277594015}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=vMc2O3zJFZoC&q=die+nacht+narouua+hei%C3%9Ft p. 14].</ref><ref>Tette Hofstra, "A note on the 'Darkness of the night' motif in alliterative poetry, and the search for the poet of the Old Saxon Heliand", in ''Loyal Letters: Studies on Mediaeval Alliterative Poetry & Prose'', ed. L. A. J. R. Houwen and A. A. MacDonald, Mediaevalia Groningana 15, Groningen: Egbert Forsten, 1994, {{ISBN|9789069800752}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=5vhbAAAAMAAJ&q=If+we+now+return+to+OS+narouua+naht%2C+we+see+that+Holthausen%27s+Old+Saxon+Dictionary+offers+the+following+information+s.v.+naru%3A+%27eng%3B+kum-+mervoll%3B+finster+%28ne.+narrow+...%29%27%2C+and+according+to+Sehrt%27s+Dictionary+naru+means+%27enge%27+%28one+entry%29+ p. 104].</ref>
[[Snorri Sturluson]] cites ''Narfi'' as an alternative form of the name of the [[jötunn]] Nörfi, and the variants ''Nör'' and ''Nörvi'' also appear in Norse poetry.{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=117}}
==Attestations==
According to the ''[[Gylfaginning]]'' section of [[Snorri Sturluson]]'s ''[[Prose Edda]]'', Nótt is the daughter of the [[jötunn]] "Nörfi or Narfi".<ref name=Simek>"Nǫrr", [[Rudolf Simek]], tr. Angela Hall, ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology'', Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1993, repr. 2000, {{ISBN|9780859915137}}, p. 235.</ref><ref>"Nótt (Night)", [[John Lindow]], ''Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs'', Oxford/New York: Oxford University, 2001, {{ISBN|9780195153828}}, p. 246.</ref> However, in the ''[[Poetic Edda]]'', Nótt's father is called Nörr (not to be confused with [[Nór]]), primarily for reasons of alliteration.<ref name=Simek/> This name is only recorded in the dative form ''Nǫrvi'' (variant spelling ''Naurvi'').<ref name=Simek238>"Nótt", Simek, p. 238.</ref>
The name of Nótt's father is recorded in several forms in Old Norse sources:<ref>[[Viktor Rydberg]], ''Teutonic Mythology: Gods and Goddesses of the Northland'', tr. [[Rasmus B. Anderson]], Volume 2, Norroena Anglo-Saxon Classics 4, London/New York: [[Norroena Society]], 1907, {{OCLC|605631726}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=3Jo48ypw1hQC&q=Nat+herself+is+the+daughter+of+a+being+whose+name+has+many+forms p. 611].</ref>
*Naurr, Nörr (dative Naurvi, Nörvi): "[[Vafþrúðnismál]]" 25 ''"Nótt var Naurvi borin"'', "[[Alvíssmál]]" 29 ''"Nótt in Naurvi kennda"''.
*Narvi, Narfi: ''Gylfaginning'' 10, a poem of [[Egill Skallagrímsson]] ''"niðerfi Narfa"''.
*Norvi, Nörvi: ''Gylfaginning'' 10, "[[Forspjallsljóð]]" 7 ''"kund Nörva"''.
*Njörfi, Njörvi: ''Gylfaginning'' 10, "[[Sonatorrek]]" ''"Njörva nipt"''.
*Nori: ''Gylfaginning'' 10.
*Nari: "[[Hǫfuðlausn (Egill)|Höfuðlausn]]" 10.
*Neri: "[[Helgakviða Hundingsbana I]]", 4.
==Theories==
Various scholars have argued that Snorri based his genealogy of Nótt on classical models.<ref name=Simek238/><ref>Bugge, [https://books.google.com/books?id=JdQyNzo-9PcC&q=the+pedigree+of+Night+in+Snorri%27s+Edda+is+based+on+the+Greek+and+Roman+cosmogonic+genealogies&pg=PA99 pp. 100&ndash;01].</ref> They relate Narfi to [[Erebus]], which would make {{lang|non|nipt Nera}}, used in "Helgakviða Hundingsbana I" for a [[Norns|Norn]] who comes in the night, an appellation derived from the [[Parcae]], who were Erebus' daughters.<ref>Bugge, [https://books.google.com/books?id=JdQyNzo-9PcC&q=modification+of+Erebus&pg=PA99 p. 101].</ref>
==Legacy==
In "A Great Man's Return", a song on their album ''[[Valdr Galga (album)|Valdr Galga]]'', the Swedish [[viking metal]] band [[Thyrfing]] refer to "Norve's starfilled sky".<ref>[http://www.metalkingdom.net/lyrics_song/43288_thyrfing_a_great_mans_return "A Great Man's Return"], Metal Kingdom.net.</ref><ref>[http://www.lyricsdepot.com/thyrfing/a-great-mans-return.html "A Great Man's Return Lyrics"], Lyrics Depot.com.</ref>
In [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' Part One, ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', the dwarf maker of the [[Doors of Durin]] signed them "[[Narvi (Middle-earth)|Narvi]]"; in drafts, Tolkien spelt the name ''Narfi'' as in the ''Prose Edda''.<ref>[[J. R. R. Tolkien]], ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', Boston: Mariner  / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1994, repr. 2012, {{ISBN|9780547928210}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=aWZzLPhY4o0C&dq=Narvi+Fellowship+of+the+Rings&pg=PT292 p. 318].</ref><ref>[[Christopher Tolkien]] and J. R. R. Tolkien, ''The treason of Isengard: The History of the Lord of the Rings, Part Two'', Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1989, {{ISBN|9780395515624}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=4T3BAAAAIAAJ&q=Narvi+ p. 188].</ref>
In a season 13 episode of ''[[Supernatural (American TV series)|Supernatural]]'', Narfi captures and sells the archangel [[Gabriel]] to [[Asmodeus]].
==Notes==
<references group="n" />
==References==
{{Reflist}}
=== Bibliography ===
* {{Cite book|last=de Vries|first=Jan|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=Lindow|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KlT7tv3eMSwC|title=Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs|date=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-983969-8|language=en|author-link=John Lindow}}
* {{Cite book|last=Orchard|first=Andy|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnors0000orch|title=Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend|date=1997|publisher=Cassell|isbn=978-0-304-34520-5|author-link=Andy Orchard|url-access=registration}}
*{{Cite book|last=Simek|first=Rudolf|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MZ24QgAACAAJ|title=Dictionary of Northern Mythology|date=1996|publisher=D.S. Brewer|isbn=978-0-85991-513-7|language=en|author-link=Rudolf Simek}}
{{Norse mythology}}
[[Category:Jötnar]]