Gylfaginning, chapter 34. Devastated by the loss, Odin and Frigg send Hermod, another of the Aesir gods, to Helheim in order to ask Hel, as goddess of the underworld, to allow Balder to return to the world of the living. "Queen Hel" is not mentioned elsewhere in the saga. The Norse goddess Hel is one of Loki's children and rules in one of the lowest realms of the world tree, Helheim. [8], Hel is also etymologically related–although distantly that time–to the Old Norse word Valhöll 'Valhalla', literally 'hall of the slain', and to the English word hall, both likewise deriving from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- via the Proto-Germanic root *hallō- 'covered place, hall'. Some sources have claimed that Hel was located within the realm of Niflhel or Niflheim (“the place of mists”). "[22] In chapter 51, High describes the events of Ragnarök, and details that when Loki arrives at the field Vígríðr "all of Hel's people" will arrive with him. p. 84. The Old Norse feminine proper noun Hel is identical to the name of the entity that presides over the realm, Old Norse Hel. Her power had been greatly weakened since belief in her faded, but she … It has descendant cognates in the Old English helle-rúne 'possessed woman, sorceress, diviner',[5] the Old High German helli-rūna 'magic', and perhaps in the Latinized Gothic form haliurunnae,[4] although its second element may derive instead from rinnan 'to run, go', leading to Gothic *haljurunna as the 'one who travels to the netherworld'. Who Were the Indo-Europeans and Why Do They Matter. [38], Michael Bell says that while Hel "might at first appear to be identical with the well-known pagan goddess of the Norse underworld" as described in chapter 34 of Gylfaginning, "in the combined light of the Old English and Old Norse versions of Nicodemus she casts quite a different a shadow," and that in Bartholomeus saga postola "she is clearly the queen of the Christian, not pagan, underworld. Hel, also known as Hella, Holle or Hulda, was the Norse and Teutonic Goddess, Queen and Ruler of the Underworld, which was known as Niflheim, or Helheim, the Kingdom of the Dead. Hermod asks if they can have Balder back again and Hel [the goddess who presides over the realm of the same name] says they can – under certain conditions.” In chapter 49, High describes the events surrounding the death of the god Baldr. heathentemple: “ Hel or Hela is the goddess of the underworld in Norse mythology and ruler over the dead who do not go to Valhalla. Learn about her place in Norse mythology in this myth series. Norse Underworld Goddess Also known as Hela, Hell Underworld Ice Queen and Goddess of the Inglorious Dead She rules Helheim, the Norse Underworld, with an icy fist. In the Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, and Heimskringla, Hel is referred to as a daughter of Loki. This is highlighted in Watkins (2000:38). Top image: Hel is the Norse goddess of the underworld. Hecate is a triple goddess and her symbols include many plants, oaks, yew and others among them. [44], Davidson further compares to early attestations of the Irish goddesses Badb (Davidson points to the description of Badb from The Destruction of Da Choca's Hostel where Badb is wearing a dusky mantle, has a large mouth, is dark in color, and has gray hair falling over her shoulders, or, alternatively, "as a red figure on the edge of the ford, washing the chariot of a king doomed to die") and The Morrígan. Only one giantess, who was probably Loki in disguise, refused. In Norse mythology, Hel features as the goddess of the underworld. This page was last edited on 27 November 2020, at 18:26. Davidson explains that "whether this personification has originally been based on a belief in a goddess of death called Hel is another question," but that she does not believe that the surviving sources give any reason to believe so. The next morning, Hermóðr begs Hel to allow Baldr to ride home with him, and tells her about the great weeping the Æsir have done upon Baldr's death. One of the Nine Realms in Norse cosmology, Hel was the subterranean dwelling place of the dead. Lehmann, Winfred, A Gothic Etymological Dictionary (1986). The word has cognates in all branches of the Germanic languages, including Old English hell (and thus Modern English hell), Old Frisian helle, Old … But Hel wouldn’t give up her prize so easily. The Anglo-Saxon and Norse Goddess of the Underworld is honored annually on the Day of Hel (July 10th) with prayers, the lighting of black candles, and offerings of … first centuries AD) feature depictions of Hel. However, her personality is little-developed in what survives of Old Norse literature. un-witi 'foolishness, understanding', OE witt 'right mind, wits', OHG wizzi 'understanding'), with descendant cognates in Old Norse hel-víti 'hell', Old English helle-wíte 'hell-torment, hell', Old Saxon helli-wīti 'hell', or Middle High German helle-wīzi 'hell'. Hel, in Norse mythology, originally the name of the world of the dead; it later came to mean the goddess of death.Hel was one of the children of the trickster god Loki, and her kingdom was said to lie downward and northward.It was called Niflheim, or the World of Darkness, and appears to have been divided into several sections, one of which was Náströnd, the shore of corpses. [25] In chapter 50, Hel is referenced ("to join the company of the quite monstrous wolf's sister") in the skaldic poem Ragnarsdrápa.[26]. “Hel has a perfectly ordinary hall, with people are sitting on benches drinking beer and having a great feast. Who is Hel? Hermod and the other gods went around and got almost everything in the cosmos to weep for Baldur. The downward slope may indicate that the rider is traveling towards the realm of the dead and the woman with the scepter may be a female ruler of that realm, corresponding to Hel. Staff A (2017). This Goddess is Queen of the underworld and despite her banishment the other Gods have to respect her judgement as shown when she refuses to let Baldr return to the living. In the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, Hel is described as having been appointed by the god Odin as ruler of a realm of the same name, located in Niflheim. "[45], John Lindow states that most details about Hel, as a figure, are not found outside of Snorri's writing in Gylfaginning, and says that when older skaldic poetry "says that people are 'in' rather than 'with' Hel, we are clearly dealing with a place rather than a person, and this is assumed to be the older conception," that the noun and place Hel likely originally simply meant "grave," and that "the personification came later. This in relation to the Viking Age, meant if you didn’t die in battle you would simply just go to Hel. Ellis, Hilda Roderick. Like Snorri's Hel, she is terrifying to in appearance, black or dark in colour, usually naked, adorned with severed heads or arms or the corpses of children, her lips smeared with blood. Scholarly theories have been proposed about Hel's potential connections to figures appearing in the 11th-century Old English Gospel of Nicodemus and Old Norse Bartholomeus saga postola, that she may have been considered a goddess with potential Indo-European parallels in Bhavani, Kali, and Mahakali or that Hel may have become a being only as a late personification of the location of the same name. [4] The feminine noun *halja-rūnō(n) is formed with *haljō- 'hell' attached to *rūno 'mystery, secret' > runes. [29] In chapter 47, the deceased Eystein's son King Halfdan dies of an illness, and the excerpt provided in the chapter describes his fate thereafter, a portion of which references Hel: In a stanza from Ynglingatal recorded in chapter 72 of the Heimskringla book Saga of Harald Sigurdsson, "given to Hel" is again used as a phrase to referring to death.[31]. Hel also has two brothers from the same union – the giant wolf and slayer of Odin Fenrir and the world serpent and killer of Thor, Jörmungandr. Welcome to the online shrine of Hela (or Hel), the Goddess of Death and Lady of the Underworld in Norse/Germanic mythos. © Daniel McCoy 2012-2019. Hel, also known as Hella, Holle or Hulda, was the Norse and Teutonic Goddess, Queen and Ruler of the Underworld, which was known as Niflheim, or Helheim, the Kingdom of the Dead. They cast her in the underworld, into which she distributes those who are sent to her; the wicked and those who died of sickness or old age. She was sent by Odin to Helheim/Niflheim to preside over the spirits of the dead, except for those who were killed in battle and went to Valhalla. [4] Due to the lack of conclusive evidence either way, this must remain an open question. See more ideas about norse mythology, norse, mythology. [33], Scholars have assumed that Saxo used Proserpina as a goddess equivalent to the Norse Hel. It’s presided over by a fearsome goddess whose name is also Hel. Hel (Old Norse Hel, “Hidden”[1]) is a giantess and/or goddess who rules over the identically-named Hel, the underworld where many of the dead dwell. [3], Other related early Germanic terms and concepts include the compounds *halja-rūnō(n) and *halja-wītjan. [2] This makes her part of a highly dangerous and disreputable family. To see more Viking articles, click here. Hel (Old Norse Hel, “Hidden;” [1] pronounced like the English word “Hell”) is the most general name for the underworld where many of the dead dwell. In all the stories from Norse mythology, the goddess of death plays her most important role in the death of Balder. Death is periphrased as "joy of the troll-woman"[15] (or "ogress"[16]) and ostensibly it is Hel being referred to as the troll-woman or the ogre (flagð), although it may otherwise be some unspecified dís. [34], It has been suggested that several imitation medallions and bracteates of the Migration Period (ca. High describes Hel as "half black and half flesh-coloured," adding that this makes her easily recognizable, and furthermore that Hel is "rather downcast and fierce-looking."[19]. The Prose Edda details that Hel rules over vast mansions with many servants in her underworld realm and plays a key role in the attempted resurrection of the god Baldr. It stems from the Proto-Germanic feminine noun *haljō- 'concealed place, the underworld' (compare with Gothic halja, Old English hel, Old Frisian helle, Old Saxon hellia, Old High German hella), itself a derivative of *helan- 'to cover > conceal, hide' (compare with OE helan, OF hela, OS helan, OHG helan). Goddess of … Her name’s meaning of “Hidden” surely has to do with the underworld and the dead being “hidden” or buried beneath the ground. Hel's royal residence was called Eljudnir where two servants Ganglati and Ganglot … Hel is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. The name Hel, quite literally means "one that hides" or "one who covers up." The Prose Edda. Hel is generally presented as being rather greedy, harsh, and cruel, or at least indifferent to the concerns of both the living and the dead. Hecate is Goddess of crossroads, the night, magic, fields, and ghosts. Her hall in Helheim is called Eljudnir, Home of the Dead. Davidson concludes that, in these examples, "here we have the fierce destructive side of death, with a strong emphasis on its physical horrors, so perhaps we should not assume that the gruesome figure of Hel is wholly Snorri's literary invention. The gods had abducted Hel and her brothers from Angrboda's hall. Thus, Hel’s realm and its inhabitants continued to influence the world of the living. In the story, a devil is hiding within a pagan idol, and bound by Bartholomew's spiritual powers to acknowledge himself and confess, the devil refers to Jesus as the one which "made war on Hel our queen" (Old Norse heriaði a Hel drottning vara). In chapter 17, the king Dyggvi dies of sickness. 5. "[39], Jacob Grimm theorized that Hel (whom he refers to here as Halja, the theorized Proto-Germanic form of the term) is essentially an "image of a greedy, unrestoring, female deity" and that "the higher we are allowed to penetrate into our antiquities, the less hellish and more godlike may Halja appear. Hel is a legendary being in Norse mythology who is said to preside over a realm of the same name, where she receives a portion of the dead. Hel is the Norse goddess of death. If anyone speaks against him or refuses to cry, then he will remain with Hel. Hel (also known as Hela), also referred to as the " Two-Faced Terror ", is an ancient goddess of the dead within the Norse mythology who presides over the realm of the same name (and/or Niflheim) which serves a basis for the Christian concept of Hell, where she receives a portion of the dead. (2001). It was her job to determine the fate of the souls who entered her realm. Davidson (1999:II 356); Grimm (2004:314). The gods had abducted Hel and her brothers from Angrboda’s hall. [9], The Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, features various poems that mention Hel. [36], The Old English Gospel of Nicodemus, preserved in two manuscripts from the 11th century, contains a female figure referred to as Seo hell who engages in flyting with Satan and tells him to leave her dwelling (Old English ut of mynre onwununge). It actually translates to “one who hides”. She seems perfectly suited to Halloween and all of its' traditional images. [28] In chapter 46, King Eystein Halfdansson dies by being knocked overboard by a sail yard. The beloved god Baldur was slain by none other than Hel’s father, Loki, and the gods sent an emissary named Hermod to Hel in hopes of retrieving Baldur. Hel is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. According to the thirteenth-century Icelandic scholar Snorri Sturluson, Hel is the daughter of Loki and the giantess Angrboda (Old Norse Angrboða, “Anguish-boding”), and therefore the sister of the wolf Fenrir and the world serpent, Jormungand. Two of the figures are understood to be Baldr and Odin while both Loki and Hel have been proposed as candidates for the third figure. 70-71. [12] In Atlamál, the phrases "Hel has half of us" and "sent off to Hel" are used in reference to death, though it could be a reference to the location and not the being, if not both. 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