Narfi

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 Genesis poem.See 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}}. In 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".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].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].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].

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}}

According to the Gylfaginning section of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, Nótt is the daughter of the jötunn "Nörfi or Narfi"."Nǫrr", Rudolf Simek, tr. Angela Hall, Dictionary of Northern Mythology, Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1993, repr. 2000, {{ISBN|9780859915137}}, p. 235."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. However, in the Poetic Edda, Nótt's father is called Nörr (not to be confused with Nór), primarily for reasons of alliteration. This name is only recorded in the dative form Nǫrvi (variant spelling Naurvi)."Nótt", Simek, p. 238.

The name of Nótt's father is recorded in several forms in Old Norse sources: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].

• 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: "Höfuðlausn" 10.
• Neri: "Helgakviða Hundingsbana I", 4.

Various scholars have argued that Snorri based his genealogy of Nótt on classical models.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. 100–01]. They relate Narfi to Erebus, which would make {{lang|non|nipt Nera}}, used in "Helgakviða Hundingsbana I" for a Norn who comes in the night, an appellation derived from the Parcae, who were Erebus' daughters.Bugge, [https://books.google.com/books?id=JdQyNzo-9PcC&q=modification+of+Erebus&pg=PA99 p. 101].

In "A Great Man's Return", a song on their album Valdr Galga, the Swedish viking metal band Thyrfing refer to "Norve's starfilled sky".[http://www.metalkingdom.net/lyrics_song/43288_thyrfing_a_great_mans_return "A Great Man's Return"], Metal Kingdom.net.[http://www.lyricsdepot.com/thyrfing/a-great-mans-return.html "A Great Man's Return Lyrics"], Lyrics Depot.com.

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"; in drafts, Tolkien spelt the name Narfi as in the Prose Edda.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].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].

In a season 13 episode of Supernatural, Narfi captures and sells the archangel Gabriel to Asmodeus.

{{Reflist}}

• {{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