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Svalinn

{{Short description|Shield in Nordic mythology}}

File:The Chariot of the Sun by Collingwood.JPG]]

Svalinn is a legendary shield in Nordic mythology which stands in front of Sun, protecting the world from her heat. It has been suggested to be part of a continuous tradition of solar imagery dating back to the Nordic Bronze Age.

Etymology

{{lang|non|Svalinn}} in Old Norse translates as "cold" or "chill" and is derived from the verb {{lang|non|svala}}, meaning "to cool", in turn from the adjective {{langx|non|svalr}} ('cool'), from {{langx|gem-x-proto|*swalaz}} from {{langx|gem-x-proto|*swelaną}} ("to burn slowly, create a burningly cold sensation") from Proto-Indo-European: '*swel-' ("to shine, warm up, burn").{{sfn|Wang|2017|p=23}}{{sfn|svala}}{{sfn|svalr}}

Attestations

=Grímnismál=

In Grímnismál, Odin gives the role of Svalinn as part of his description of the cosmology:

width="100%"

! width="25%" | Old Norse text{{sfn|Grímnismál (ON)|loc=Stanza 37 & 38}}

! width="25%" | Orchard translation{{sfn|Orchard|2011|loc=Grímnismál: The lay of Grímnir, stanza 37 & 38|p=56}}

! width="25%" | Bellows translation{{sfn|Bellows|2004|loc=Grimnismol stanza 37 & 38}}

! width="25%" | Dronke translation{{sfn|Dronke|2011|loc=The Lay of Grimnir, stanza 37 & 38}}

:{{lang|non|Árvakr ok Alsviðr}}

:{{lang|non|þeir skulu upp heðan}}

:{{lang|non|svangir sól draga;}}

:{{lang|non|en und þeira bógum}}

:{{lang|non|fálu blíð regin,}}

:{{lang|non|æsir, ísarnkol.}}

:{{lang|non|Svalinn heitir,}}

:{{lang|non|hann stendr sólu fyrir,}}

:{{lang|non|skjöldr, skínanda goði;}}

:{{lang|non|björg ok brim,}}

:{{lang|non|ek veit, at brenna skulu,}}

:{{lang|non|ef hann fellr í frá.}}

|

:Early-waker, All-swift:

:from here they have

:to drag wearily on Sun;

:but under their saddle-bows the Aesir have concealed,

:kind powers, cooling irons

:Chill is the name,

:of what stands before the sun,

:a shield before the shining god.

:mountains and oceans

:I know should burn,

:if it fell from in front.

|

:Arvak and Alsvith

:up shall drag

:Weary the weight of the sun;

:But an iron cool have the kindly gods

:Of yore set under their yokes.

:In front of the sun

:does Svalinn stand,

:The shield for the shining god;

:Mountains and sea

:would be set in flames

:If it fell from before the sun.

|

:Early Waker and All Strong

:—slim steeds—up from here

:have to haul the sun;

:but under their withers the blithe powers

:implanted

:eternal [currents of] iron-cold air.

:Shiver is its name,

:he stands before the sun,

:a shield for the shining goddess.

:Mountain and main

:I know must burn,

:if he falls off.

|

=Nafnaþulur=

In the Nafnaþulur section of the Prose Edda, Snorri Sturluson records Svalinn in a list of shields:

width="50%"

! width="25%" | Old Norse text{{sfn|Nafnaþulur (ON)|loc=Stanza 58}}

! width="25%" | Ingham translation{{sfn|Ingham|loc=Stanza 58}}

:{{lang|non|Gjallr, döggskafi}}

:{{lang|non|ok gimskýlir,}}

:{{lang|non|böðljós, grýta}}

:{{lang|non|ok böðskýlir,}}

:{{lang|non|svalinn ok randi,}}

:{{lang|non|saurnir, borði,}}

:{{lang|non|skuttingr, barði,}}

:{{lang|non|skírr, tvíbyrðingr,}}

:{{lang|non|örlygr ok svarmr,}}

:{{lang|non|eilífnir, heiðr,}}

:{{lang|non|baugr, fagrbláinn,}}

:{{lang|non|bera, miðfjörnir.}}

|

:Resounding, dew-scraper

:and gem-shelterer,

:battle-light, stony

:and battle-shelter,

:cooled and board,

:defiled, border,

:little stern, beaky,

:sheer, double boarded,

:battler and roarer,

:everlasting, shining,

:ring, fair-dark,

:carried, middle-protector.

=Sigrdrífumál=

In Sigrdrífumál, runes are described as being carved on a shield, identified with Svalinn, along with the horses that draw Sun's chariot.{{sfn|Orchard|2011|loc=Notes, Sigrdrífumál: Sigrdrífa's lay (15)}}

width="50%"

! width="25%" | Old Norse text{{sfn|Nafnaþulur (ON)|loc=Stanza 58}}

! width="25%" | Orchard translation{{sfn|Orchard|2011|loc=Sigrdrífumál: Sigrdrífa's lay, stanza 15}}

:{{lang|non|Á skildi kvað ristnar,}}

:{{lang|non|þeim er stendr fyr skínandi goði,}}

:{{lang|non|á eyra Árvakrs}}

:{{lang|non|ok á Alsvinns hófi,}}

:{{lang|non|á því hvéli, er snýsk}}

:{{lang|non|undir reið Hrungnis,}}

:{{lang|non|á Sleipnis tönnum}}

:{{lang|non|ok á sleða fjötrum}}

|

:On the shield they should be cut,

:that stands before the bright god,

:on Early-waker's ears

:and the hoof of All-swift,

:on the wheel turning

:under Hrungnir's chariot,

:on Sleipnir's teeth,

:and on the straps of sledges

Interpretation and symbolism

Image:Solvognen-00100.jpg]]

The association between the sun and shields is noted both in Þórsdrápa, in which the sun is described as 'the splendid sky-shield',{{sfn|Gade|2017|p=85}}{{refn|group=note|An alternative reading based on different emendations identifies Svalinn itself as the 'sky-shield'.{{sfn|Gade|2017|p=85}}}} and in Skáldskaparmál, in which a kenning for 'shield' is the "sun of the ship" ({{langx|non|skipsól}}). This relationship between ships, shields and the sun has been suggested to originate in the Nordic Bronze Age, in which all three form part of the sun myth.{{sfn|Wang|2017|p=25}} Ritual shields dating to the Bronze Age have also been discovered in Scandinavia which have been noted by scholars to resemble the sun and were possibly used to represent it in a religious context.{{sfn|Wang|2017|p=6}}

In the Nordic Bronze Age, the sun could be depicted as a wheel cross or a disc, as with the Trundholm sun chariot. It has been argued that the disc later ceased to be seen as a representation of the sun god herself and instead as it appears in the sky, as a round shield. By this theory, the role of the shield in preventing the world from overheating came later to explain its presence.{{sfn|Branston|1980|p=69}}

See also

Explanatory notes

{{reflist|group=note}}

Citations

{{Reflist|30em}}

References

=Primary=

{{refbegin}}

  • {{cite book |last1=Bellows |first1=Henry Adam |title=The Poetic Edda: The Mythological Poems |date=2004 |publisher=Dover Publications |location=Mineola, NY |isbn=9780486437101 |url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/index.htm}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Dronke |first1=Ursula |title=The Poetic Edda |date=2011 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780198111825|orig-date=1969}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Gade |first1=Kari Ellen |title=Poetry from Treatises on Poetics |date=2017 |publisher=Brepols Publishers |location=Turnhout, Belgium |url=https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=wordtextlp&i=1855221 |website=Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages|isbn=9782503518947}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Ingham |first1=Marion |title=Viðauki I: Nafnaþulur |url=http://www.voluspa.org/nafnathulur41-60.htm}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Orchard |first1=Andy | author-link= Andy Orchard |title=The Elder Edda: A Book of Viking Lore |date=2011 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=London |isbn=9780141393728}}
  • {{cite web |ref={{SfnRef|Grímnismál (ON)}}| title= Grímnismál (Old Norse) |url=https://heimskringla.no/wiki/Gr%C3%ADmnism%C3%A1l |publisher=heimskringla.com|access-date=25 September 2022}}
  • {{cite web |ref={{SfnRef|Nafnaþulur (ON)}}| title=Nafnaþulur (Old Norse) |url=https://heimskringla.no/wiki/Nafna%C3%BEulur |publisher=heimskringla.no |access-date=26 September 2022}}

{{refend}}

=Secondary=

{{refbegin}}

  • {{cite book |last1=Branston |first1=Brian |date=1980 |title=Gods of the North |publisher=Thames and Hudson |location=London}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Wang |first1=Lanchun |date=2017 |title=Freyja and Freyr: Successors of the Sun: On the Absence of the Sun in Nordic Saga Literature |publisher=Universitetet i Oslo |location=Oslo |s2cid=55929363 |language=en}}
  • {{cite web |ref = {{SfnRef|svala}}| title=svala |url=https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/svala#Old_Norse |publisher=Wiktionary |language=en |date=3 July 2022 |access-date=26 September 2022}}
  • {{cite web | ref = {{SfnRef|svalr}} | title=svalr |url=https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/svalr#Old_Norse |publisher=Wiktionary |language=en |date=5 January 2022 |access-date=26 September 2022}}

{{refend}}

{{Norse mythology}}

Category:Artifacts in Norse mythology

Category:Mythological shields