Hræsvelgr

Hræsvelgr, also Hræsvelgr or Hräswelg, in Norse mythology, a giant in eagle form, kindles with his wings the wind.

Swell

In the Poetic Edda Hræsvelgr only mentioned in the song Vafþrúðnismál. It reads:

" Seg [ ... ] hvaðan vindr of Kemr, SVA at ferr Vág yfir; æ menn han sjálfan of SJA. Hræsvelgr heitir, he SITR á himins enda, jötunn í Arnar ham; af hans vængjum kvæða vind coma alla menn yfir. "

"Tell [ ... ] where the wind comes, so that it blows across the water; never sees him yourself Hräswelg he is, sitting at the edge of heaven, a giant in eagle shape; of its wings - So to say - the wind comes of all people. "

Snorri Sturluson in the Prose Edda adds still added that the eagle sits at the northern edge of the sky and the wind that arises because Hræsvelgr spreads the wings.

" Hvaðan Kemr vindr? [ ... ] Á enda norðanverðum himins SITR jötunn sá, he Hræsvelgr heitir. Hann Hezir arnarham, en he hann beinir flight, Tha standa vindar undan vængjum hans. "

" Where does the wind come from? [ ... ] On the northern edge of heaven sits the giant, the Hräswelg means. It has the shape of an eagle, and if he spreads the wings, so the wind is formed under his wings. "

Furthermore, the lead Þulur the name on both Heiti for giants ( jötunn ) as well as eagles. That is, a poet could use Hræsvelgrs name as a synonym for eagle or giant.

Reception

After the song Vafþrúðnismál Hræsvelgr sits on the edge of the world, specifically in the North and Snorri Sturluson white.

His cosmological significance is that he is the personification of the wind. When he lifts his wings, he kindled the wind that comes over people. The idea is obvious to other people know a giant bird that causes the wind.

Strictly speaking Hræsvelgr but no eagle, but a giant who looks just like an eagle. Outside Adler, inside giant. In Norse mythology, it is not uncommon that giants or gods take eagle form. Multiple is narrated that they slip into an eagle guise, in order to fly. Jacob Grimm was of the view that wind and giant were linked because they both were seen as greedy. This property was the giant in Nordic even her name. Old Norse iǫtunn, Giant ' comes from Germanic * etunaz, wolverine ', a derivative of Germanic * etan, to eat '. According to more recent view, the giant nature 's more back to the fact that the eagle simply introduced himself as huge.

Hræsvelgrs name, Old Norse Hræsvelgr means Cremator roll, corpse eater '. The word is formed from Old Norse hræ, corpse ' and svelga, devour ', which is related to revel with neuhochdeutsch. The name is [ hrɛ ː svɛlgr ] pronounced. In Danish, he Ræsvelg is called in Swedish Räsvelg.

The name thus suggests a relationship Adler - Wind - Death ( carrion ). This relationship is also found in nature. Because the eagle not only has great swing, but he is also a scavenger. This alone could explain Hræsvelgrs name. The wind, in particular the storm, was among the Germanic peoples such as the giant voracious creatures. Even in later times were brought to Germany the storm a sacrifice to appease him. They called the wind feeding.

" The storm wind [ ... ] represents the national front as a voracious, hungry beings and seeks to appease him by in the air heaped flour. "

Also, it was believed in Germany that storm occurs when someone hanged. Near Storm announce to them. Because the eagle was also found on Germanic graves, he seems to play a role as spiritual director to have had - as someone who guided the souls into the kingdom of the dead.