TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY. - Centrostudirpinia.it

302
GODDESSES.
such words as : Goth, freis, frijis (liber), OHG. fri ; Goth, frijon
(amare), OHG. frion ; especially may we take into account the OS.
neut. M (mulier), Hel. 9, 21. 13, 16. 171, 21. 172, 1, the AS.
freo (mulier), Cicdm. 29, 28. freolic cwen (pulcra femina), Beow.
1275. freolicu meowle, Cod. exon. 479, 2. freolic wif, Beow. 1222.
1
freolic foemne, Coedm. 12, 12. 54, 28.
Now, as fri (liber) and our
frech, ON. frekr (protervus, impudens), fri (mulier formosa) and
ON". frier (forinosus), fritJr (pax) seem to be all related, even the
adjectival forms betray the shifting sense of the substantival.2
We gather from all this, that the forms and even the meanings
of the two names border closely on one another. Freyja means the
gladsome, gladdening, sweet, gracious goddess, Frigg the free,
beautiful, loveable ; to the former attaches the general notion of
frau (mistress), to the latter that of fri (woman). Holda, from hold
(sweet, kind), and Berhta from berht (bright, beautiful) resemble
them both. The Swedish folk-song, in naming Froijenborg, calls
her den viina solen, the beautiful sun.
Hence the mingling of their myths becomes the more con
ceivable. Saxo, p. 13, relates how Friyga, to obtain gold for her
ornaments, violated conjugal fidelity; more minutely told, and
differing much in the details, the tale about Freyja in Sn. 356
appears to be the same adventure. On quite another ground
however the like offence is imputed to Frigg too (S^em. 63. Yngl.
saga cap. 3). In Sn. 81 the valshamr of Freyja is spoken of, but in
113-9 that of Frigg ; the former is Severn. supported by 70.
Hence the variations in the name for the day of the week. The
OHG. Friatac ought clearly to be Friggjardagr in ON., and the
ON. Freyjuda.gr should be Frouwuntac in OHG. Hence too the
uncertainty in the naming of a constellation and of several plants.
Orion s belt, elsewhere named Jacob s staff and also spindle (coins
r]\afcdrrj), is called by the Swedish people Friggerock (colus Friggae,
Hire, p. 663) or a
Frejcrock (Finn Magnusen 361 as we noticed
),
before, or Frojas rock (Wieselgren. 383). The orchis odoratissima,
satyrium albidum, a plant from which love-potions are brewed, Icel.
Friggjargras, otherwise hionagras (herba conjugalis) ; the later
1 Conf. the MHG. wiplich wip, Parz. 10, 17. MS. 1, 50* 202*. 2, 42 b
182 b 258 a . wibin wip, MsH. 1, 359 b ; similarly 6rj\vrfpai yvvalnes, Od. 11,
386. 434. 15, 422. Hesiod scut. 4.
2 We might connect Venus with the Goth, qino, qens, as venire with
the Ir. dia
qjman ; the Wei. gwen would answer to Gvenus for Venus ;
beine, Friday, from bean, len (lady) = Venus = AS. cwen.