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' Ot
THE GODS. 129
the Friendly Hall—the Agsembling-place of the
Goddesses, stands beside Valhalla as the abode of
Odin's Chosen Sons.
Odin's 'marriage relations, so far as we know of
them, have reference to the reciprocal relations of
Heaven and Earth. J6r5, the Ea/rth,* is usually
called Odin's wife, but sometimes also 'his daughter.
The Earth is often mentioned as a divine Being, as
Fjorgyn, the IAfe-givvng,\ or as HloSyn, the Warm-
ing / and as the Fruit-bearing it is specially personified
in Eriga.:]: Her abode, Fensalir, the Marshy
IIaUs,% denotes the deep, moist earth. In the rep-
resentation of the ^sir generally as the children of
Odin by the Earth or Friga, the idea is evidently
expressed that the Powers operating in the natural
"World, came into being through the influence of
Heaven upon the Earth, of Spirit over Matter.
Thor is the G-od of Thunder. The name express-
es this attribute, as f)6r is a contraction of |)6nr
or"|)6nar,|| and thus signifies Thunder, or the Thun-
*'*J6r5; Maso-Ooth. airjja; Old Qcrm. erda; A.-8. eorOe; Engl.
the Earth.
t From fjor, life.
:|: Grimm supposes this word to be derived from fria ; Ooth.
frijon ; Old High Germ, frion ; to love ; cognate with the Old
Saxon fri ; A. S. freo ; woman. He traces the grammatical affini-
ties of the words Friga, Freyja, Freyr, through all the Old-Ger-
manic languages, and shows that the original signification is that
of joyful, glad, imparting gladness, beauteous, lovely {Deui.
Mythol., p. 17, etc.).
§ From fen ; ^.-;Si. fen ; Sngl. fen ; which in the Norse may
also signify the watery deep; and salr; Old Oerm..saX; Old Sax.
seli; A-S. sele; Z)a«.Sal; ©erm. Saal; a Saloon, Hall, Mansion.
II Corresponding Germanic names; A.-S. |>ur, |)unor, J)under;
Old S. funar ;
Qoth, funrs.