30 flood
found in 1651 in the possession of a man living in
Iceland when the King of Denmark gathered up
many manuscripts from the people of that island.
After being kept in Copenhagen for centuries,
Flateyjarbok is now in the Árni Magnússon Institute
in Iceland.
Most of that institute’s enormous collection is
made up of the semihistorical stories of the kings of
Norway. Flateyjarbok does, however, contain poems
that are important to Norse mythology. H yndlul -
joth tells of the goddess Freya, the Aesir, and Thor.
It also includes, by way of the genealogy of Freya’s
human lover Ottar, the names of many of the rulers
of Scandinavia.
The S orla T hattr , a poem found in the Flatey-
jarbok, tells the story of Loki’s transformation into
a fly in order to enter Freya’s bedroom and steal
her famous necklace, Brisinga men. From a fly,
Loki turns himself into a flea, bites Freya, undoes
the clasp of the necklace, and takes the necklace to
Odin.
Flateyjarbok contains many thaettir ( þœttir), which
are short stories, or small narrative pieces, found
in many medieval Icelandic manuscripts. Some of
Flateyjarbok’s thaettir combine elements of the heroic
legend with mythical features, including battles with
monsters and heroes with extra-human strength.
Scholars attribute the addition of these short stories
to the works of the scribes who copied the manu-
scripts. The Sorla Thattr, for example, retells the story
of the Aesir gods as humans, which is part of Snorri
Sturluson’s Heimskringla.
flood At the time of creation in Norse mythol-
ogy, the giant Ymir was killed by the gods. His
spurting blood created a flood. All the giants were
drowned except Bergelmir and his wife, who created
a new race of giants.
Oceans, seas, and lakes were formed from Ymir’s
blood. Stories of floods occur in many mythologies
around the world, from India and Russia to New
Guinea and North and South America.
F olkvang ( F olkvangr ;
People Field; Field of
the Folk) The part of Asgard that belonged to the
goddess Freya. The meaning of the word Folkvangr
suggests a battlefield. To this great section of Asgard,
Freya welcomed her half of the slain human heroes
who died each day. The other half went to Odin’s
Valhalla.
In Folkvangr, Freya built her hall, Sessrumnir.
Freya’s portion of Asgard is first named in G rimnis -
mal , a poem in the P oetic E dda , and described by
Snorri Sturluson in G ylfaginning .
F ornjot (Destroyer)
A giant. Thirteenth-
century Icelandic author Snorri Sturluson identi-
fied Fornjot as the father of the wind. Modern
scholars believe him to be a very old giant, perhaps
one of the oldest figures in Norse mythology. Forn-
jot may also have been father of the Hrimthurssar,
or Rime-giants.
F orseti God of justice and conciliation. Forseti
was the son of Balder and Nanna. His hall was
Glitnir.
Not much is known about Forseti, but place-names
such as Forsetlund, near Oslo Fjord in Norway, sug-
gest that he once may have been an important god.
F reki (Ravenous) One of the wolf companions of
the god Odin. The other was Geri, whose name also
means “ravenous.” Odin fed the wolves all the meat
that was given to him, for he needed only to drink the
divine mead to survive. The wolves attended him at
Hlidskjalf, his high seat, and also at Valhalla.
F rey (F reyr ;
Lord) One of the great gods of
Norse mythology. His name means “lord,” as his
sister Freya’s means “lady.” Frey was the lord of the
Sun, rain, and harvests. He was a shining god, bring-
ing fertility and prosperity to all. Son of the Vanir
god Njord, Frey was one of the hostages asked to live
in Asgard after the Aesir/Vanir War. His home was
Alfheim (elf-world), and he was sometimes known as
Lord of the Elves.
Among the treasures of the dwarfs that belonged
to Frey were the ship Skidbladnir, which could carry
all the gods and their horses and armor and yet be
folded small enough to fit in a pouch; the golden boar
Gullinbursti, which plowed the earth and made it
green; and a magic sword that struck out at Jotuns
and trolls of its own accord. Frey gave this sword as
a bride price to Gerda’s father, Gymir. He would
regret its loss at Ragnarok, when he battled with the
fire demon Surt and lost his life.
Frey wed Gerda after his servant Skirnir had
wooed her for him. Many scholars interpret the story
“Frey and Gerda” as a legend about the wooing of the
frozen Earth (Gerda) by the warm Sun (Frey).