fulla 33
craftsmen had made a golden necklace of outstand-
ing beauty. Freya knew at once that she would do
anything to get the necklace that the dwarfs called
the Brisinga men.
She offered the dwarfs gold and silver, but as
Dvalin pointed out, they already had all the precious
metals and gems of the underworld for the taking.
Freya began to weep golden tears. At last Dvalin said
they would give her the necklace if she would agree
to spend a day and a night with each of the dwarfs.
Freya was so overcome with greed that she gave her-
self to the company of the four ugly little creatures
for four days and four nights. When she went back to
her palace at Folkvangr, she was wearing the Brisinga
men around her neck.
Now Loki, the mischief maker, had followed
Freya to Svartalfheim, the home of the dwarfs, and
had seen everything that had happened. He ran to
tell Odin. Odin was furious when he heard the story.
He asked Loki to take the necklace from Freya and
bring it to him.
Loki had a hard time getting into Freya’s sleeping
chamber at Sessrumnir, her palace, for all the doors
and windows were tightly shut. At last the shape-
shifter turned himself into a small fly and entered
the room through a hole as small as a needle’s eye.
Loki saw that Freya was wearing the necklace around
her neck, with the clasp underneath her so he could
not reach it. Never at a loss, Loki turned himself into
a flea and bit the goddess on her cheek. She turned
restlessly in her sleep and exposed the clasp. Quickly
Loki turned back into his own shape, removed the
necklace, unlocked the door, and crept out.
When Freya discovered her loss, she ran to Odin
and told her story, weeping bitterly. Cold with anger
at Freya’s tale of greed and lust, Odin said he would
retrieve the jewel for her only if she would agree to
stir up a terrible war between two powerful chieftains
on Earth. He demanded killing and bloodshed. After-
ward Freya should bring the slain heroes back to life.
Freya willingly agreed to the terms, for like Odin, she
had the gift of sorcery and a lust for battle and heroes.
Then Odin sent for Heimdall, the watchman of
the gods, and told him to go after Loki and bring
back Freya’s trinket.
Loki turned himself into a seal and swam to a rock
near Singastein, but a moment later Heimdall, too,
had become a seal. The two fought a fierce battle.
In the end Heimdall, with the necklace in his hand,
led the dripping Loki out of the water and back to
Odin.
The story of the Brisinga men is from the 10th-
century skaldic poem Husdrapa and the S orla T hattr ,
found in the 14th-century manuscript F lateyjarbok
(Book of the Flat Island ).
friday In modern English, the sixth day of the
week, or the fifth working day. Friday takes its name
from Frigg, the Aesir goddess of love and marriage
and wife of Odin. In some Germanic languages,
the name for this day of the week comes from
Freya, principal Vanir goddess, also of love and
fertility.
Both goddesses serve similar functions in Norse
mythology, and scholars propose that it is not sur-
prising that their names are similar and that they
influence place names, and even the name of the day,
in a similar manner.
F rigg (F rigga , F rija )
The chief Aesir goddess;
wife of Odin; her father is Fjorgyn (2). Frigg herself
is called Earth Mother. She is associated with
love, marriage, and motherhood. Frigg is frequently
pictured as being very beautiful, wearing a girdle
hung with household keys, and weaving clouds on
her spinning wheel. Eleven handmaidens attended
her in her hall, Fensalir. Frigg was the mother of
Balder, and, according to some sources, she was also
the mother of Thor, the thunder god, and of Hodur,
the blind god who unwittingly killed Balder.
Because of the fragmentary nature of the Norse
Eddas and Sagas, there are conflicting views of
Frigg. Besides her portrayal as a devoted wife and
mother, Frigg also appears as a sorceress who wears
a falcon skin and sees into the future and as a
wanton woman who covets gold and jewelry and the
love of men. She and the goddess Freya have a lot
in common. Some believe they are various facets of
the same deity.
F ulla (F yllr , F ylla ;
Bountiful) One of the
female goddesses, or asynjur, named by 13th-
century Icelandic writer Snorri Sturluson in his
work G ylfaginning . Fulla wore her hair loose, with a
golden band around her head. A virgin, Fulla served
the goddess Frigg by carrying her basket, tending her
shoes, and keeping her secrets. Fulla was one of the
three goddesses to whom the dead god Balder sent
gifts from Hel (2). She received a gold ring.
Some scholars believe Fulla was an ancient god-
dess of fertility modified over time into the smaller
role of Frigg’s servant.