Járnsaxa

Járnsaxa (/jɑːrnˈsæksə/; Old Norse: [ˈjɑːrnˌsɑksɑ], "iron dagger") is a jötunn in Norse mythology. In Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, she is portrayed as Thor's lover and as the mother of Magni, a three-year-old boy with prodigious force.^[1]

Name

The Old Norse name Járnsaxa has been translated as 'iron dagger',^[2] or 'armed-with-an-iron-sword'.^[1]

Attestations

In Hyndluljóð, Járnsaxa is named as one of the Nine Mothers of Heimdallr.^[1]

In Skáldskaparmál, Thor's wife the goddess Sif is either herself called "Járnsaxa" or called by a kenning meaning "the rival of Járnsaxa",^[3] throwing confusion on whether Sif is or is not distinct from Járnsaxa the mother of Magni.^[4] At the end of the story, Odin argues that Thor did wrong to offer the splendid horse Gullfaxi to Magni, the son of a giantess, rather than to himself, the father of Thor.^[1]

Notes

References

• Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1987). Edda. Everyman. ISBN 0-460-87616-3.
• Lindow, John (2002). Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-983969-8.
• Orchard, Andy (1997). Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. Cassell. ISBN 978-0-304-34520-5.
• Simek, Rudolf (1996). Dictionary of Northern Mythology. D.S. Brewer. ISBN 978-0-85991-513-7.

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