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Hörgr

January 01, 1970

A hörgr (Old Norse, pl. hörgar) or hearg (Old English, pl.  heargas) is a type of altar or cult site, possibly consisting of a heap of stones, used in Norse religion, as opposed to a roofed hall used as a hof (temple).

The Old Norse term is attested in both the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, in the sagas of Icelanders, skaldic poetry, and with its Old English cognate in Beowulf. The word is also reflected in various place names (in English placenames as harrow), often in connection with Germanic deities.

Etymology edit

Old Norse hǫrgr means "altar, sanctuary", while Old English hearg refers to a "holy grove; temple, idol".[1] From these, and the Old High German cognate harug, Proto-Germanic *harugaz has been reconstructed, possibly cognate with Insular Celtic carrac "cliff".[2]

Old Norse tradition edit

Literary edit

The term hörgr is used three times in poems collected in the Poetic Edda. In a stanza early in the poem Völuspá, the völva says that early in the mythological timeline, the gods met together at the location of Iðavöllr and constructed a hörgr and a hof (Henry Adams Bellows and Ursula Dronke here gloss hörgr as "temples"):

Old Norse:
Hittoz æsir á Iðavelli,
þeir er hǫrg ok hof hátimbroðo.[3]
Henry Adams Bellows translation:
At Ithavoll met the mighty gods;
Shrines and temples they timbered high;[4]
Ursula Dronke translation:
Æsir met on Eddying Plain
they who built towering altars and temples.[3]

In the poem Vafþrúðnismál Gagnráðr (the god Odin in disguise) engages in a game of wits with the jötunn Vafþrúðnir. Gagnráðr asks Vafþrúðnir whence the Van god Njörðr came, for though he rules over many hofs and hörgar, Njörðr was not raised among the Æsir (Benjamin Thorpe here glosses hörgr with "offer-steads" and Bellows glosses with "shrines"):

Benjamin Thorpe translation:

Tell me tenthly, since thou all the origin
of the gods knowest, Vafthrudnir!
whence Niörd came among the Æsir's sons?
O'er fanes and offer-steads he rules by hundreds,
yet he was not among the Æsir born.[5]

Henry Adams Bellows translation:

Tenth answer me now, if thou knowest all
The fate that is fixed for the gods:
Whence came up Njorth to the kin of the gods,—
(Rich in temples and shrines he rules,—)
Though of gods he was never begot?[6]

In the poem Hyndluljóð, the goddess Freyja speaks favorably of Óttar for having worshiped her so faithfully by using a hörgr. Freyja details that the hörgr is constructed of a heap of stones, and that Óttar very commonly reddened these stones with sacrificial blood (Thorpe glosses hörgr with "offer-stead", Bellows with "shrine", and Orchard with "altar"):

Benjamin Thorpe translation:
An offer-stead to me he raised,
with stones constructed;
now is the stone
as glass become.
With the blood of oxen
he newly sprinkled it.
Ottar ever trusted the Asyniur.[7]
Henry Adams Bellows translation:
For me a shrine of stones he made,
And now to glass the rock has grown;
Oft with the blood of beasts was it red;
In the goddesses ever did Ottar trust.[8]
Andy Orchard translation:
He made me a high altar
of heaped-up stones:
the gathered rocks
have grown all bloody,
and he reddened them again
with the fresh blood of cows;
Ottar has always
had faith in the ásynjur.[9]

Epigraphic edit

The place name Salhøgum, that is mentioned on a 9th-century Danish runestone known as the Snoldelev Stone, has a literal translation which combines Old Norse sal meaning "hall" with hörgar "mounds," to form "on the hall mounds," suggesting a place with a room where official meetings took place.[10] The inscription states that the man Gunnvaldr is the þulaR of Salhøgum, which has been identified as referring to the modern town Salløv, located in the vicinity of the original site of the runestone.[11]

Toponymy edit

Many place names in Iceland and Scandinavia contain the word hörgr or hörgur, such as Hörgá and Hörgsdalur in Iceland and Harg in Sweden. When Willibrord Christianized the Netherlands (~700 AD) the church of Vlaardingen had a dependency in Harago/Hargan, currently named Harga. This indicates that near those places there was some kind of religious building in medieval times.[12]

Old English tradition edit

In the interpretation of Wilson, Anglo-Saxon Paganism (1992), hearg refers to "a special type of religious site, one that occupied a prominent position on high land and was a communal place of worship for a specific group of people, a tribe or folk group, perhaps at particular times of the year", while a weoh, by contrast, was merely a small shrine by the wayside.

Beowulf has the compound hærgtrafum in the so-called "Christian excursus" (lines 175–178a), translated as "tabernacles of idols" by Hall (1950).[13]

Following the regular evolution of English phonology, Old English hearg has become harrow in modern English placenames (unrelated to the homophone harrow "agricultural implement"). The London Borough of Harrow derives its name from a temple on Harrow Hill, where St. Mary's Church stands today. The name of Harrow on the Hill (Harewe atte Hulle) was adopted into Latin as Herga super montem; the Latinized form of the Old English name is preserved in the name of Herga Road in Harrow.[14][15]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Simek (2007:156).
  2. ^ Gerhard Köbler, Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed. (2014). Pokorny (1959) s.v. "3. kar- 'hard'".
  3. ^ a b Dronke (1997:8).
  4. ^ Bellows (1936:5).
  5. ^ Thorpe (1866:16).
  6. ^ Bellows (1923:79).
  7. ^ Thorpe (1866:108).
  8. ^ Bellows (1936:221).
  9. ^ Orchard (1997:89).
  10. ^ Sundqvist (2009:660-661)
  11. ^ Peterson (2002).
  12. ^ Kvaran (2006).
  13. ^ Yasuharu Eto, "Hearg and weoh in Beowulf, ll. 175-8a" The Bulletin of the Japanese Association for Studies in the History of the English Language, 2007, 15-7.
  14. ^ Briggs, Keith "Harrow", Journal of the English Place-name Society, volume 42 (2010), 43-64
  15. ^ Room, Adrian: “Dictionary of Place-Names in the British Isles”, Bloomsbury, 1988. ISBN 0-7475-0170-X

References edit

January 01, 1970
hörgr, hörgr, norse, hörgar, hearg, english, heargas, type, altar, cult, site, possibly, consisting, heap, stones, used, norse, religion, opposed, roofed, hall, used, temple, norse, term, attested, both, poetic, edda, prose, edda, sagas, icelanders, skaldic, p. A horgr Old Norse pl horgar or hearg Old English pl heargas is a type of altar or cult site possibly consisting of a heap of stones used in Norse religion as opposed to a roofed hall used as a hof temple The Old Norse term is attested in both the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda in the sagas of Icelanders skaldic poetry and with its Old English cognate in Beowulf The word is also reflected in various place names in English placenames as harrow often in connection with Germanic deities Contents 1 Etymology 2 Old Norse tradition 2 1 Literary 2 2 Epigraphic 2 3 Toponymy 3 Old English tradition 4 Notes 5 ReferencesEtymology editOld Norse hǫrgr means altar sanctuary while Old English hearg refers to a holy grove temple idol 1 From these and the Old High German cognate harug Proto Germanic harugaz has been reconstructed possibly cognate with Insular Celtic carrac cliff 2 Old Norse tradition editLiterary edit The term horgr is used three times in poems collected in the Poetic Edda In a stanza early in the poem Voluspa the volva says that early in the mythological timeline the gods met together at the location of Idavollr and constructed a horgr and a hof Henry Adams Bellows and Ursula Dronke here gloss horgr as temples Old Norse Hittoz aesir a Idavelli their er hǫrg ok hof hatimbrodo 3 Henry Adams Bellows translation At Ithavoll met the mighty gods Shrines and temples they timbered high 4 Ursula Dronke translation AEsir met on Eddying Plain they who built towering altars and temples 3 In the poem Vafthrudnismal Gagnradr the god Odin in disguise engages in a game of wits with the jotunn Vafthrudnir Gagnradr asks Vafthrudnir whence the Van god Njordr came for though he rules over many hofs and horgar Njordr was not raised among the AEsir Benjamin Thorpe here glosses horgr with offer steads and Bellows glosses with shrines Benjamin Thorpe translation Tell me tenthly since thou all the origin of the gods knowest Vafthrudnir whence Niord came among the AEsir s sons O er fanes and offer steads he rules by hundreds yet he was not among the AEsir born 5 Henry Adams Bellows translation Tenth answer me now if thou knowest all The fate that is fixed for the gods Whence came up Njorth to the kin of the gods Rich in temples and shrines he rules Though of gods he was never begot 6 In the poem Hyndluljod the goddess Freyja speaks favorably of ottar for having worshiped her so faithfully by using a horgr Freyja details that the horgr is constructed of a heap of stones and that ottar very commonly reddened these stones with sacrificial blood Thorpe glosses horgr with offer stead Bellows with shrine and Orchard with altar Benjamin Thorpe translation An offer stead to me he raised with stones constructed now is the stone as glass become With the blood of oxen he newly sprinkled it Ottar ever trusted the Asyniur 7 Henry Adams Bellows translation For me a shrine of stones he made And now to glass the rock has grown Oft with the blood of beasts was it red In the goddesses ever did Ottar trust 8 Andy Orchard translation He made me a high altar of heaped up stones the gathered rocks have grown all bloody and he reddened them again with the fresh blood of cows Ottar has always had faith in the asynjur 9 Epigraphic edit The place name Salhogum that is mentioned on a 9th century Danish runestone known as the Snoldelev Stone has a literal translation which combines Old Norse sal meaning hall with horgar mounds to form on the hall mounds suggesting a place with a room where official meetings took place 10 The inscription states that the man Gunnvaldr is the thulaR of Salhogum which has been identified as referring to the modern town Sallov located in the vicinity of the original site of the runestone 11 Toponymy edit Many place names in Iceland and Scandinavia contain the word horgr or horgur such as Horga and Horgsdalur in Iceland and Harg in Sweden When Willibrord Christianized the Netherlands 700 AD the church of Vlaardingen had a dependency in Harago Hargan currently named Harga This indicates that near those places there was some kind of religious building in medieval times 12 Old English tradition editIn the interpretation of Wilson Anglo Saxon Paganism 1992 hearg refers to a special type of religious site one that occupied a prominent position on high land and was a communal place of worship for a specific group of people a tribe or folk group perhaps at particular times of the year while a weoh by contrast was merely a small shrine by the wayside Beowulf has the compound haergtrafum in the so called Christian excursus lines 175 178a translated as tabernacles of idols by Hall 1950 13 Following the regular evolution of English phonology Old English hearg has become harrow in modern English placenames unrelated to the homophone harrow agricultural implement The London Borough of Harrow derives its name from a temple on Harrow Hill where St Mary s Church stands today The name of Harrow on the Hill Harewe atte Hulle was adopted into Latin as Herga super montem the Latinized form of the Old English name is preserved in the name of Herga Road in Harrow 14 15 Notes edit Simek 2007 156 Gerhard Kobler Germanisches Worterbuch 5th ed 2014 Pokorny 1959 s v 3 kar hard a b Dronke 1997 8 Bellows 1936 5 Thorpe 1866 16 Bellows 1923 79 Thorpe 1866 108 Bellows 1936 221 Orchard 1997 89 Sundqvist 2009 660 661 Peterson 2002 Kvaran 2006 Yasuharu Eto Hearg and weoh in Beowulf ll 175 8a The Bulletin of the Japanese Association for Studies in the History of the English Language 2007 15 7 Briggs Keith Harrow Journal of the English Place name Society volume 42 2010 43 64 Room Adrian Dictionary of Place Names in the British Isles Bloomsbury 1988 ISBN 0 7475 0170 XReferences editBellows Henry Adams Trans 1936 The Poetic Edda Princeton University Press New York The American Scandinavian Foundation Bellows Henry Adams Trans 1923 The Poetic Edda American Scandinavian Foundation Dronke Ursula Trans 1997 The Poetic Edda Volume II Mythological Poems Oxford University Press ISBN 0 19 811181 9 Kvaran Gudrun May 29 2006 Hvad thydir ordid horgur Visindavefurinn Orchard Andy 1997 Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend Cassell ISBN 0 304 34520 2 Peterson Lena 2002 Nordisk runnamslexikon Swedish Institute for Linguistics and Heritage Institutet for sprak och folkminnen Simek Rudolf 2007 translated by Angela Hall Dictionary of Northern Mythology D S Brewer ISBN 0 85991 513 1 Sundqvist Olof 2009 The Hanging the Nine Nights and the Precious Knowledge In Heizmann Wilhelm Beck Heinrich eds Analecta Septentrionalia Berlin Walter de Gruyter ISBN 978 3 11 021869 5 Thorpe Benjamin Trans 1866 Edda Saemundar Hinns Froda The Edda of Saemund the Learned Part I London Trubner amp Co Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Horgr amp oldid 1175552627, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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