Summary
Narfi (Old Norse: [ˈnɑrve]), also Nörfi (O.N.: Nǫrfi [ˈnɔrve]), Nari or Nörr (O.N.: Nǫrr [ˈnɔrː]), is a jötunn in Norse mythology, and the father of Nótt, the personified night.
| Narfi | |
|---|---|
| Norse mythology character | |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | Nörfi |
| Species | Jötunn |
| Gender | Male |
| Children | Nótt |
Name edit
The Old Norse name Nǫrr has been related to the Old Saxon narouua ('night'), a name which occurs in the verse narouua naht an skion of the fragmentary Genesis poem.[n 1] In adjectival form, the Old Norse nǫrr means 'narrow',[1] and the name Nar(f)i may have shared the same meaning.[2]
Thus, the jötunn's name, as first suggested by Adolf Noreen, may be a synonym for "night" or, perhaps more likely, an adjective related to Old English nearwe, "narrow", meaning "closed-in" and thus "oppressive".[3][4][5]
Snorri Sturluson cites Narfi as an alternative form of the name of the jötunn Nörfi, and the variants Nör and Nörvi also appear in Norse poetry.[2]
Attestations edit
According to the Gylfaginning section of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, Nótt is the daughter of the jötunn "Nörfi or Narfi".[6][7] However, in the Poetic Edda, Nótt's father is called Nörr (not to be confused with Nór), primarily for reasons of alliteration.[6] This name is only recorded in the dative form Nǫrvi (variant spelling Naurvi).[8]
The name of Nótt's father is recorded in several forms in Old Norse sources:[9]
- Naurr, Nörr (dative Naurvi, Nörvi): "Vafþrúðnismál" 25 "Nótt var Naurvi borin", "Alvíssmál" 29 "Nótt in Naurvi kennda".
- Narvi, Narfi: Gylfaginning 10, a poem of Egill Skallagrímsson "niðerfi Narfa".
- Norvi, Nörvi: Gylfaginning 10, "Forspjallsljóð" 7 "kund Nörva".
- Njörfi, Njörvi: Gylfaginning 10, "Sonatorrek" "Njörva nipt".
- Nori: Gylfaginning 10.
- Nari: "Höfuðlausn" 10.
- Neri: "Helgakviða Hundingsbana I", 4.
Theories edit
Various scholars have argued that Snorri based his genealogy of Nótt on classical models.[8][10] They relate Narfi to Erebus, which would make nipt Nera, used in "Helgakviða Hundingsbana I" for a Norn who comes in the night, an appellation derived from the Parcae, who were Erebus' daughters.[11]
Legacy edit
In "A Great Man's Return", a song on their album Valdr Galga, the Swedish viking metal band Thyrfing refer to "Norve's starfilled sky".[12][13]
In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings Part One, The Fellowship of the Ring, the dwarf maker of the Doors of Durin signed them "Narvi"; in drafts, Tolkien spelt the name Narfi as in the Prose Edda.[14][15]
In a season 13 episode of Supernatural, Narfi captures and sells the archangel Gabriel to Asmodeus.
Notes edit
- ^ See Behaghel, Otto (1933). Heliand und Genesis p. 245. Not in Old English, an error made in de Vries 1962, pp. 414–415, reproduced in Simek 1996, p. 235.
References edit
- ^ de Vries 1962, pp. 414–415.
- ^ a b Orchard 1997, p. 117.
- ^ Sophus Bugge, The Home of the Eddic poems: With Especial Reference to the Helgi-Lays, tr. William Henry Schofield, Grimm library 11, London: Nutt, 1899, OCLC 2857921, p. 99.
- ^ Hugo Gering and Barend Symons, Kommentar zu den Liedern der Edda, Germanistische Handbibliothek 7(3), Halle: Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses, 1927, OCLC 277594015, p. 14.
- ^ Tette Hofstra, "A note on the 'Darkness of the night' motif in alliterative poetry, and the search for the poet of the Old Saxon Heliand", in Loyal Letters: Studies on Mediaeval Alliterative Poetry & Prose, ed. L. A. J. R. Houwen and A. A. MacDonald, Mediaevalia Groningana 15, Groningen: Egbert Forsten, 1994, ISBN 9789069800752, p. 104.
- ^ a b "Nǫrr", Rudolf Simek, tr. Angela Hall, Dictionary of Northern Mythology, Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1993, repr. 2000, ISBN 9780859915137, p. 235.
- ^ "Nótt (Night)", John Lindow, Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs, Oxford/New York: Oxford University, 2001, ISBN 9780195153828, p. 246.
- ^ a b "Nótt", Simek, p. 238.
- ^ Viktor Rydberg, Teutonic Mythology: Gods and Goddesses of the Northland, tr. Rasmus B. Anderson, Volume 2, Norroena Anglo-Saxon Classics 4, London/New York: Norroena Society, 1907, OCLC 605631726, p. 611.
- ^ Bugge, pp. 100–01.
- ^ Bugge, p. 101.
- ^ "A Great Man's Return", Metal Kingdom.net.
- ^ "A Great Man's Return Lyrics", Lyrics Depot.com.
- ^ J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, Boston: Mariner / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1994, repr. 2012, ISBN 9780547928210, p. 318.
- ^ Christopher Tolkien and J. R. R. Tolkien, The treason of Isengard: The History of the Lord of the Rings, Part Two, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1989, ISBN 9780395515624, p. 188.
Bibliography edit
- de Vries, Jan (1962). Altnordisches Etymologisches Worterbuch (1977 ed.). Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-05436-3.
- Lindow, John (2001). 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.