Barri


In Norse mythology, Barri is the place where Freyr and Gerðr are to consummate their union, as stated in the Skírnismál:
In Snorri Sturluson's account of the myth, the place is called Barrey or Barey:
The meaning of the name is uncertain. Barri is called a grove but Barey is probably an island and could be connected with Barra, one of the Hebrides islands, which was once called Barrey. The meaning of the first part of the name, barr, is not very enlightening for it has several meanings: "pine needle", "conifer", "tree" or "grain", especially "barley". Magnus Olsen suggested that Barri meant "cornfield". This supports his interpretation of the union of Freyr and Gerðr as a holy wedding between a fertility god and the Earth Mother. But this interpretation has been contested and Barri could be rendered into "coniferous forest" and the signification of Barrey might be "barley-island" or "grain-island", which, John Lindow underlined, "makes no sense in the context of a fertility myth".