Skírnismál


Skírnismál is one of the poems of the Poetic Edda. It is preserved in the 13th-century manuscripts Codex Regius and AM 748 I 4to but may have been originally composed in heathen times. Many scholars believe that the poem was acted out, perhaps in a sort of hiéros gamos.

Synopsis

The prose prologue to the poem says that the god Freyr, the son of Njörðr, sits in Odin's throne, Hliðskjálf and looked over all the worlds. On looking to Jötunheimr, the land of the giants, Freyr sees a beautiful girl, Gerðr, and is immediately seized by desire. Fearing that the object of his heart's desire is unattainable, gloom settles upon him.
The poem itself starts with the wife of Njörðr, Skaði, bidding Skírnir to ask Freyr why he is so sad. Freyr's response is sullen, yet he does confess his feelings and asks Skírnir to undertake a journey to woo Gerðr on Freyr's behalf. Skírnir agrees, and Freyr furnishes him with his magical steed and sword.
Skírnir makes his way to Jötunheimr, and eventually arrives at the hall of the giant Gymir. Gerðr, the daughter of Gymir, greets him; Skírnir immediately sets about trying to set up a sexual rendezvous between Gerðr and Freyr. He tries bribing her first with gifts, but when these are refused, he is quick to turn to coercion, with threats of violence and curses that disturb her very female identity. Unsurprisingly, Gerðr has no choice but to submit to Skírnir's wishes and agree to the rendezvous with Freyr.


In Snorri Sturluson's version of the tale, Skírnir successfully woos Gerðr without threatening to curse her.
Skírnir returns to Asgard and reports to Freyr, who asks him:
Tell me, Skírnir, before unsaddling
Skírnir replies:
Freyr responds:

Curses

There is material evidence that :no:Aslak_Liestøl|Aslak Liestøl published a thirteenth-century text which contains a curse that is notably similar to the curse Skírnir's threatened Gerðr with. Liestøl asserts that the runic inscription is a genuine spell, and was intended to work on a real woman.
Carolyne Larrington outlines the different elements of the curse Gerðr is threatened with:
  1. She will be invisible, but also a public spectacle.
  2. She will experience intolerable sexual frustration.
  3. She will have a husband.
  4. She will fall to a low social status, and will lose the little autonomy she has.
  5. She will experience "ale, authoritarian disapproval]".

    Cultural references

Skírnir's curse has partial parallels in a number of Old Norse texts, including the curse known as Buslubæn in Bósa saga and the Bergen rune-charm.
The Misty Mountains of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit are likely to have been inspired by the úrig fiöll in the Skírnismál. Tolkien was familiar with the Poetic Edda.

Translations

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