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| In ], '''Rán''' is a goddess and a personification of the ]. Rán is attested in the '']'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; the '']'', written in the 13th century by ], and in the poetry of ]s. | In ], '''Rán''' is a goddess and a personification of the ]. Rán is attested in the '']'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; the '']'', written in the 13th century by ], and in the poetry of ]s. | ||
| == |
==Attestations== | ||
| ===''Poetic Edda''=== | |||
| Rán receives three mentions in the ''Prose Edda'', twice in poetry and once in prose. The first mention occurs in a stanza in '']'', when the ] ] assists the ship of the hero ] as it encounters ferocious waters: | Rán receives three mentions in the ''Prose Edda'', twice in poetry and once in prose. The first mention occurs in a stanza in '']'', when the ] ] assists the ship of the hero ] as it encounters ferocious waters: | ||
| <blockquote> | <blockquote> | ||
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| Translator ] notes how this version of the narrative differs from how it appears in the ''Prose Edda'', where Loki catches the pike with his own hands.<ref name="BELLOWS-1936-358-359"/> | Translator ] notes how this version of the narrative differs from how it appears in the ''Prose Edda'', where Loki catches the pike with his own hands.<ref name="BELLOWS-1936-358-359"/> | ||
| ===''Prose Edda''=== | |||
| The ''Prose Edda'' sections '']'' and '']'' contain several references to Rán. Section 25 of ''Skáldskaparmál'' ("How shall sea be referred to?") manners in which poets may refer to the sea, including "husband of Ran" and "land of Ran and of Ægir's daughters", but also "father of Ægir's daughters".<ref name="FAULKES-1995-91">Faulkes (1995 : 91).</ref> | |||
| In the same section, the author cites a fragment of a work by the 11th century Icelandic skald ], where Rán is referred to as '] ... ]': | |||
| <small>Standardized ]</small> | |||
| :Ok sem kvað Refr: | |||
| ::Fœrir bjǫrn, þar er bára | |||
| ::brestr, undinna festa | |||
| ::opt í Ægis kjǫpta | |||
| ::<nowiki>*</nowiki>ursǫl Gymis vǫlva.<ref name="FAULKES-1998-37">Faulkes (1998: 37).</ref> | |||
| <small>Anthony Faulkes translation</small> | |||
| :And as Ref said: | |||
| ::Gymir's spray-cold spæ-wife often brings the twisted-rope-bear into Ægir's jaws where the wave breaks.<ref name="FAULKES-1995-91"/> | |||
| ==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
| Line 50: | Line 67: | ||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
| {{refbegin}} | {{refbegin}} | ||
| * Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995 ). ''Edda''. ]. {{ISBN|0-460-87616-3}} | |||
| * Faulkes, Anthony. (Editor) 1998. ]. | |||
| * ] (Trans.) (1936). ''The Poetic Edda''. ]. New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation. | * ] (Trans.) (1936). ''The Poetic Edda''. ]. New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation. | ||
| * Larrington, Carolyne (Trans.) (1999 ). ''The Poetic Edda''. ]. {{ISBN|0-19-283946-2}} | * Larrington, Carolyne (Trans.) (1999 ). ''The Poetic Edda''. ]. {{ISBN|0-19-283946-2}} | ||
Revision as of 07:47, 8 March 2018
In Norse mythology, Rán is a goddess and a personification of the sea. Rán is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and in the poetry of skalds.
Attestations
Poetic Edda
Rán receives three mentions in the Prose Edda, twice in poetry and once in prose. The first mention occurs in a stanza in Helgakviða Hundingsbana I, when the valkyrie Sigrún assists the ship of the hero Helgi as it encounters ferocious waters:
Henry Adams Bellows translation
- But from above did Sigrun brave
- Aid the men and all their faring;
- Mightily came from the claws of Ron
- The leader's sea-beast off Gnipalund.
Carolyne Larrington translation
- And Sigrun above, brave in battle,
- protected them and their vessel;
- the king's sea-beasts twisted powerfully,
- out of Ran's hand toward Gnipalund.
In the notes for her translation, Larrington says that Rán "seeks to catch and drown men in her net" and that "to give someone to the sea-goddess is to drown them."
The second instance occurs in a stanza found in Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar. In this stanza, the hero Atli references Rán while flyting with Hrímgerðr, a female jötunn:
Henry Adams Bellows translation:
- "Witch, in front of the ship thou wast,
- And lay before the fjord;
- To Ron wouldst have given the ruler's men,
- If a spear had not stuck in thy flesh."
Carolyne Larrington translation:
- 'Ogress, you stood before the prince's ships
- and blocked the fjord mouth;
- the king's men you were going to give to Ran,
- if a spear hadn't lodged in your flesh.'
Finally, in the prose introduction to Reginsmál, Loki visits Rán (here rendered as Ron) to borrow her net:
- sent Loki to get the gold; he went to Ron and got her net, and went then to Andvari's fall and cast the net in front of the pike, and the pike leaped into the net.
Translator Henry Adams Bellows notes how this version of the narrative differs from how it appears in the Prose Edda, where Loki catches the pike with his own hands.
Prose Edda
The Prose Edda sections Skáldskaparmál and Háttatal contain several references to Rán. Section 25 of Skáldskaparmál ("How shall sea be referred to?") manners in which poets may refer to the sea, including "husband of Ran" and "land of Ran and of Ægir's daughters", but also "father of Ægir's daughters".
In the same section, the author cites a fragment of a work by the 11th century Icelandic skald Hofgarða-Refr Gestsson, where Rán is referred to as 'Gymir's ... völva':
Standardized Old Norse
- Ok sem kvað Refr:
- Fœrir bjǫrn, þar er bára
- brestr, undinna festa
- opt í Ægis kjǫpta
- *ursǫl Gymis vǫlva.
Anthony Faulkes translation
- And as Ref said:
- Gymir's spray-cold spæ-wife often brings the twisted-rope-bear into Ægir's jaws where the wave breaks.
Notes
- Bellows (1936: 299-300). Bellows renders Old Norse Rán as Ron throughout his translation.
- Larrington (1999 : 118).
- Davidson (1999 : 279, 280).
- Bellows (1936: 281).
- Davidson (1999 : 127).
- ^ Bellows (1936: 358-359).
- ^ Faulkes (1995 : 91).
- Faulkes (1998: 37).
References
- Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995 ). Edda. Everyman. ISBN 0-460-87616-3
- Faulkes, Anthony. (Editor) 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. I. Viking Society for Northern Research.
- Bellows, Henry Adams (Trans.) (1936). The Poetic Edda. Princeton University Press. New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation.
- Larrington, Carolyne (Trans.) (1999 ). The Poetic Edda. Oxford World's Classics. ISBN 0-19-283946-2