Thorgerd Haelgabrud
and Irpa
Within one of the greater families, the ancestral Disir might
attain the
rank of goddesses and become the objects of something more than
private
worship. Of this there is an example in the goddesses of the
Haloigja
family, namely Thorgerd Hślgabrud and her sister Irpa. Thorgerd
was the
daughter of an ancient mythical king Hślgi, after whom Halogaland
is said
to have its name; that is, Hślgi is the eponymous hero of the
district, the
personal name having been formed by the operation of myth to
explain the
place name. Thorgerd Hślgabrud is also called, but less correctly,
Horgabrud and Horgatroll. In more recent saga tradition this
designation of
“troll” no doubt had some connection with the aid she was supposed
to
have given to Hakon, Earl of Lade, in the battle of Hjorungavag.
According
to Snorri’s Edda (I, 400), her father also was worshipped; the
mound in
which he was buried was constructed from alternate layers of earth
and
stone, and of silver and gold — “these were the treasures offered
up before
him.”
Sources:
Peter
Andreas Munch: Norse Mythology: Legends of Gods
and Heroes. The American-Scandinavian Foundation, New
York. 1926, pp. 34.
Rasmus B. Anderson (Ed.): The Elder Eddas of Saemund
Sigfusson and the Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson.
Norrćna Society, London-New York. 1906.
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