Freya’s Necklace
Freya’s Necklace, known as Brisingamen, is a significant artifact in Norse mythology linked to Freya, the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. The tale begins when Freya encounters dwarfs crafting this exquisite golden necklace and becomes enamored with its beauty. In her desire to possess it, she offers a substantial amount of silver, but the dwarfs insist that only her love is worthy of the necklace. Consequently, Freya reluctantly agrees to wed four dwarfs for a day and a night, despite being married to Óðr. This act of infidelity leads to a series of events where Loki, the god of mischief, reveals her secret to Óðr, who subsequently abandons Freya, leaving her to seek forgiveness from Odin. The story serves as a cautionary tale about the perils of disloyalty, emphasizing the complexities of love and commitment in Norse culture. Additionally, the narrative explores themes of beauty, sacrifice, and the consequences of one's choices, with Freya's eternal penance symbolized by her necklace, which is said to shed tears that turn into gold and amber.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Freya’s Necklace
Author: Traditional Norse
Time Period: 1001 CE–1500 CE
Country or Culture: Scandinavia
Genre: Myth
PLOT SUMMARY
While out for a walk on the borders of her palace grounds in Asgard Freya (Freyja)—the Norse goddess of love, beauty, and fertility—encounters dwarfs creating a beautiful golden necklace. Her weakness for beautiful objects, jewelry in particular, compels her to offer the dwarfs whatever sum of silver they desire in exchange for the necklace, which was known as Brisingamen (Brísingamen or Brísing amen), or the Brising necklace, an object of tremendous pride and value within the dwarf kingdom.
The dwarfs refuse the goddess’s offer, insisting that no amount of silver is of equal value to the golden necklace. Freya, ultimately driven to madness by her desire for the necklace, offers to reward the dwarfs with any treasure in the world they would accept in exchange for it.
The dwarfs say that only the love of Freya herself is worthy of the beautiful necklace, and they insist she wed four of them for one day and one night each in exchange for it. Though she is married to Óðr (Ód or Odur), Freya accepts. None of the other gods are aware of the goddess’s illicit pact, particularly as she hides the necklace in shame upon return to her palace.
It is revealed, however, that Loki, the Norse god of mischief, secretly witnessed the pact between Freya and the dwarfs. He promptly informs Óðr of his wife’s misdeeds. Enraged, Óðr demands the necklace be brought to him as proof of Freya’s infidelity.
Loki procures the necklace from Freya as she sleeps and reveals it to Óðr, who, distraught, abandons Aesir for distant lands, leaving the necklace behind. Freya awakes to find both her necklace and husband gone, and tearfully asks Odin, king of the Norse gods, for forgiveness. Odin grants Freya forgiveness and demands a penance, commanding Freya to wear the necklace for eternity while searching for her lost love Óðr. Freya’s eternal tears of sorrow, according to the myth, turn into gold when they land on the earth and amber when they reach the sea.
SIGNIFICANCE
The tale of Freya’s necklace illustrates the importance placed on fidelity and loyalty in Scandinavian culture. The goddess’s callous abandonment of her family and kingdom in the face of tangible beauty and eventual eternal punishment is a stark portrayal of the potential dangers inherent in infidelity.
The story takes on some complexity because in Norse mythology, Freya’s husband Óðr is considered a human personification of Odin, the king of the Aesir (Æsir) gods and ruler of the mythical kingdom of Asgard. As a result, Freya is unfaithful to not only her husband, but to Odin, and it is from him she must seek forgiveness and ultimately penance. This fact offers some important insight into the perception of marriage in Norse mythology, illustrating that it is both a personal and divine commitment.
Some scholars contend that Óðr is the personification of Odin’s lust for Freya, whereas Odin himself is rarely if ever viewed in a carnal context in Norse mythology. The conflation of one god with another is not uncommon in Norse mythology, however, and Freya herself assumes other roles in later myths in German and Scandinavian mythology.
There is archaeological evidence that points to the significance of the Brisingamen as a symbol of maternity (Littleton 533). Necklaces similar in appearance to its description in the myth appear on fertility statues dating back to 3000 BCE. Some scholars have theorized that the Brisingamen may have represented an infant’s passage through the birth canal.
While the god Loki has a complex role throughout Norse mythology, his role in the myth of Freya’s necklace can be interpreted a variety of ways. Loki is present in several myths either directly causing or witnessing the gods’ more calamitous episodes. In the myth of Freya’s necklace, however, Loki is not only a divine spectator but a defender of righteousness. While Loki’s penchant for mischief appears in other Norse myths, in the myth of Freya’s necklace he does not appear to have any selfish aims. Loki’s talents as a shape-shifter also play a prominent role in this myth when he transforms himself into a flea in order to recover the Brisingamen from Freya’s neck as she sleeps.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Blumetti, Robert. The Book of Balder Rising: A Modern Perspective on the Norse Religion. New York: iUniverse, 2006. Print.
Grundy, Stephan. “Freyja and Frigg.” The Concept of the Goddess. Ed. Sandra Billington and Miranda Green. New York: Routledge, 1999. Print.
Keary, Annie, and Eliza Keary. The Heroes of Asgard: Tales from Scandinavian Mythology. New York: Macmillan, 1893. Print.
Lindow, John. Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2001. Print.
Littleton, C. Scott. Gods, Goddesses, and Mythology. Vol. 4. New York: Cavendish, 2005. Print.
Näsström, Britt-Mari. “Freyja—A Goddess with Many Names.” The Concept of the Goddess. Ed. Sandra Billington and Miranda Green. New York: Routledge, 1999. Print.