Monday, February 11, 2013

30 Days of Devotion: Day 7

Names and epithets.



I guess I should've looked ahead when I was creating my initial post for the 30 Days of Devotion.  In my first post I covered a few of the MANY names of Odin but I have no problem posting them again.

The most familiar is obviously All Father.  Odin is the deity 'in power' for the Norse and has brought much to the world as well as the gods, so referring to him as such seems rather logical.

Val-Father means father of the slain.  With many of Odin's followers going into battle or raids, it is not too surprising this is a name for him.  He welcomes the slain with open arms and those worthy join him in Valhalla.

Gangleri/Ganglari means the wanderer or traveler.  Odin wanders the Nine Worlds in many of the tales, whether it is just to wander or on some personal mission it's up to him.  But referring to him as a wanderer is supported by those stories.

I suppose in the realm of epithets I can draw out the names that refer to Odin, or things associated with Odin, in various kennings.

Odin's fire would be an allusion to a sword, while Odin's weather could be another phrase for battle or war.  I've seen someone point out a phrase 'One-eyed dweller in Frigg's embrace' which is rather simple.  Then you have Mim's friend, referring to Mimir.


Um, yeah. Can't think of much else.  Looking at the list of names for Odin, it is rather extensive and some not so obvious as others.  These few here and the others mention in my initial post seem rather straightforward and resonate with me.  For others it may be different.

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