InNorse mythology,Auðumbla (Old Norse pronunciation:[ˈɔuðˌumblɑ]; also Auðhumla[ˈɔuðˌhumlɑ] and Auðumla[ˈɔuðˌumlɑ]) is a primevalcow. The primordial frostjötunnYmir fed upon her milk, and over the course of three days shelicked away the salty rime rocks and revealedBúri, grandfather of the gods and brothersOdin,Vili and Vé. The creature is attested solely in theProse Edda, composed in the 13th century by IcelanderSnorri Sturluson. Scholars identify her as stemming from a very early stratum ofGermanic mythology, and ultimately belonging tolarger complex ofprimordial bovines orcow-associated goddesses.
The cow's name variously appears inProse Edda manuscripts asAuðumbla[ˈɔuðˌumblɑ],Auðhumla[ˈɔuðˌhumlɑ], andAuðumla[ˈɔuðˌumlɑ], and is generally accepted as meaning 'hornless cow rich in milk' (fromOld Norseauðr 'riches' and*humala 'hornless').[1]
The compound presents some level ofsemantic ambiguity. A parallel occurs inScottish Englishhumble-cow 'hornless cow', and Northern Europeans have bred hornless cows since prehistoric times. As highlighted above,auð- may mean 'rich' and in turn 'rich hornless cow' remains generally accepted among scholars as a gloss of the Old Icelandic animal name. However,auðr can also mean 'fate' and 'desolate; desert', and soAuðhum(b)la may also have been understood as the 'destroyer of the desert'. This semantic ambiguity may have been intentional.[2]
Auðumbla's sole attested narrative occurs in theGylfaginning section of theProse Edda, and her name appears among ways to refer to cows later in theNafnaþulur section of the book. InGylfaginning, Gangleri (described earlier inGylfaginning as kingGylfi in disguise) asks where, in the distant past, Ymir lived and what he ate.High says that the cow Auðumbla's teats produced four rivers of milk, from which Ymir fed. Gylfi asks what Auðumbla ate, and High says that she licked salty rime stones for sustenance. He recounts that Auðumbla once licked salts for three days, revealingBúri: The first day she licked free his hair, the second day his head, and the third day his entire body.[3]
The second and final mention of Auðumbla occurs in theNafnaþulur, wherein the author provides a variety of ways to refer to cows. Auðumbla is the only cow mentioned by name, and the author adds that "she is the noblest of cows".[4]
On the topic of Auðumbla,John Lindow says that cows appear commonly in creation narratives around the world, yet "what is most striking about Audhumla is that she unites the two warring groups in the mythology, by nourishing Ymir, ancestor of all the giants, and bringing into the light Búri, progenitor of the æsir."[5]
Rudolf Simek highlights that Roman senatorTacitus's first century CE work ethnography of theGermanic peoplesGermania mentions that they maintained hornless cattle (seename section above), and notes that theGermania relates how an image of the Germanic goddessNerthus was borne through the countryside in a wagon drawn by cattle. Simek compares the deity to a variety of cow-associated deities among non-Germanic peoples, such as the Egyptian goddessHathor (depicted as cow-headed) andIsis (whose iconography contains references to cows), and the Ancient GreekHera (described as 'the cow-eyed').[6]
