InNorse mythology,Skírnir (Old Norse"[ˈskiːrnez̠]; "bright one"[1]) is the godFreyr's messenger and vassal. He appears in both thePoetic andProse Eddas.
In theEddic poemSkírnismál, Skírnir is sent as a messenger toJötunheimr to conduct lovesick Freyr's wooing of thejötunn womanGerðr on condition of being given Freyr's powerfulsword as a reward. Skírnir begins by offering Gerðr 11 golden apples (orapples of eternal life, in a common emendation), which Gerðr rejects, adding that she and Freyr will never be together as long as they live. He next offers Gerðr a ring thatproduces eight more gold rings every ninth night. Gerðr responds that she is not interested in the ring for she shares her fatherGymir's property, and he has no lack of gold.
Skírnir then turns to a series of threats. He first threatens to cut Gerðr's head from her neck and then threatens her father's life. He next tells Gerðr that she will sit onan eagle's mound, looking outward to the world, facingHel, and that food will become hateful to her. He then says he will turn her into a spectacle, that she will experience madness, and become overwhelmed with unbearable desire. She will weep rather than feel joy, and she will live the rest of her life in misery with a three-headedthurs or otherwise be without a man altogether.[2]
Skírnir tells Gerðr that he has been to a wood to get agambanteinn, which he wields and declares that the godsOdin andThor are angry with Gerðr, and that Freyr will hate her. He tells her that the thurs's name who will own her below the gates ofNágrind isHrímgrímnir and that there, at theroots of the world, the finest thing Gerðr will be given to drink is goat urine. He carves a series of runes perhaps symbolizing sickness, lewdness, frenzy, and unbearable desire, and comments that if he wishes he can rub them off just as he has carved them.[3]
Gerðr responds by telling to Skírnir to take a crystal cup containing ancientmead, noting that she thought she would never love one of theVanir, which indicates her intention to go with him. Skírnir asks her when she will meet with Freyr. She says that they will meet at a tranquil location calledBarri, and that after nine nights she will there grant Freyr her love.
Skírnir rides back toÁsgarðr. Standing outside, Freyr immediately greets Skírnir and asks for news. Skírnir tells him that Gerðr will meet him at Barri. Freyr, impatient, comments that one night is long, as is two nights, and questions how he will bear three.
In theProse Edda'sGylfaginning, Skírnir also performs favors forOðinn, father of the gods. After the vicious wolfFenrir evades capture, Skirnir visits the mountain dwarves, known for their mining and smithing. Together they forge the magical restraintGleipnir for the purpose of binding the wolf. Such undertakings mark Skirnir as a crafty servant.Gylfaginning also retells the narrative ofSkírnismál in prose, quoting from the poem and placing great emphasis on Freyr giving his sword to Skírnir. Later in the text, the narrator explains that Freyr's death atRagnarök is the result of having lost his sword.[4]
Skírnir appears in several works of modern literature inspired by the Eddic poemSkírnismál. This includes a major part of the Danish poetAdam Gottlob Oehlenschläger'sNordens Guder (1819) as well as Icelandic poetGerður Kristný'sBlóðhófnir (2010), a feminist retelling ofSkírnismál that won the 2010Icelandic Literary Prize for fiction.[5]
TheSkirnir Mountains, a group ofnunataks along theKing Frederick VI Coast in theSermersooq municipality of southeastGreenland also take their name from Skírnir.
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