Iðavöllr (Old NorseIðavǫllr, possibly "splendour-plain"[1]) is a location referenced twice inVöluspá, the first poem in thePoetic Edda, as a meeting place of the gods.
In a stanza early in the poemVöluspá, thevölva who is the narrator recounts how, early in the mythological timeline, the gods met together at Iðavöllr and constructedhörgrs andhofs:
- At Ithavoll met the mighty gods;
- Shrines and temples they timbered high;
- Forges they set, and they smithied ore,
- Tongs they wrought, and tools they fashioned.[2]
Iðavöllr is again mentioned at the end of the poem in verse 60, after the events ofRagnarök. It is once again a meeting place for the gods; however, most of them having been killed in the battle, few of the same gods return to the field. These survivors build a new city on Iðavöllr, starting withGimlé:
- The gods in Ithavoll meet together,
- Of theterrible girdler of earth they talk,
- And the mighty past they call to mind,
- And the ancientrunes of the Ruler of Gods.[3]
Several etymologies ofIðavöllr have been proposed, and the meaning of the name is considered unclear. If Iðavöllr is amended to*Ið[is]avöllr, the location name corresponds precisely toIdisiaviso, the amended location name where on theWeser river forces commanded byArminius fought those commanded byGermanicus at theBattle of the Weser River in 16 CE, attested in chapter 16 of book II ofTacitus'Annales.[4] But sinceSnorri says thatAsgard was actuallyTroy it would make sense that Idavollr beMount Ida which is right next to the city.