InNorse mythology,Snotra (Old Norse:[ˈsnotrɑ], "clever")[1] is agoddess associated with wisdom. Snotra is attested in theProse Edda, written in the 13th century bySnorri Sturluson. Scholars have proposed theories about the implications of the goddess.
A character named Snotra also appears in a darkly comedic tale at the start ofGautreks saga, in which she is a human woman, the youngest daughter in a family of foolish farmers. Her parents in this story are called Skafnörtungr ('Skinflint') and Tötra ('Tatters'), and she has three brothers (Fjolmod, Imsigull, and Gilling) and two sisters (Hjotra and Fjotra). The family is visited by KingGauti ofWest Gotaland, the eponymous ancestor of theGeats andGoths, by whom Snotra becomes pregnant withGautrek.
In chapter 35 of theProse Edda bookGylfaginning,High provides brief descriptions of 16ásynjur. High lists Snotra thirteenth, and says that Snotra "is wise and courteous". In addition, High adds that, after Snotra's name, a wise man or woman can be calledsnotr.[2] In theProse Edda bookSkáldskaparmál, Snotra is included among a list of 27 ásynjur names.[3] Apart from these two sources, Snotra is otherwise unattested.[4]
Andy Orchard andRudolf Simek state that, as Snotra is unattested beyond theProse Edda, Snotra may be an invention of Snorri's.[5] Orchard theorizes that, otherwise, Snorri may have had access to a lost source, and that the little information Snorri presents may be derived from the meaning of her name.[1]
Simek says that Snorri may have invented Snotra from the Old Norse wordsnotr ("clever") and "placed [her] next to other insignificant goddesses."[4] However, Simek also writes that the goddesses Snotra,Sága,Hlín,Sjöfn,Vár, andVör should be considered vaguely defined figures who "should be seen as female protective goddesses" that are all responsible for "specific areas of the private sphere, and yet clear differences were made between them so that they are in many ways similar tomatrons."[7]