Such a bright day...
actually, I prefer when it's raining but-
bright days such as this one remind me of the god Freyr
and that's exactly what I'm going to talk about today
you see...
two years ago I've made my very first video, and it was about this deity
but it was just a test to see the kind of feedback I would receive
and how comfortable I felt in front of a camera
actually... I still don't feel very comfortable in front of a camera, but that's another matter
anyway...
after that video I didn't step on Youtube, I hadn't made any video for an entire year
I was just waiting for the feedback, and it was really positive and gave me the motivation to officially start a Youtube channel
but because it was just a test
there was a lot left unsaid, and it was awkward
so I decided to remake that video
and... today I came back to the place where it all started
so if you don't mind, let's take a walk, shall we?
Freyr is the Norse god of Fertility, the embodiment of the powers of fertility
of both animals and the soil, and of course of human fecundity
He is often associated as the god of agriculture
but is this deity just a fertility god? Or was there more to him?
good gods, there are literally chickens fighting at my feet
Freyr's name mighr come from the proto-nordic Fraujaz
with the possible meaning of referring to something which is ahead, forward, uppermost
meaning the upper-most or lord, as in ruler
Fraujaz is very similar to the gothic word Frauja
also meaning Lord
Proto-Germanic Fraujan and old English Frea
There seems to be a clear evidences that the god Freyr was much more than just a mere god of agriculture
I've said this before, on other videos-
before the introduction of the cult of Odin in Scandinavia
there were other gods highly worshipped
and Freyr was one of such gods
In Sweden for instance Freyr was one of the most, if not the most worshipped deity
He was a god associated with peace and prosperity
with light, the embodiment of the very emotions light awakens on mortal beings
In Uppsala, in Sweden, where the major sacrifices took place
it was said that the god Freyr himself was buried there
and for as long as he remained in the ground, the land would always have peace, prosperity and fertility and fertility
People sacrificed to him to ensure the continuation of peace and prosperity
However, with the introduction of the cult of Odin in Scandinavia,
Freyr lost some of this attributes as a major god
Kings were always the first to be converted to new faiths
and in great urban centres, centres of power, everyone adopted the main religion of rulers
Odin was the god of rulers, there's no dispute
As such, Odin became the main deity, highly worshipped, the official god of kings
while in the country side, in remote areas where new faiths took their time to be accepted
people maintained their old traditions and gods
Freyr continued to be worshipped in remote areas, in rural areas
as such he lost his title as lord, as a chieftain deity of the gods, and became associated with agriculture
because after the introduction of the cult of Odin, Freyr became the farmers' god
Freyr as always been a fertility god, but fertility associated with the power of the sun - a solar deity
Freyr was a King-god, or a sovereignty in the Norse pantheon in addition to his role as a fertility god
But he lost his title as King with the introduction of the cult of Odin, as I've said
Freyr had the function of a ruler deity, the counterpart of the human king
the figure whose power was capable of bringing peace and prosperity to the land and to his subjects
Let's take into consideration a few aspects which prove the existence of other functions of this deity,
besides his function as a fertility god
It's mainly from the Prose Edda that we got the idea, the image of Freyr being a fertility god
a god of agriculture
He is represented as the most glorious of the Aesir,
a ruler of rain and sunshine, and prosperity and peace
The Prose Edda is the main written source which described Freyr as a pure fertility god
and since this work was the main source of modern study of Old Norse mythology
the idea that Freyr was the Scandinavian fertility god was frequently reproduced in research for decades
reinforcing the idea that Freyr was only a fertility god
However, the Old Norse myths and heroic narratives transmitted by Snorri Sturluson-
were influenced by medieval Christian thinking
Snorri composed mythological novellas by reworking the old traditions
These novellas, in a way, completely lost their value in terms of demonstrating the pagan thinking
and trying to reconstruct pre-Christian religion
precisely because of the fact that they have Christian influences
Before the Christian influence on Old Norse mythology,
and taking into consideration the archaeological findings and etymological studies,
Freyr was much more important than previously thought
a crucial god in the ability to give luck and particularly fertility and peace of the entire land
and all living creatures within the domains of this deity
This god also had links to rulership and military aspects
He appears in the material sources as a warrior-lord with martial features who defended peace
which makes sense,
if Freyr is a god of peace, in a warlike culture peace can only be maintained if there is someone to keep it by defending it
or as it is often said, peace can only be found on the other side of war
When Freyr was worshipped it was done not only for good harvest, but also for a life of peace and harmony
Freyr was the divine counterpart of the sacred king
as I've said, the embodiment of the figure who is capable of bringing peace to the land by correctly applying his Kingly powers
Freyr was one of the most important gods in the Nordic pantheon, and his function was not limited to fertility
Freyr seems to not only have been a divine lord who watches over fertility,
but also watched over cosmic peace and peace within the society
in order to protect the cosmos against the forces of chaos,
he also appears at times as a warrior-lord
Based on these characteristics and functions, which we find in both the myths and cultural material contexts,
Freyr also had a central role in the ruler ideology of pre-Christian Scandinavia
The ruler ideology expressed in Freyr can be seen in the myths and poetic works ,
which indicate that Freyr as a Vanir god was some sort of prince or a warrior-chieftain of the Vanir tribe of gods
Also we must take into consideration the representation of Freyr in different mythological traditions,
which indicate that Freyr is the divine counterpart of the ideal king,
the ruler who is responsible for crops and peace
Look at this fellow, he bit me once and it wasn't pleasant
Well, I would like to talk about horses...
this isn't a horse but he bites like one
Anyway, I've already spoken about Uppsala and the sacrifices held there in honour of the god Freyr
Horses were very important in the spiritual panorama of Indo-European cultures
and as such, Freyr being a divine lord, had to be connected with horses, of course
It's true that it's hard to find connections between Freyr and horses
but of all the 7 different animal species sacrificed at Uppsala
and not forgetting that there was the belief that Freyr himself was buried there
horses were the animals mostly sacrificed at Uppsala, or any other place for that matter
Horses had a connection with kings, rulers, a noble animal
often sacrificed in burials of people with great distinction
or in burials of people who were believed to have achieved divinity
or had a very strong and magical connection with the divine
The horse was also a spiritual symbol of the shamanic journey
the animal used in the spiritual journey into the world of the spirits
and let's not forget that in Old Norse Societies animals were sacrificed to facilitate the contact with the deities,
with whom certain animals were linked to
Sacrificing horses was to facilitate the contact with Freyr,
before Odin became associated with horses
You see, if horses were connected to nobility and Odin replaced Freyr as a divine ruler,
than horses had to be linked to Odin because he was the new divine representation of the ideal king
Also, I think it's important to refer this,
Freyr is often depicted as riding a boar, and not a horse
The boar was an older symbol related to rulership, chieftains, kings, nobility,
which reinforces the idea of Freyr being related to the ruler ideology
However, there are accounts of Freyr riding a horse as well
Blóðughófi - Bloody Hoof
continuing to reinforce this god's connection with Lordship and with spiritual journey
well I think it's time to go into a quieter place
and continue our talk about the god Freyr
so see you in a second back home
Alright, so we have other names, other titles which reinforce the idea of Freyr being a warrior-lord
and the divine architype of a king
We have names such as ása jaðarr - protector of the Aesir or the gods
folcvaldi goða - war leader of the gods
bǫðfróðr - battle-skilled
hǫfðingi - symply Lord / chieftain
In the death of the god Baldr, in all that funerary process,
Freyr clearly appears as a chieftain when he rides at the head of the gods,
when they are going to the pyre where Baldr was laid,
at the head of the funerary procession
Freyr is often referred to as a fertility god because of the modern studies of Old Norse mythology based solely on the Prose Edda
He was also a fertility god but in truth there are more references of him being a prince, ruler, chieftain, king and warrior-lord,
than being the "Fertile One"
Freyr's importance in Old Norse societies was far greater than we thought
In the Ynglinga Saga Freyr is even refered to as Veraldargoð - God of the World
so it seems Freyr was once a divine Lord who ruled over the world
There is another aspect I would like to talk about concerning the god Freyr
You know how important the concept of ancestors was to the Norse societies
The ancestors being a source of knowledge and help in daily life
but also the importance of bloodlines
the importance to refer one's lineage
because there was the belief that the very essence of the ancestors could pass into their decedents,
their characteristics, skills, attributes,
particularly if people had the same name of their ancestors,
which would help to call upon the ancestor itself to help his namesake
Freyr is also closely related to bloodline and ancestry
He has a close association with preChristian royal families,
which are referred to in poems and prose narratives
In several sources he is perceived as a divine ancestor of the famous family, or clan, of the Ynglingar
They considered themselves as Freyr's offspring
These sources indicate that Freyr was even regarded as a king or prince,
reinforcing the importance of this deity as an important symbol of the ruler ideology
You might be wondering how on earth a god can have mortal children
It wasn't that odd or nonsensical the fact that gods could be the fathers and mothers of mortals,
in the social pagan conscious of old
As I've said before, there was the belief that Freyr himself was buried at Uppsala
and as long as he remained there, the land would have peace and prosperity
This belief is not exclusive of Freyr
There are other burials including burials at Uppsala, of people who achieved divinity through their deeds as mortals,
this is also a Celtic belief, and Roman, and many other cultures, of course
As it is often said in Celtic mythology, Gods became heroes and heroes became gods
In the Norse religious beliefs this was also true
the gods could walk among mortals and mortals could become gods
now, going back to the subject...
as far as we can follow the Ynglinga royal line and the tradition concerning this family
Freyr seems to have a special status as the family's divine ancestor
Not just this family, for instance Freyr also as a connection with other great dynasties such as the Ladejarlar in Norway
According to the tradition it seems that Freyr competed with Odin for that position,
to be the ancestor of such families
And in here we can see, perhaps, the religious and social struggle between those who kept the old faith-
believing that Freyr was a King-god, a sovereign god
and those who kept the new faith-
believing that Odin was the Alfather, the King of the gods
Some families prided themselves as being the descendants of Odin
and others to be the descendants of Freyr
The struggle between two different pagan faiths of Northern Europe
Freyr was a patron of both the earthly and the cosmic order
This may be one of the reasons why people invoked Freyr when someone broke the law
or broke peace and harmony within a temple or any other sacred place
Freyr was called upon to punish people who broke the law
This happened with king Eirikr, for instance
who violated the assembly peace and desecrated the sanctuary
Freyr was invoked and asked to drive away the desecrator of the country
This can be read in Egils Saga
So according to the mythical traditions is seems as if Freyr also protected the earth and the cosmos against disorder
and conducted military struggles against the forces of chaos
Some of Freyrs possessions reinforce the connection this deity has with war and defence
such as owning a powerful sword that fights for itself
a great ship which was so big that all the gods were able to go aboard it with weapons and war gear
his accounts of laying giants, the fight against Surt during ragnarok
the war boar he rides, etc.
These mythological accounts should probably be linked with Freyr's protective functions and striving for peace
Being a god with warrior traits and also linked to fertility
may imply that there must be peace in a society and balance in the cosmos for the land to be able to produce good crops
It is the King-God Freyr's task to watch over this cosmic peace and fertility, sometimes by military means
Reinforcing the ideology of the perfect ruler,
the mortal king should held the same responsibilities to maintain peace, order and fertility in his domains
So, in conclusion, Freyr wasn't just a fertility god or a god of agriculture as it is often referred in modern research of Old Norse mythology
Freyr was once a King-God, a personification of the same responsibilities a human ruler needed to watch over harvests and peace,
being both the attacker and the defender in order to maintain peace and harmony,
always struggling against chaotic forces which would disrupt the harmony in the land
Freyr's features indicate that he was a sovereign god who held both warrior and fertility traits
With the introduction of the cult of Odin in the North, especially in Sweden
Freyr lost his title as King,
but it seems the religious struggle was there and certain families kept the old faith of Freyr
and others kept the faith of Odin
Nevertheless, both gods were highly worshipped
Freyr was called upon for good harvests, peace, harmony, prosperity, fertility, to bless weddings
and most likely called for matters of war
he was certainly called upon to drive away disrupters of peace and harmony, desecrators of temples and assemblies
and other sacred places
So it's not surprising that sacrifices were frequently in honour of Freyr at various occasions
During harvest festivals, for instance, the animal sacrificed was traditionally Freyr's animal, the boar
Sacrifices for peace and plenty at the major annual sacrifices or the ones every 9 years,
the sacred animal, the sacrificed animal was the horse, which was also linked to Freyr,
not only as an animal linked to war, but also nobility and spiritual journeys,
to use the animal as a vessel to communicate with the divine
And since there is also a connection between Freyr and ships
as I've said this deity owned a great and important war ship
it might be suggested that Freyr, was probably called upon for particular ritual purposes concerning the construction of ships,
that were never meant to be seaworthy
Ships for burials or to house specific individuals, after death
who had an important connection with the divine or they themselves being divine
We know from archaeological evidences, of course, that ships played a major role in the pre-Christian religious rites of the Scandinavian peoples
Alright friends, I hope you have enjoyed this video
I smell of horse and chickens, I hope it was worth it
well I actually like the smell, I like farm smells for some reason
anyway, I hope you have enjoyed it
and see you on the next video and...
Tack för idag! (Thank you for today!)

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