Angrboda

Angrboda

ANGRBOÐA IN NORSE MYTHOLOGY

Angrboða (Old Norse: [ˈɑŋɡz̠ˌboðɑ]; also Angrboda) is a Jötunn in Norse mythology. She is Loki's companion and the mother of monstrous offspring. She is mentioned once in the Poetic Edda (Völuspá hin skamma), where she is named as the mother of Fenrir by Loki. In the Prose Edda (Gylfaginning), she is described as "a giantess in Jötunheimar" and the mother of three monsters: the wolf Fenrir, the Midgard serpent Jörmungand, and Hel, ruler of the dead.

NAME AND MEANING

The Old Norse name Angrboða has been translated as "she who brings sorrow," "she who offers grief," or "she who causes harm." The first element, angr, is related to the English word "anger" but means "grief" or "sorrow" in Old Norse; this meaning persists in Scandinavian languages. For example, in Norwegian and Danish, it translates to "anger," in Icelandic and Faroese as angur, and in Swedish as ånger. The second element, boða, is related to the English word "bode," as in "this does not bode well."

Some scholars suggest that the name Angrboða is likely a late invention, dating no earlier than the 12th century, although the tradition of three monstrous offspring born to Loki and a Jötunn may be much older.

MENTIONS IN SOURCES

Angrboða in the Poetic Edda

In the Völuspá hin skamma ("Short Völuspá"; part of Hyndluljóð), Angrboða is named as Loki’s companion and the mother of the wolf Fenrir:

"Loki fathered the wolf with Angrboda,
and got Sleipnir from Svadilfari;
the witch seemed the worst of all,
who came from the brother of Byleipt."
– Völuspá hin skamma, 40, trans. J. Lindow, 2002

Angrboða in the Prose Edda

In Gylfaginning (The Beguiling of Gylfi), Angrboða is named as the mother of three monstrous children:

"In Giantland [Jötunheimr], there was a giantess named Angrboda. With her, Loki had three children. One was Fenrir, the second Jörmungand [the Midgard Serpent], and the third is Hel. When the gods realised that these three siblings were growing up in Giantland, and when they followed prophecies that said great harm and misfortune would come from these siblings, they all felt that evil was to be expected from them—first because of their mother’s nature, but even worse because of their father’s."
– Gylfaginning, 27-34, trans. A. Faulkes, 1987

The Giantess in the Ironwood

In Völuspá, a Jötunn who dwells in the Járnvidr ("Ironwood," the forest where female Jötnar live) is mentioned and is likely identified with Angrboða:

"In the east sat the old woman in Járnvidr,
And there bore the kin of Fenrir."
– Völuspá, 40, trans. J. Lindow, 2002

Snorri Sturluson paraphrases this stanza in Gylfaginning:

*"Gangleri asked: ‘What is the origin of the wolves?’

High replied: ‘A certain giantess lives east of Midgard in a forest called Ironwood. In this forest dwell troll-women called Iarnvidiur. The old giantess bears many giant sons, all in wolf-shape, and from them come these wolves. It is said that from this race a particularly powerful wolf named Moongarm will emerge. He will gorge himself on the lifeblood of all who die, devour celestial bodies, and stain the sky and heavens with blood. As a result, the sun will lose its brilliance, and the winds will rage violently. This is foretold in Völuspá:

"In the east lives the old one, in Ironwood,
and there breeds Fenrir’s kin.
From them all comes one most monstrous,
the troll-formed consumer of the sun.
He feeds on the life of the doomed,
and dyes the gods’ halls red with blood.
Darkness shrouds the sun in summers that follow,
each season hostile."

– Gylfaginning, 12-14, trans. A. Faulkes, 1987

In Popular Culture

  • Angrboða appears as a supporting character in the video game Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
  • She features as a character in God of War: Ragnarok.
  • Angrboða is the protagonist of Genevieve Gornichec’s 2021 novel The Witch’s Heart, where she is also identified as Gullveig.
  • In the TV series Vikings, the shipbuilder Floki names his daughter after Angrboða.
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