Freyr

Freyr (Old Norse: "Lord"), sometimes anglicised as Frey, is a widely attested god in Norse mythology, associated with sacred kingship, fertility, peace, prosperity, masculinity, sunshine, fine weather, and good harvests. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was particularly connected to Sweden and regarded as an ancestor of the Swedish royal house. According to Adam of Bremen, Freyr was associated with peace and pleasure, and was represented by a phallic statue in the Temple of Uppsala. According to Snorri Sturluson, Freyr was "the most famous of the Æsir" and was worshipped for good harvests and peace.

In the mythological texts of the Icelandic Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, Freyr is depicted as one of the Vanir, the son of the god Njörðr and his sister-wife, and as the twin brother of the goddess Freyja. The gods gifted him Álfheimr, the realm of the elves, as a childhood gift. He rides the shining, dwarven boar Gullinbursti and possesses the ship Skíðblaðnir, which always has a favourable breeze and can be folded into a bag when not in use. Freyr is also known to have been associated with the cult of horses. In his sanctuary in Trondheim, Norway, he kept sacred horses, and his servants included Skírnir, Byggvir, and Beyla.

The most detailed myth of Freyr tells of his love for the female Jötunn Gerðr. Eventually, she becomes his wife, but before that, Freyr must give up his sword, which fights on its own "if the one wielding it is wise." Although deprived of this weapon, Freyr defeats the Jötunn Beli with a stag’s antler. However, without his sword, Freyr is killed by the fire Jötunn Surtr during the events of Ragnarök.

As with other Germanic deities, the worship of Freyr has been revived in modern times by the pagan movement.

Name Freyr

It is generally assumed that the Old Norse name Freyr ("Lord") derives from a Proto-Nordic form reconstructed as *frawjaʀ, which originates from the Proto-Germanic noun *frawjaz ~ *fraw(j)ōn ("lord") and is related to the Gothic frauja, Old English frēa, or Old High German frō, all meaning "lord, master". The runic form *frohila, derived from an earlier *frōjila, could also be related. More recently, however, an etymology has been suggested that derives the name of the god from a nominalised form of the Proto-Scandinavian adjective *fraiw(i)a- ("fertile, generative").

Linguist Guus Kroonen suggests: "In Germanic, the evidence of ON frjar, frjór, frær, Icel. frjór adj. 'fertile; fruitful' < *fraiwa- clearly points to a stem *frai(w)- meaning 'fertile'. Both in form and meaning, fraiwa- ('seed') recalls Freyr as 'fertility god' < *frauja-. We may therefore consider the possibility that *fraiwa- was metathesised from *frawja-, a kind of collective."

Freyr is also known by over ten other names that describe his attributes, role in religious practice, and associated mythology.

Adam of Bremen

One of the oldest written sources on pre-Christian Scandinavian religious practices is the Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum by Adam of Bremen, written around 1080. Adam claimed to have access to firsthand reports on pagan practices in Sweden. He refers to Freyr by the Latinised name Fricco and mentions that a statue of him in Skara was destroyed by the Christian missionary Bishop Egino. Adam’s description of the temple in Uppsala provides some details about the god.

"In this temple, which was entirely made of gold, the people venerate statues of the gods in an atrium, so that the most powerful of them, Thor, has a throne in the middle of the hall; on either side, Woden and Fricco have places. The significance of these gods is as follows: 'Thor', they say, presides over the air, which governs thunder and lightning, the winds and the rain, the good weather and the harvests. The other, Woden, i.e., fury, conducts wars and bestows strength on man against enemies. The third is Fricco, who bestows peace and pleasure on mortals. His image is also portrayed with a huge phallus."

Later in the story, Adam explains that during a marriage, a drink offering was made for the image of Fricco.

Historians disagree on the reliability of Adam's account.

Prose Edda

When Snorri Sturluson wrote in Iceland in the 13th century, the native Germanic gods were still remembered, though they had not been openly worshipped for over two centuries.

Gylfaginning

In the section Gylfaginning of his Prose Edda, Snorri introduces Freyr as one of the chief gods: "Njörðr in Nóatún then begot two children, the son named Freyr and the daughter Freyja. They were both fair to look at and mighty. Freyr is the greatest of the Æsir. He rules over rain and sunlight, and thereby over the fruits of the earth. It is good to call upon him for a fruitful year and peace. He also rules over human prosperity."

This description mirrors Adam of Bremen’s older account, but with some interesting differences. Adam attributes control of weather and harvests to Thor, while Snorri attributes these powers to Freyr. Snorri also omits the explicitly sexual elements in Freyr's description. These discrepancies can be explained in various ways. It is possible that the Nordic gods played slightly different roles in Icelandic and Swedish paganism, but it is also worth considering that Adam and Snorri had different objectives with their writings. Either Snorri or Adam may also have had distorted information.

The only longer myth about Freyr in the Prose Edda concerns his marriage.

The Story of Freyr's Marriage

One day, Freyr went to Hlidskjálf and looked out over the entire world. As he looked to the north, he saw a large, beautiful house. A woman walked towards it, and as she raised her hands to open the door, light shone from her hands over the sky and the sea, and all the worlds were illuminated.

The woman is Gerðr, a beautiful giantess. Freyr immediately falls in love with her and becomes depressed and mute. After some time of brooding, he agrees to have his servant Skírnir speak to her on his behalf. He tells Skírnir that he has fallen in love with a beautiful woman and believes he will die if he cannot have her. He asks Skírnir to court her for him.

Skírnir agrees to do so, but Freyr must give him his own sword, which is so powerful that it fights by itself. Freyr agrees and gives him the sword. Skírnir then goes to Gerðr, wins her promise to marry Freyr, and nine nights later, she is to come to the place called Barrey, where she will marry Freyr.

The loss of Freyr's sword has consequences. According to the Prose Edda, Freyr had to fight Beli without his sword and killed him with an antler. But the outcome at Ragnarök, the end of the world, will be far worse. Freyr must fight the fire giant Surtr, and without his sword, he is defeated.

Even after the loss of his weapon, Freyr still possesses two magical artefacts, both made by dwarves. One is the ship Skíðblaðnir, which always has a favourable breeze wherever its owner wishes to go, and can be folded up and carried in a bag when not in use. The other is the boar Gullinbursti, whose glowing mane lights the way for its owner. No myths are recorded in which Skíðblaðnir plays a role, but Snorri mentions that Freyr rode to Baldr's funeral in a chariot drawn by Gullinbursti.

Skaldic Poetry

Freyr is mentioned several times in skaldic poetry. In the Húsdrápa, partially preserved in the Prose Edda, it is said that Freyr rides a boar to Baldr's funeral.

The brave Freyr rides First on the gold-bristled Boar to Baldr's pyre And leads the people.

In a poem by Egill Skalla-Grímsson, Freyr, along with Njörðr, is called upon to expel Eric Bloodaxe from Norway. The same skald mentions in Arinbjarnarkviða that his friend was blessed by both gods.

Freyr and Njörðr Have endowed Grjótbjörn With the strength of riches.

Nafnaþulur

In Nafnaþulur, Freyr is said to ride the horse Blóðughófi ("Bloody Hoof").

Poetic Edda
Freyr is mentioned in several poems of the Poetic Edda. The information found there largely aligns with that of the Prose Edda, though each collection contains some details not found in the other.

Völuspá

The Völuspá, the most famous of the Eddic poems, describes the final confrontation between Freyr and Surtr during Ragnarök.

Surtr fer sunnan
með sviga lævi,
skínn af sverði
sól valtíva.
Grjótbjörg gnata,
en gífr rata,
troða halir helveg,
en himinn klofnar.
Þá kømr Hlínar
harmr annarr fram,
er Óðinn ferr
við úlf vega,
en bani Belja
bjartr at Surti,
þá mun Friggjar
fallan angan. Völuspá 51-52, EB's Edition

Translation:
Surtr comes from the south
with the branch of branches;
from his sword shines
the sun of the slain gods.
The cliffs clatter,
and troll-women make their way;
warriors walk the path of Hel,
and the sky splits open.
Then Hlíne’s second sorrow arises,
when Óðinn goes
to fight the wolf,
and Beli’s slayer,
bright against Surtr.
Then Frigg’s
sweet friend will fall. Völuspá 50-51, Dronke's Translation

Some scholars prefer a slightly different translation, where the sun "shines from the sword of the gods." The idea is that the sword with which Surtr kills Freyr is the "god's sword" that Freyr had previously given to Gerðr. This would add another layer of tragedy to the myth. Sigurður Nordal held this view, but the possibility represented by Ursula Dronke in her translation is equally plausible.

Grímnismál

In Grímnismál, a poem that consists largely of various pieces of information about the gods, Freyr’s residence is mentioned.

Alfheim Frey
gáfu í árdaga
tívar at tannféi. Grímnismál 5, GJs Edition
The gods gave Freyr
Álfheimr in ancient times
for a tooth-gift. Grímnismál 5, Thorpe's Translation

A "tooth-gift" was a gift given to an infant upon the cutting of its first tooth. As Álfheimr means "World of the Elves," the fact that Freyr should possess it is one of the clues pointing to a connection between the Vanir and the obscure Álfar (Elves). Grímnismál also mentions that the sons of Ívaldi built Skíðblaðnir for Freyr, and that it is the best of all ships.

Lokasenna

In the poem Lokasenna, Loki accuses the gods of various wrongdoings. He accuses the Vanir of incest and claims that Njörðr had Freyr with his sister. He also says that the gods discovered Freyja and Freyr in the act of sex. The god Týr speaks up in defence of Freyr.

Freyr er beztr
allra ballriða
ása görðum í;
mey hann né grætir
né manns konu
ok leysir ór höftum hvern. Lokasenna 37, GJs Edition

Translation:
Frey is the best
of all exalted gods
in the courts of the Æsir;
no maiden does he bring to tears,
nor any man’s wife,
and he frees all from bondage. Lokasenna 37, Thorpe's Translation

Lokasenna also mentions that Freyr has servants named Byggvir and Beyla. They seem to be involved with the making of bread.

Skírnismál

The courting of Freyr and Gerðr is extensively covered in the poem Skírnismál. Freyr becomes depressed after seeing Gerðr. Njörðr and Skaði ask Skírnir to go to him and speak with him. Freyr reveals the cause of his sorrow and asks Skírnir to travel to Jötunheimr to court Gerðr for him. Freyr gives Skírnir a horse and his magical sword for the journey.

Mar ek þér þann gef,
er þik um myrkvan berr
vísan vafrloga,
ok þat sverð,
er sjalft mun vegask
ef sá er horskr, er hefr. Skírnismál 9, GJs Edition
My horse I lend you
to carry you through the dark
ring of flickering flame,
also the sword
that swings by itself
when the one who wields it is wise. Skírnismál 9, Hollander's Translation

When Skírnir finds Gerðr, he first offers her treasures if she agrees to marry Freyr. When she refuses, he wins her consent by threatening her with destructive magic.

The Story of a Young Man

Snorri Sturluson begins his epic history of the Norwegian kings with the Ynglinga Saga, a narrative about the Nordic gods. Here, Odin and the Æsir are described as men from Asia, gaining power through their warrior skills and Odin’s abilities. However, when Odin attacks the Vanir, he bites off more than he can chew, and after the destructive and inconclusive Æsir-Vanir War, peace is negotiated. Hostages are exchanged to seal the peace, and the Vanir send Freyr and Njörðr to live with the Æsir. At this point, the saga, like Lokasenna, mentions that incest was practised among the Vanir.

Þá er Njörðr var með Vönum, þá hafði hann átta systur sína, því at þat váru þar lög; váru þeirra börn Freyr ok Freyja. En þat var bannat með Ásum at byggja svá náit at frændsemi. Ynglinga saga 4, Schultz' Edition

Translation:
When Njörðr was with the Vanir, he had married his own sister, for that was the law there; their children were Freyr and Freyja. But among the Æsir, it was forbidden to marry such close relatives. Ynglinga saga 4, Laing's Translation

Odin makes Njörðr and Freyr priests of sacrifice, and they become influential leaders. Odin conquers the north and settles in Sweden, where he reigns as king, collects taxes, and holds sacrifices. After Odin’s death, Njörðr takes the throne. Under his rule, peace and good harvests prevail, and the Swedes believe that Njörðr controls these things. Eventually, Njörðr falls ill and dies.

Freyr took over the kingdom after Njörðr; he was called the lord of the Swedes and collected taxes from them; he was as popular and prosperous as his father. Freyr built a great temple in Uppsala and made it his seat of power, giving it all his wealth, lands, and movable goods. Thus, Uppsala’s wealth began, and it has remained to this day. In his time began the peace of Fróði, and there were good years throughout the land, which the Swedes attributed to Freyr. He was worshipped more than the other gods because, during his time, the people became richer due to peace and good harvests. His wife was Gerðr, the daughter of Gymir, and their son was Fjölnir. Freyr was also known as Yngvi. The name Yngvi continued to be used in his family for a long time as an honorific, and his descendants were thereafter called Ynglingar. Freyr became ill, and as his illness worsened, his men decided to allow only a few to approach him. In the meantime, they built a great mound, placing a door with three holes in it. When Freyr died, they secretly carried him into the mound, telling the Swedes that he was still alive, and kept him there for three years. They placed all the taxes in the mound: gold in one hole, silver in another, and copper coins in the third. Peace and good harvests continued. Ynglinga saga 12, Schultz' Edition

Translation:
When all the Swedes knew that Freyr was dead but peace and good harvests still continued, they believed it must be so as long as Freyr remained in Sweden; and therefore, they did not burn his body but called him the god of the world and continued to offer blood sacrifices to him, especially for peace and good harvests. Ynglinga saga 13, Schultz' Edition

Freyr had a son named Fjölnir, who succeeded him as king and ruled during the continued period of peace and good harvests. Fjölnir’s descendants are listed in the Ynglingatal, which describes the mythological kings of Sweden.

Ögmundar þáttr dytts

The 14th-century Icelandic Ögmundar þáttr dytts contains a tale about how Freyr was transported to Sweden in a chariot and managed by a priestess. Freyr’s role as a fertility god required a female counterpart in a divine pair (McKinnell’s translation, 1987):

Translation:
At that time, large pagan sacrifices were held, and for a long time, Freyr was the god most revered there – so much so that the devil would speak from the idol’s mouth to the people, and they had gained a young and beautiful woman who would serve Freyr. The locals believed Freyr was alive, which seemed to be the case in some way, and they thought he must have had a sexual relationship with his wife. Together with Freyr, she was given complete control over the temple settlement and everything that belonged to it.

In this short story, a man named Gunnar is suspected of manslaughter and flees to Sweden, where he meets the young priestess. He helps her drive Freyr’s chariot with the god’s idol, but Freyr dislikes Gunnar, attacks him, and would have killed him had he not promised to return to Christianity if he made it back to Norway. When Gunnar made this promise, a demon jumped from the idol, and Freyr became nothing more than a piece of wood. Gunnar destroyed the wooden idol and disguised himself as Freyr. He and the priestess then travelled through Sweden, where the people were glad that the god was visiting them. After some time, he impregnated the priestess, which the Swedes took as confirmation that Freyr was indeed a fertility god and not a fraud. Eventually, Gunnar had to flee back to Norway with his young bride, who was baptized at the court of Olaf Tryggvason.

 

Other Icelandic Sources
The worship of Freyr is mentioned in several Icelandic sagas.

The protagonist of Hrafnkels Saga is a priest of Freyr. He dedicates a horse to the god and kills a man who rides it, which sets off a chain of fateful events.

In the Gísla Saga, a chieftain named Þorgrímr Freysgoði is a devout worshipper of Freyr. When he dies, he is buried in a hay mound.

Translation:
"And there occurred one strange and new thing. On the south side of Thorgrim’s hay mound, no snow would settle, and it would not freeze there either. People believed this was because Thorgrim had been so beloved by Freyr due to his devotions that the god would not allow frost to come between them."

Also, the Hallfreðar Saga, Víga-Glúms Saga, and Vatnsdœla Saga mention Freyr.

Other Icelandic sources that refer to Freyr include Íslendingabók, Landnámabók, and Hervarar Saga.

Íslendingabók, written around 1125, is the earliest Icelandic source mentioning Freyr, where he is included in the genealogy of Swedish kings. Landnámabók contains a pagan oath that is sworn at a gathering, invoking Freyr, Njörðr, and "the almighty god." In the Hervarar Saga, it is mentioned that Freyr is honoured with a wild boar sacrifice at Christmas.

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Gesta Danorum
In the Danish Gesta Danorum from the 12th century, Freyr is described under the name Frø as the "viceroy of the gods."

Translation:
Frø, the viceroy of the gods, took his seat not far from Uppsala, where he changed the ancient ritual of sacrifice, which had been practiced by many nations and peoples for centuries, into a dark and unspeakable form of atonement. Indeed, having begun to offer human victims, he paid gruesome tributes to the powers above. Gesta Danorum 3, Olrik’s Edition

The fact that Freyr had a cult in Uppsala is well confirmed by other sources. The mention of the change in sacrificial rituals might also reflect a historical memory. There is archaeological evidence for an increase in human sacrifice during the late Viking Age, although human sacrifices are most often associated with Odin among the Nordic gods. Another reference to Frø and sacrifice is earlier in the work, where it is reported that the start of an annual blót was dedicated to him. King Hadingus is cursed after killing a divine being and atones for his crime with a sacrifice.

Translation:
"To appease the gods, Frø offered a holy sacrifice of dark offerings. He repeated this form of appeasement at an annual festival and left it to be imitated by his descendants. The Swedes call it Frøblot." Gesta Danorum 1, Olrik’s Edition

The sacrifice of dark offerings to Freyr has a parallel in ancient Greek religion, where chthonic fertility gods preferred dark sacrifices over white ones.

In Book 9, Saxo identifies Frø as the "King of Sweden" (rex Suetiae).

Translation:
"At this time, the King of Sweden, Frø, after killing the King of the Norwegians, Sivard, publicly displayed the wives of Sivard's relatives in a brothel, exposing them to prostitution." Gesta Danorum 9, Olrik’s Edition

The reference to public prostitution could be a reminder of fertility cult practices. Such a memory might also be the source for the description of Starcatherus, a follower of Odin, in Sweden in Book 6.

Translation:
"After Bemoni’s death, Starcatherus, summoned for his bravery by the Biarmian athletes, performed many deeds worthy of mention. He then travelled into Swedish territory, where he stayed for seven years with the sons of Frø before joining Haki, the Danish tyrant, because, during his stay in Uppsala during the sacrificial period, he could not bear to witness the feminine body movements, the claps of the actors on stage, or the soft tinkling of the bells." Gesta Danorum 6, Olrik’s Edition

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Yngvi
In a stanza of the Anglo-Saxon rune poem (around 1100), it says:

"Ingui was the first among the East Danes whom the people saw."

This could refer to the origins of the worship of Ingui in the tribal areas mentioned by Tacitus in his Germania, where the Inguiiones tribes are described as residing. A later Danish chronicler states that Ingui was one of the three brothers from whom the Danish tribes descended. The stanza also mentions that "he (Ingui) then returned over the waves, dragging his chariot behind him," which could connect Ingui with earlier ideas of the chariot processions of Nerthus and later Scandinavian ideas of Freyr’s chariot journeys.

Ingui is also mentioned in later Anglo-Saxon literature in various forms of his name, such as in "What does Ingeld have to do with Christ?" and in the variants used in Beowulf to refer to the kings as "leaders of the friends of Ing." The compound names Ingui-Frea (Old English) and Yngvi-Freyr (Old Norse) likely refer to the connection between the god and the role of Germanic kings as priests in the sacrifices during pagan times, as both Frea and Freyr are titles meaning "Lord."

The Swedish royal family was known as the Ynglings, due to their descent from Yngvi-Freyr. This is confirmed by Tacitus, who wrote about the Germans: "In their ancient songs, their only way of remembering or recording the past, they celebrate a god born on Earth, Tuisco, and his son Mannus as the origin of their people, as their founders. Mannus is said to have three sons, from whom the tribes by the coast, the Ingaevones, the Herminones in the interior, and all the others, called Istaevones, are descended."

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Archaeological Records
Rällinge Figurine
In 1904, a figurine was discovered in Rällinge, Lunda, Södermanland County in Sweden, identified as a representation of Freyr. The figure shows a bearded man sitting cross-legged with an erect penis. He wears a cap or helmet and strokes his triangular beard. The statue is 7 cm high and is housed in the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities.

Skog Tapestry
Part of the Swedish Skog tapestry features three figures that are interpreted as references to Odin, Thor, and Freyr, but also as representations of the three sacred Scandinavian kings Canute, Eric, and Olaf. The figures align with descriptions of statue arrangements from the 11th century recorded by Adam of Bremen in the Temple of Uppsala, as well as written reports about the gods in the late Viking Age. The tapestry originates from Hälsingland, Sweden, and is currently displayed in the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities.

Gullgubber
Small gold foil pieces with engravings, dating from the Migration Period to the early Viking Age (known as Gullgubber), have been discovered at various locations in Scandinavia, with almost 2,500 found at one site. The foil pieces were mostly found in places where buildings were located, rarely in graves. Sometimes they depict individual figures, animals, or a man and woman facing or embracing, with a leafy branch between them. The human figures are almost always clothed and are sometimes depicted with raised knees. Scholar Hilda Ellis Davidson suggests that these figures may represent a dance and are possibly associated with weddings, linked to the Vanir gods and the idea of a divine marriage, as seen in the Skírnismál of the Poetic Edda, the union of Gerðr and Freyr.

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Toponyms
Norway

• Freysakr ("Freyr's Field") - Names of two ancient farms in Gol and Torpa.
• Freysland ("Freyr’s Land/Field") - Names of six ancient farms in Feda, Halse, Førde, Sogndal, Søgne, and Torpa.

Sweden

• Fröslunda ("Freyr’s Grove") - Uppland
• Frösåker ("Freyr’s Field") - Uppland
• Frösön ("Freyr’s Island") - Jämtland

Denmark

• Frøs Herred ("Freyr's Meadowland") - South Jutland