Sif

Sif

In Norse mythology, Sif (Old Norse: [siv]) is a golden-haired goddess associated with the earth. Sif is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, as well as in skaldic poetry. In both the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, Sif is renowned for her golden hair and is married to the thunder god Thor.

In the Prose Edda, it is told that Loki once cut off Sif’s hair, prompting Thor to force Loki to have a golden headpiece crafted for her. This led to not only the creation of Sif's golden locks but also five other magical items for the gods. Sif is also described in the Prose Edda as the mother of Þrúðr (Thrud) with Thor and Ullr, whose father is not mentioned.

Scholars have suggested that Sif’s golden hair may symbolise golden wheat fields, associating her with fertility, family, marriage, and possibly the rowan tree. Some have also proposed a potential reference to her role or name in the Old English poem Beowulf.

Etymology

The name Sif is the singular form of the Old Norse word sifjar (plural). It appears only in the singular when referring to the goddess as a proper name. Sifjar is cognate with Old English sibb and Modern English sib (meaning "kinship" or "affinity through marriage") and with terms in other Germanic languages such as Gothic sibja, Old High German sippa, and Modern German Sippe (kin or clan). Sifjar appears in Old Norse poetry, legal texts, and compound words (e.g., byggja sifjar, meaning "to marry"). Scholars interpret her name as follows:

  • John Lindow: "in-law relationship"
  • Andy Orchard: "relationship"
  • Rudolf Simek: "affinity through marriage"

Attestations

Poetic Edda

In the poem Hárbarðsljóð (stanza 48), Hárbarðr (Odin, disguised) meets Thor at a fjord and refuses to ferry him across. During their verbal duel, Hárbarðr accuses Sif of having a lover at home. Thor responds angrily, stating that Hárbarðr speaks carelessly "of what seems worst to me" and is lying.

In Lokasenna (stanzas 53–54), Sif pours Loki a crystal cup of mead during his tirade of insults against the gods. She declares herself beyond reproach among the Æsir's children, to which Loki retorts that she had an affair with him:

Sif stepped forward, poured mead for Loki
in a crystal goblet, and said:

"Welcome, Loki, take the crystal cup,
full of ancient mead.
You should concede, among the Æsir's children,
I alone am blameless."

Loki took the goblet and replied:

"You would indeed be, if you were so,
shy and grim against men;
but I alone know, and believe I now know,
your lover besides Thor,
and that was the wretched Loki."

Sif does not reply, and the conversation moves on to Beyla.

Sif is also mentioned in kennings (poetic metaphors) in two Poetic Edda poems:

  • In Hymiskviða, Thor is referred to three times as "Sif’s husband."
  • In Þrymskviða, Thor is once called "Sif’s husband."

 

Prose Edda

In the Prose Edda, Sif is mentioned in the Prologue, Chapter 31 of Gylfaginning, and Skáldskaparmál. She is described as a guest at Ægir’s feast, the object of a jötunn's desire, and as having her hair cut by Loki. Sif also appears in various kennings (poetic metaphors).

Prologue

Sif is introduced in Chapter 3 of the Prologue, in Snorri Sturluson’s euhemerised account of Norse mythology. Snorri states that Thor married Sif and identifies her as:

"a prophetess named Sibyl, though we know her as Sif."

She is described as "the most beautiful of all women" with hair made of gold. While her lineage is left unspecified, Snorri mentions that Thor and Sif had a son named Lóriði, who "resembled his father."

Gylfaginning

In Chapter 31 of Gylfaginning, Ullr is described as the son of Sif and the stepson of Thor, though Ullr’s father is not mentioned:

"Ullr is his name. He is the son of Sif and the stepson of Thor. He is such a skilled archer and skier that no one can rival him. He is handsome to behold and a capable warrior. He is also a good deity to invoke in single combat."

Skáldskaparmál

  1. Hrungnir’s Desire for Sif
    In the Skáldskaparmál, Hrungnir, a jötunn described as the strongest of his kind, drunkenly boasts that he would kill all the gods except Freyja and Sif, whom he intended to take home with him. However, in a subsequent duel, Hrungnir is swiftly killed by Thor.

  2. The Cutting of Sif’s Hair
    A story in Skáldskaparmál recounts Loki cutting off Sif’s hair "for fun." When Thor discovers this, he seizes Loki, who promises to replace Sif’s hair with a golden headdress. Loki commissions the dwarves, the sons of Ivaldi, to craft the golden hairpiece. In addition to this, the dwarves also create Odin’s spear Gungnir. This event leads to the creation of:

    • Skíðblaðnir, Freyr’s ship
    • Gullinbursti, Freyr’s golden boar
    • Draupnir, Odin’s multiplying ring
    • Mjöllnir, Thor’s powerful hammer

  3. Kennings for Sif
    Sif is also mentioned as a heiti (a specific poetic synonym) for "Earth" and appears in several kennings:

    • A woman holding gold
    • "Wife of Thor"
    • "Mother of Ullr"
    • "The blonde goddess"
    • "Rival of Járnsaxa"
    • "Mother of Þrúðr"

 

Swedish Folklore

The 19th-century scholar Jacob Grimm noted that in his time, the inhabitants of Värmland, Sweden, referred to Thor’s wife as godmor or "good mother."

Theories

Sif in Beowulf

The Old English word sib ("family, kinship") is linguistically related to the Old Norse Sif and sifjar (relationship, connection). In the Old English epic Beowulf (lines 2016–2018), Hrothgar’s wife, Wealhþeow, moves through the hall serving mead to the warriors and diffusing tension. Scholars, beginning with Magnus Olsen, have drawn parallels between this role and Sif’s actions at the feast in Lokasenna.

Richard North adds that sib is personified unusually in Beowulf (lines 2599–2661), suggesting possible references to Sif in Danish religion:

"Both instances might indicate that the poet of Beowulf could imagine a sixth-century Scandinavia based on his knowledge of contemporary Danish legends."

Golden Hair as Wheat and Sif’s Connections

Jacob Grimm proposed that Sif could represent a reconstructed Germanic goddess similar to Frigg and Freyja, with connections to beauty, love, and fertility:

"The Gothic sibja, Old High German sippa, Old English sib (genitive sibbe) denote peace, friendship, kinship. From this, I deduce a deity Sibja, Sippia, Sib, corresponding to Old Norse Sif. She, like Frigg and Freyja, appears as a goddess of beauty and love."

Grimm connected the poetic references to Sif’s golden hair (Sifjar haddr) to the plant name haddr Sifjar (Polytrichum aureum, a type of golden moss), which he interpreted as symbolising golden grain. He compared Sif to Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, pointing out a similar Old Slavic term, Siva, as a gloss for Ceres. However, he noted the lack of clear mythological details about Sif’s role compared to agricultural deities like Demeter.

Guðbrandur Vigfússon suggested that Sif symbolised "Mother Earth with her golden sheaves of grain," representing the sanctity of family and marriage.

Rudolf Simek theorised that Sif complements Thor’s association with fertility and that her name (sif, meaning "relationship by marriage") may originally have signified "Thor’s wife." However, Simek dismissed the idea of a "vegetation cult" worshipping Sif and called the interpretation of her hair as representing grain an "overzealous interpretation." He speculated that Snorri Sturluson invented the story of Sif’s shorn locks to explain the attributes of various gods.

H.R. Ellis Davidson posited that Sif could have been an ancient fertility goddess and agreed with the association of her golden hair with wheat fields. She described Sif’s relationship with Thor as an echo of the sacred marriage between a sky god and an earth goddess:

"Thor’s marriage to Sif with her golden hair seems to recall the ancient symbol of the divine union between the sky god and earth goddess, when the storm brings rain to fertilise the fields."

Davidson noted Thor’s role in maintaining fertility, linking him to agricultural well-being and community prosperity, and pointed out that Thor’s cult involved rituals tied to the fertility of the land.

Significance of Sif’s Hair

John Lindow suggested that Sif’s mythological importance in the story of her shorn hair might be underestimated. The golden headdress created to replace her hair is forged alongside some of the most powerful objects in Norse mythology, including Mjöllnir, Odin’s spear Gungnir, and Freyr’s ship Skíðblaðnir. Lindow argued that Sif plays a pivotal role in the creation of these treasures, and her significance in the myth should not be overlooked.

Rowan and Sif’s Connection

Sif has been linked to Ravdna, the consort of the Sámi thunder god Horagalles. Ravdna is associated with the red berries of the rowan tree, which were sacred to her. The name Ravdna resembles the Old Norse word for rowan (reynir). According to Skáldskaparmál, the rowan is referred to as "Thor’s salvation" because Thor once saved himself by clinging to it. This connection has led to the theory that Sif may have originally been conceived as a personification of the rowan tree, which Thor used for protection.

Accusations in Lokasenna

In Lokasenna, Loki accuses Sif of infidelity. Scholar Carolyne Larrington notes that no other sources portray Sif as unfaithful but points out that Odin makes a similar accusation in Hárbarðsljóð. Larrington suggests a possible connection between these accusations and the story of Loki cutting Sif’s hair, theorising that the cutting may explain how Loki got close enough to her to make such claims.

Identity of Sif’s First Husband

The identity of Sif’s first husband, Ullr’s father, is not specified in either the Poetic Edda or the Prose Edda, leaving it a matter of speculation. Several scholars have proposed candidates:

  • N.A. Nielsen suggests that Sif may have been married to Njörðr before the Æsir-Vanir war. This theory depends on equating Ullr with Freyr, which Rudolf Simek describes as "highly precarious."
  • Most scholars consider Ullr’s father to remain unidentified.

Modern Influence

  1. Astronomy:

    • A volcano on Venus is named Sif Mons after the Norse goddess.

  2. Marvel Comics and Films:

    • Sif is reimagined as a martial warrior in Marvel Comics and portrayed by Jaimie Alexander in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including the films Thor, Thor: The Dark World, and the television series Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. She also appears in Loki, where the hair-cutting incident is loosely adapted.

  3. Dark Souls Video Game Series:

    • In the Dark Souls series, Sif is the "Great Grey Wolf," a companion of the knight Artorias. Sif is a boss character in the first game, wielding Artorias’s sword to defend his grave.

  4. Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard:

    • From 2015 to 2017, Sif appeared as a fictionalised character in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard trilogy by Rick Riordan, published by Disney-Hyperion. The series is set in the same universe as Camp Half-Blood Chronicles and The Kane Chronicles.
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