Æsir

Terminology

Etymology

The modern English term "Æsir" is derived from the plural Old Norse term æsir, the singular of which is áss. In Old English, the term used is the cognate ōs (pl. ēse). In continental West Germanic languages, the word is only attested in personal and place names such as Ansila, Ansgeir and Anshram. The cognate term Ansis was recorded as a Latinised form of an original Gothic word by Jordanes, in the 6th century CE work Getica, as a name for euhemerised semi-divine early Gothic rulers. The Old High German is reconstructed as *ans, plural *ensî.

The corresponding feminine form in Old Norse is ásynja (pl.:ásynjur), formed by the addition of the -ynja suffix, denoting a female form. A cognate word for "female áss" is not attested outside Old Norse, and a corresponding West Germanic word would have been separately derived with the feminine suffixes -inī or -injō.

The Proto-Germanic form is typically reconstructed as *ansuz. This form of the word is attested in Proto-Germanic during the Roman Imperial Age as a component of the name of the goddess *Vih-ansa (potentially translating to "Battle-goddess") and probably also in an inscription from around 200 CE on a buckle from Vimose that reads a(n)sau wīja ("I dedicate this to the Æsir"). The word *ansuz is in turn is typically derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ems-u-, making the terms closely related to Sanskrit: ásura, Avestan: ahura ("god" or "lord") and Hittite: ḫāši⁠ ("to give birth" or "to beget"). An alternative is that the terms for "Æsir" are related to *ans- ("beam" or "post"), the ancestor of Old Norse: áss ("the main beam of a house"). In this case, the name would likely have originated due to the equation of gods and carved posts in Germanic religion.

Snorri Sturluson and Saxo Grammaticus proposed that the term "Æsir" instead derives from "Ásiamenn ("Asians"), and the idea that the gods originated in Asia, later migrating into Northern Europe. This is however not supported by modern scholars and attributed to medieval scholarship on the matter and an attempt to connect the Scandinavian peoples with Classical antiquity and Christianity rather than a reflection of actual Germanic mythology.

Derived terms

Áss is further found in Old Norse compound nouns such as Asbrú ("Æsir's bridge"), Ásgarð ("home" or "enclosure of the Æsir"), ásmegin ("strength of the Æsir") and the names for Thor Asa-Þórr ("Æsir-Thor") and Asabragr ("Æsir-lord"). The only modern word that is derived from terms for æsir, other than learned borrowings from medieval languages is Swedish: åska, meaning "thunderstorm", which is derived from earlier åsekja ("the driving of the áss"), which would derive from the reconstructed Old East Norse:*ās-ækia. This is likely in reference to the belief in thunderstorms originating from Thor's riding across the skies.

Terms for Æsir form parts of Germanic names in multiple Germanic languages. Examples of this include Old English: Ósbeorn, Óslác, Ósweald (Modern English: Oswald) and their corresponding Old Norse equivalents, Ásbjörn, Áslákr and Ásvaldr. Other examples include Old English: Óswine and Old Norse: Ásmundr. Some Proto-Norse personal names feature *ansuz such as Ansugastiz, Ansugīslaz and *Ansulaibaz.

Old Norse sources

Meaning of the term "Æsir"

It has been proposed that in Old Norse poetry, the term "áss" was typically chosen over "goð" for metrical reasons, fitting better with the required alliteration or rhyme, rather than so as to create a semantic distinction between the two terms. Following from this, it has been argued that the term "æsir" acts as a synonym to "goð" and is inclusive of Njörðr and his descendants, typically referred to as the Vanir. Examples of this are seen in the þulur, where Njöðr and Freyr are listed in the ása heiti ("Poetic equivalents for áss") and Freyja in that for the ásunjur.

The main tales that present the Æsir and Vanir as distinct family groups are those concerning the Æsir-Vanir war, which are contained within Völuspá, Ynglinga saga and Skáldskaparmál. This conflict between the gods occurred long in the past and in Ynglinga saga ends with the exchange of Hœnir and Mímir as hostages from the Æsir with Njörðr, Freyr and Kvasir from the Vanir. Skáldskaparmal alternatively says that at the end of the war, the two groups mixed their spit in a vat and created Kvasir from it. The inclusion of gods typically referred to as Vanir as Æsir is that the Vanir may have been seen as fully integrated into the Æsir after the resolution of this war between the two groups.

Despite the inclusion of at least some of the Vanir within the Æsir, some scholars have argued that some differences between the two groups remain, such as the Vanir appearing to have mainly been connected with cultivation and fertility and the Æsir with power and war. Conversely, it has been argued that this division of domains is not reflected in the sources, with the Vanir being instead more associated with kingship and the Æsir with creation.

One idea is that the Vanir (and the fertility cult associated with them) may be more archaic than that of the more warlike Æsir, such that the mythical war may mirror a half-remembered religious conflict. This argument was first suggested in Wilhelm Mannhardt's Antike Vald-und Feldkulten.

On a similar note, Marija Gimbutas argues that the Æsir and the Vanir represent the displacement of an indigenous group by a tribe of warlike Indo-European invaders as part of her Kurgan hypothesis. Another historical theory is that the inter-pantheon interaction may be an apotheosisation of the conflict between the Roman Kingdom and the Sabines. Given the difference between their roles and emphases, some scholars have speculated that the interactions between the Æsir and the Vanir reflect the types of interaction that were occurring between social classes (or clans) within Norse society at the time.

Relation with jötnar

It has been proposed that most narratives in Old Nordic mythology portray existence as broadly divided into "this world", inhabited by the Æsir and men, and "the otherworld" inhabited by beings such as jötnar. These narratives often centre on the journey of an áss to the otherworld, either to obtain something important from there, or to resolve an issue that has arisen in Ásgarð through social exchange with the otherworld. The jötnar also are presented as a constant threat to the Æsir, leading them into confrontation with Thor who stops the jötnar overrunning Ásgarð and Miðgarð.

Despite this general juxtaposition between the Æsir and the jötnar, they were not conceived of as necessarily "biologically" distinct from one another, with many of the Æsir being descended from jötnar such as Odin, Thor, and Loki. Many Æsir also marry and have children with gýgjar (jötunn women) such as Odin, who marries Jörð and fathers Thor with her, and Freyr who weds Gerð, founding the Yngling family. In descriptions of weddings celebrated by the Æsir, the gýgjar spouses appear to be fully integrated into the Æsir.

Furthermore, the Æsir are depicted as having strong positive relations with some jötnar such as Ægir, who hosts them for a feast where they all drink together in the poem Lokasenna. Other jötnar are seen by the Æsir as sources of knowledge, such as Vafþrúðnir, with whom Odin has a wisdom contest in Vafþrúðnismál, and Hyndla to whom Freyja travels in the poem Hyndluljóð to find out the lineage of Ottar.

Old English sources

Wið færstice

The Wið færstice text from the late 10th or early 11th century Lācnunga is an Old English remedy against harm caused by several beings including ēse and ælfe (often translated as "elves").

The collocation of ēse and elves Wið færstice is paralleled in Old Norse writings as the alliterative phrase "æsir and álfar".

It is not clear whether this formula dates back to the ancestral community speaking the ancestor of Old Norse and Old English and thus had always existed in both languages, or was the result of a later loaning due to the close cultural contact.

It has been proposed that just like in early Old Norse-speaking communities, those speaking Old English early on would also have placed ēse and ælfe in contrast with monstrous beings such as eotenas and wyrmas, although it is unclear exactly how the beings were conceived of in English-speaking communities by the time that Wið færstice was written.

The A-rune (ᚫ, ᚩ or ᚬ)

The Proto-Germanic name of the A rune, written in Elder Futhark as ᚫ and Anglo-Saxon Futhorc as ᚩ, is typically reconstructed as Proto-Germanic: *ansuz, an áss (or heathen god). This identification is principally based on the Icelandic rune poem which reads as records the name of the Younger Futhark form of the rune, ᚬ, as Ós, referring to Odin:

Some scholars have translated the name of the rune in the Old English rune poem as ōs ("god"), with the word commonly accepted as being a cognate of áss, however others interpret it as meaning "mouth" that would have come to Old English from Proto-Germanic or result from influence from either Old Norse: óss ("river mouth") or Latin: os ("mouth"). The Old Swedish and Old Norwegian rune poems both refer to the name as meaning "river mouth" rather than "god".

Modern worship

Ásatrú, meaning "faith in the Æsir", is a new religious movement also known as Heathenry that aims to reconstruct and practise a modern form of Germanic paganism. As of 2007, Ásatrú is a religion officially recognized by the governments of Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. In the United Kingdom, the organisation Asatru UK is registered as a community interest company for religious activities.

Most adherents do not emphasise worship of the Æsir in particular and may also refer to their practice as "forn sed / sidr / siður" meaning old customs. The Icelandic Ásatrúarfélagið describes Ásatrú as "Nordic pantheism" involving "belief in the Icelandic/Nordic folklore" including all the "spirits and entities" besides "gods and other beings" this entails.

Place-names

Place-names containing the word áss or cognate terms have been proposed for the following:

Sweden:

Aspberg

Åslunda

Norway

Ásaráll

No such locations have yet been found in England that are widely accepted by scholars.