Heremod and Óðinn: From Beowulf to Snorri’s Prose Edda
2024; Routledge; Volume: 135; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/0015587x.2023.2252658
ISSN1469-8315
Autores Tópico(s)Linguistics and language evolution
ResumoThis article reassesses the sources pertaining to Heremod (Hermóðr) in order to explore the nature of his relationship with Óðinn. In Beowulf, Heremod is presented as a Danish tyrant without any overt connection to Óðinn, whereas in Old Norse sources, Hermóðr is consistently presented as a mortal favourite or divine offspring of Óðinn. Closer scrutiny of the Beowulf passages in light of their analogues suggests that the disagreement results from the Beowulf poet's obfuscation of a prior relationship between Heremod and Óðinn. An ancient connection between the god and his favourite appears to antedate Beowulf and persist into late sources concerning not only Hermóðr, but also Lotherus and Olo, recognized analogues to Heremod whose legends are believed to have absorbed aspects of the earlier Heremod tradition. An original legend, in which Óðinn patronized, sabotaged, and elicited transgressive deeds from Heremod, appears to have constituted the core tradition around which numerous variants emerged in subsequent centuries.
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