#lodurr

[ladybrythwensinclair]

Hail Loki

Hail to the mighty and loving One Hail to the cunning Lie-Smith Hail to the progenitor of mighty beings Bless and walk with us this day

[elizatungusnakur]

'Lóðurr' by Elena Ustinnikova on VK.com

[faith-of-the-wheel]

Part 3: Hleudheros, Aspect or Son?

From Proto-Indo-European *h₁leudʰero ('belonging to the people', hence 'free'). God of viticulture, alcohol, fertility, and freedom. He also typically has a female counterpart, Hleudhera, who is essentially, perhaps even literally, his twin in all aspects. The Senowera Document lists him as both an epithet of Rudlos and an entirely separate god with a separate lineage. His name is often written Leudhero or Leudhero, which reflects a post-laryngeal pronunciation, which I consider perfectly valid.

His cognates include the Roman deities Liber & Libera, The Norse Lóðurr, and the Greek words ’Ελεύθερος & Έλευθέρα, referring to the concept of freedom and island respectively. She may also cognate with Greek Dionysus, who resembles Liber and was later syncretised with him into his Roman characterization as Bacchus, and Gallo-Roman Sucellus. I'm unable to find any Indo-Iranian cognate, so he/they may not have existed in earlier PIE stages.

The main argument here is whether or not Hleudhero and his domains are aspects of Rudlos, or separate deity. Keep in mind that in IE thought, the existence of a concept implies a deity of said concept, creating many gods that are deified abstractions. Xaryomen is an example of such deities formed from abstractions, albeit Xaryomen is likely much older, as he much better attested.

Let's take a look at these cognates.

Lóðurr:

Not much is known about Lóðurr. His name occurs only once, attested to in the Poetic Edda. He is mention alongside Hoenir and Odin in the creation of mankind. It's says the while Odin gave the first man and woman breath, and Hoenir gave sense/spirit, it was Lóðurr who gave flesh and blood.

"Lóðurr's friend" is used as a kenning for Odin.

It is possible that his name appears on one of the Nordendorf fibulae as Logaþore, along side Wodan and Wigiþonar(Thor). I personally find it interesting that he is the first of the three but that may not indicate much.

Many scholars considered Lóðurr to another name for Loki.

Liber Pater:

He was a patron deity of Rome's plebeians and was part of their Aventine Triad. His festival of Liberalia (March 17) became associated with free speech and the rights attached to coming of age. Before his official adoption as a Roman deity, Liber was companion to two different goddesses in two separate, archaic fertility cults; Ceres, an agricultural and fertility goddess of Rome's Hellenized neighbors, and Libera, his female equivalent(and sister in several sources).

Hleudhero is primarily reconstructed from Liber. Latin Liber means "free", or "free one"; when coupled with "Pater", it means "The Free Father", who personifies freedom and champions its attendant rights, as opposed to dependent servitude. His patronage of Rome's underclass associated with plebian civil disobediance against the patricians, and his worship seems to have been associated with republicanism/the famous roman anti-monarchism of the republican era.

Liber also personified male fertility, which was "ejaculated as the "soft seed" of human and animal semen". His temples held the image of a phallus. The rites ensured the growth of seeds and repelled any malicious enchantment (fascinatus) from fields.

I could into detail about his syncretism with Dionysus but i'm just gonna copy-paste the wikipedia section on it because I feel it is more than sufficient.

"Liber's associations with wine, inebriation, uninhibited freedom and the subversion of the powerful made him a close equivalent to the Greek god Dionysus, who was Romanised as Bacchus. In Graeco-Roman culture, Dionysus was euhemerised as a historical figure, a heroic saviour, world-traveller and founder of cities; and conqueror of India, whence he had returned in the first ever triumph, drawn in a golden chariot by tigers, accompanied by a retinue of drunken satyrs and maenads. In some cults, and probably in the popular imagination, Liber was gradually assimilated to Bacchus and came to share his Romanised "Dionysian" iconography and myths. Pliny calls him "the first to establish the practice of buying and selling; he also invented the diadem, the emblem of royalty, and the triumphal procession." Roman mosaics and sarcophagi attest to various representations of this exotic triumphal procession. In Roman and Greek literary sources from the late Republic and Imperial era, several notable triumphs feature similar, distinctively "Bacchic" processional elements, recalling the supposedly historic "Triumph of Liber"."

Other Alcohol Gods

Dionysus presents a strong cause due to his fundamental connections to viticulture, wine, rebellion, individualism, and even frenzied violence. There is some solid linguistic evidence connecting them given that one of his most popular epithets is Dionysus Eleutherius, "The Liberator", derived from Ελεύθερος, shown above to be cognate with Liber. Eleutherius is also the aspect Dionysus specifically associated with rebellion against authority and freedom of personal expression, lining up closely with Liber's character as patron of the plebians.

Rugatis is a Lithuanian god of beer. He has a tentative etymological link to Rugiaevit, and thus Rudlos. We know he had very strong fertility ties, evidenced by etymology potentially relating his name to the "heat" of animals, and some rituals related to marriage, but not much else is known of him. We do known he had a wife whose name was the feminine form of his.

Earlier I said their were no Indo-Iranian cognates. But there just might be one. This is a BIG stretch though. The Vedic god Varuna, who we will talk about a lot more in the next part of the series, has a daughter named Varuni(Note: his wife, and the personification of his shakti are both also called Varuni, and the three are sometimes said to be one goddess) is a goddess of wine. I want to make note of this because we have shown a pattern of Hleudhero' cognates having sister-wives who bear a feminine form of their name, and act as a female equivalent with all the same domains and characteristics.

Obviously, Varuna himself is not particularly associated with Alcohol in any surviving work, but in the next part of the series, I intend to show a potential link between him and Rudlos through yet another reconstructed PIE deity, Worunos. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

I feel this could either way. I think that what we have proven most concretely is the preponderance of alcohol deities in IE cultures(we haven't covered them because those had little to nothing indicating them as potential cognates. Vedic Soma, for example), and perhaps some common-ish formats for their characterization.

That said I personally believe that Hleudhero should probably be reconstructed separately, most likely as Rudlos' son, alongside his sister-wife, Hleudhera. Perhaps one could even use that as an epithet of his, Rudlosunu. I believe they are related for the following reasons:

Rudlos has very clear connections to alcohol, they madness that it brings, and it's origin. But none of his descendants are considered gods of alcohol, the closest is Odin, who is known to prefer foreign wines over mead.

Rudlos' cognates often work closely with sources of alcohol or gods of alcohol, cognate with Hleudhero or not.

Dionysus is an excellent example of the overlap between the domains of frenzied violence and war, and that of alcohol and civil disobedience.

Rudlos is connected to alcohol because it enables(especially if laced with something fun) the induction of madness and frenzy in a person. He is associated with it, but not patron of it. But it would make sense for the patron of alcohol to be associated closely with Rudlos.

I'm going to create a separate post for information on the worship of Hleudhero and Hleudhera at a later date, at which point I'll just link this post to it for simplicity so stayed tuned for that.

[smokingcaterpillar]

King of Hearts ♥️♣️♦️♠️

Idk why I’m nervous to post this lol maybe because this is a more personal UPG experience with me and Loki. This might be a tad lengthy btw.

I know this is something I don't have to share, but lately I've been reflecting on it and realize just how much of a difference Loki has made within this semi-traumatic situation I’ve dealt with most of my life. So I want to share this beautiful thing. Beautiful to me anyway. And through several different methods of divination, he's assured me he's okay with me doing so ♥️

TW: mentions of heart surgery, hospitals, panic attacks

When I was a kid my father had multiple bypass heart surgery and valve replacement, and has been in and out of the hospital ever since for various reasons including heart stuff. To put it simply: over the years, I had developed a strong aversion to heartbeats. For example, if I gave someone a hug or was in someone’s arms with my head resting on their chest, I hated- absolutely hated -hearing their heart. Or even when I put in ear plugs and could hear my own. I had it in my head that I would suddenly hear it stop. A fear that stemmed from being able to hear my father’s artificial valve tick within his chest just by standing next to him, as well as hearing the beeping of hospital machines monitoring his vitals, fearing I would suddenly hear the ticking and beeps no more. I never told anybody this, probably because I thought I might offend someone. Like, “Here let me adjust my position against you, I don’t wanna hear your heart, sorry.” sounded a little harsh to me 😂 so I never said anything. I was probably worrying about that more than I needed to tbh.

Fast forward to the past couple years. Something I didn’t expect to happen at all 🫠

Loki, being clever without even trying, ever so slowly began showing me a new perspective on heartbeats.

Not long after He came into my life, I learned about the tale of Loki eating the heart of Gullveig, and subsequently would notice other devotees associating beautiful artworks of anatomical hearts with him as well. And I simply thought, “Awe, that’s nice.” And nothing more. Lol, since then I’ve joked with him sometimes that he surely is a vampire, which I feel he secretly enjoys 🤭

Then came the tale of how Loki (as Vé) may have contributed in human creation by giving “..color to the human complexion.” Blood. And my perspective shifted more, even softened a bit.

It wasn’t until six months ago that Loki began showing how fond he was of heartbeats (again, UPG of my aspect of him).

There were many different ways in which he showed his love of hearts; the sound, the feeling, its power, its effects, and yes, even its fragility- the part that I feared most. I won’t go into detail about how those walls of fear came down brick by brick, as most of them were in private moments of various forms of affection…but I will say that my eyes now do soften at the mention of hearts. And at the sound of them. Something I never thought would become untainted. Because He was in all of it. I can now see hearts through his eyes. And no longer do they appear to me as a frightening, scheming creature inside of our bodies waiting to carry out our demise. I am so grateful and joyous for that ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹 I still hear my father’s valve tick when I’m next to him and it’s quiet enough; I'm still prone to panic attacks where my bpm goes to 150 for fifteen minutes to an hour, I'm still prone to PVCs when I lose too much potassium or haven't slept well- all of which are now few and far between -but the feelings of dread and paranoia that plague me for days after something like that happens has finally tapered off. Replaced with fascination and appreciation for this muscle that keeps me alive.

God of Transformations, my King of Hearts, thank you for your patience in allowing me to see a dark part of my mind flash with vibrancy like a gem in the light. It took nearly thirty years, but we're here ✨🫀

Artist profile: rybrig on DeviantArt

[jeffreystewart]

Norsery Rhymes from A to Z Embla - The First Woman - v2

Well here we are another Thor’s Day and another 20 min sketch of a Norse (and Celtic, Germanic) mythological characters.  This week it’s Embla the first Woman.  

Embla likely meaning “Elm Tree” or “Vine” the first female, and Askr “Ash Tree” the first male.

They were both made from trees found by the gods and brothers Vili, Ve and Odin. Or Hoenir, Lo(d/th)urr, and Odin. Either on the shoreline as standing trees, or as driftwood on the beach. Making Humans something grown from the earth. They all gave them shape from the wood into man and woman. Then Hoenir/Vili gave them Motion and sense.  Lodurr/Ve gave them blood, colour and heat (or speech hearing and sight depending on the source).  While Odin gave them spirit and soul.  They they gave them the job of starting the family of mankind and were given Midgard.

Their descendants Lif and Lifthrasir (Lifprasir) will survive Ragnarock to start the cycle of humanity again.  

Their origin as trees is likely why in so much Norse and Germaic poetry humans are described using tree and wood related words and metaphors.

Next time I’ll do just one more version of Embla.

[lostpeace]

Odin, Hoenir, and Lodurr

[aboutnorsemythology]

Some references and thoughts about Lóðurr or Lopt

Lodurr (pronounced “LOAD-er,” from Old Norse Lóðurr, whose meaning/etymology is unknown) is a Norse god about whom we know essentially nothing due to the dearth of information about him in Old Norse literature.

No description of Lodurr is ever given. There is one instance in which a single action is ascribed to him. The eighteenth stanza of the Völuspá, one of the poems in the Poetic Edda, reads in part:

 lá gaf Lóðurr

ok litu góða.

 This stanza gives an account of the gods Odin, Hoenir, and Lodurr bringing the first two humans, Ask and Embla, to life. Each god endows the pair with particular attributes, and Lodurr’s gifts are good looks (litu góða) and lá. The meaning of lá is ambiguous and contested, but most likely refers to blood and other bodily fluids. (There is popular suggestion that lá means “warmth”)

There is evidence that Lodurr and Loki might have been identical is the fact that Old Norse literature occasionally features the triad of Odin, Hoenir, and Loki, where the Völuspá features a triad of Odin, Hoenir, and Lodurr:

18. Soul they had not, | sense they had not, Heat nor motion, | nor goodly hue; Soul gave Othin, | sense gave Hönir, Heat gave Lothur | and goodly hue.

According to the Voluspá, Lodur takes part with Odin and Hœnir in the creation of man. These three “mighty and benevolent Æsir” once came down to the seashore, where they found Ask and Embla lying lifeless, without breath, without soul, and without blood; Odin gave them breath, Hœnir gave them soul, and Lodur gave them blood and bodily color. According to the Prose Edda, however, it was the sons of Borr, namely Odin, Vili, and Ve, who created Ask and Embla. Odin, Hœnir, and Lodur, or Odin, Vili, and Ve thus function as a sort of trinity of the Æsir. In the Gylfaginning something of the kind is to be found in Snorri’s formulation of the ancient mythology, namely, the trinity Hár (The High), Jafnhár (The Equally High), and priði (The Third). 

 And in Lokasenna Loki calls himself Lopt (another form of the name Lodurr):

6. “Thirsty I come | into this thine hall, I, Lopt, from a journey long, To ask of the gods | that one should give Fair mead for a drink to me.

Name and etymology

 The name's meaning is unknown. It has been speculatively linked to various Old Norsee words, such as lóð, "fruit, land", ljóðar, "people" and laða, "to attract". The Gothicc words liudan, "to grow" and laudi, "shape", as well as the Germannword lodern, "to blaze", (Another reference to Loki) have also been mentioned in this context.

The metrical position of Lóðurr's name in the skaldic poemm Íslendingadrápaa, composed in the strict dróttkvættt metre, indicates that it contains the sound value /ó/ rather than /o/. This evidence, while strong, is not incontrovertible and some scholars have held out for a Loðurr reading. (Lóðurr's name can also be represented or anglicizedd as Lóður, Lódurr, Lódur, Lóthurr, Lóthur, Lódhurr, Lódhur, Lodurr, Lodur, Lothurr, Lothur, Lodhurr, Loðurr, Loður or Lodhur.)

Danish and Norwegian lørdag, Swedish lördag, as well as Finnish lauantai may possibly derive from Lóður Dag, meaning "Saturday",although more typically the etymology is proposed to originate from "washing day".

Apart from the strophe in Völuspá, Lóðurr's name occurs only twice in the original sources. The name is found in the skaldic poemss Háleygjatall and Íslendingadrápaa where "Lóðurr's friend" is used as a kenningg for Odinn. Could that be the oath that Loki mentions in Lokasenna?

This seems consistent with Lóðurr's role in Völuspá.

Nordendorf fibula

Another source sometimes brought into the discussion is the Nordendorf fibul This artifact, dating from about 600 E contains the runic inscription logaþorewodanwigiþonar. This is usually interpreted as Logaþore Wodan Wigiþonar, where Wodan is Odin and Wigiþonar probably is Thor. It would be natural for logaþore to be the name of a third god, but there is no obvious identification in Norse mythology as we know it. Both Lóðurr and Loki have been proposed, but the etymological reasoning is tenuous, and firm conclusions cannot be reached.

Theories

Since the Prose Edda mentions the sons of Borr in the same context as Völuspá does Hœnir and Lóðurr, some scholars have reasoned that Lóðurr might be another name for either Vili or Vé. Viktor Rydberg was an early proponent of this theory, but recently it has received little attention.

 A more popular theory proposed by the scholar Ursula Dronke is that Lóðurr is "a third name of Loki/Loptr". The main argument for this is that the gods Odin, Hœnir and Loki occur as a trio in Haustlöng, in the prose prologue to Reginsmál and also in the Loka Táttur a Faroese ballad which is a rare example of the occurrence of Norse gods in folklore. The Odin-kenning "Lóðurr's friend" furthermore appears to parallel the kenning "Loptr's friend" and Loki is similarly referred to as "Hœnir's friend" in Haustlöng, strengthening the trio connection. While many scholars agree with this identification, it is not universally accepted. Many scholars, including Jan de Vries and Georges Dumézil, have also identified Lóðurr as being the same deity as Loki.

 Recently, Haukur Þorgeirsson of the University of Iceland suggested that Loki and Lóðurr were different names of the same deity based on that Loki is referred to as Lóður in the rimur Lokrur. Haukur argues that whatever if the rimur is based on Snorri's Gylfaginning or a folksource the writer must have had the information about the identification from either a tradition or drawing the conclusion based on Edda poems, since Snorri does not mention Lóðurr in his Edda. Since the contents of the Poetic Edda are assumed to have been forgotten around 1400 when the rimur was written Haukur argues for a traditional identification. Haukur also points to Þrymlur where the same identification is made with Loki and Lóðurr. Haukur Þorgeirsson says that unless the possible but unlikely idea that the 14th and 15th century poets possessed lost written sources unknown to us, the idea must have come from either an unlikely amount of sources from where the poets could have drawn a similar conclusion that Loki and Lóðurr are identical like some recent scholars or that there still were remnants of an oral tradition.

[incorrectedda]

Of all that is written, I love only what a man has written with his own blood.

Loðurr, probably.