Talk:Gefjon

Overhaul
I am going to give this article an overhaul and so I copy in advance the section where bits of information may be lost because I may not find them in my reference works:


 * Gefjun ("giver"; also Gefion, Gefjon, Gefyon, Gefn) was, in Norse mythology, a seeress and goddess, a member of both the Vanir and the Æsir. All women who die virgin are sent to her hall, and thus she is characterised as a goddess of virtue, yet she was also a fertility goddess.


 * Moreover, "Gefn" is one of the alternate names of Freyja, the Norse goddess of procreation. It is entirely conceivable that Gefjun is merely an aspect of Freyja in the same way that Morrigan (in Irish mythology) has a multiplicity of aspects.


 * She was associated with the plow, virgins and good luck. Girls who died as virgins became her servants in the afterlife.


 * Her husband was King Skjöld, son of Óðinn (Odin). Many legendary Danish kings claimed to be descended from her.


 * The goddess' name is shared with a Norse term meaning "marriage", represented by the English language as "give", meaning "wife" (see dowry), and found in the form of a Rune.

When I am done, anyone who feels that a piece of information has been unjustly removed can reinsert it from this talkpage.--Berig 07:50, 19 May 2007 (UTC)

Move to Gefjon?
Since I'm knee-deep in the rewrite of this article, I figure it's time to point out that most of the English language sources I'm working with use Gefjon more commonly than Gefjun. Would someone be so kind as to move this article to Gefjon? bloodofox: (talk) 18:26, 28 April 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks Berig. :} bloodofox: (talk) 20:25, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

Gefn: Freyja or Gefjon
Can anyone explain to me / know why the name Gefn is applied to both Gefjon and Freyja? Is this a recent development? Is it a mistake and it only applies to one (i.e. only Freyja but it looks similar to Gefjon so confusion arose there) or is it related to the Gefjon as an aspect of Freyja theory? Are there any mythic sources that uses Gefn for Freyja and sources that use Gefn for Gefjon? Etc. As you can see I'm confused.24.190.34.219 (talk) 00:11, 10 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Gefn is a name for Freyja. Gefjon is a separate deity. However, the two names are generally thought to be related, as (I hope) the etymology section of this article communicates. bloodofox: (talk) 04:14, 10 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Gefn is the seventh vanaðis in a list of eight, all being mentioned in the Norse-Icelandic source as incarnations of Freya. Vanaðis Gefn seems, by her name to be reckognised by the activity of generousity. Åsynja Gefhjón may very well be related to generousity, but is not Freya anymore than any other of the Gods. Actually it is interesting to see that Frigg, which is Cybele, the Mother of Frygia, as explained by the medieval Saga-litterature (not modern comparative mythology!) as a mother-mistress of the Æsir, Freya is of the Vanir - an explicit distinction made in the old sources, yet elevated to the status of Åsynje, following the settlement of the Æsir-Vanir war. Géfhjón is also holding the elevated status as Åsynje. She seems to earn that respect after Oðin's incarnation in Denmark after the mentioned war, the Trojan War in the Norse version, wherupon Oðinn and Gefhjón becomes the anchestors of the Skjoldungs aka Scyldings. This is of course very fascinating as the Danes associated themselves, legendary, with the Acchaeans, aka Daanaes, the Greeks that is, who attacked King Priam and the Trojans. The Norse skaldic traditon portrayed Oðinn as an incarnation of King Priam as Frigg was Queen Hecuba. Snorre Sturlusson portrays those taking these figures as mere divinities representing natural and psychic forces as superstitious folks cut off from the world and from tradition, wisdom and knowledge. We learn that Gefhjún has four sons before Skjold, they are Jotunns. The perception of the jotunns seems to have become obscurated at least as much as the perception of dwarves. Gefhjóns relate to norse 'gæfr' meaning pleasant or desireable as gift, or a pleasurably generous person. 'Hjón' is a concept that spans from meaning a household, litteraly those who are together as one, etymologically linked to 'join', thus also with a slightly erotical sense. --Xact (talk) 18:55, 14 July 2022 (UTC)

Gefion/Gefjon
The bolded part of this passage from the intro "In Norse mythology, Gefjon or Gefjun (and from these sometimes Anglicized as Gefion)" is not quite accurate, as the common current use in Denmark is also Gefion (and by doing a quick Google it seems in Sweden and Norway as well). Perhaps it would be more correct to change the sentence in the parantheses to "alternate modern spelling Gefion" or something similar? --Saddhiyama (talk) 14:27, 11 August 2009 (UTC)

Kvenna heiti ókend
What's the meaning of the "kvenna heiti ókend" mentioned in the article? I suppose it means something like "woman of unknown name", but it's unintelligible out of context. 惑乱 Wakuran (talk) 10:35, 23 February 2011 (UTC)


 * The article heiti explains. Haukur (talk) 21:33, 23 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Actually, not completely. Still needs clarifying. 惑乱 Wakuran (talk) 15:07, 24 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Sturtevant is saying that the theonym Njǫrun appears among woman heitis. What is unclear about this? bloodofox: (talk) 17:44, 24 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Probably the fact that it takes for granted the reader is familiar with Old Norse. Even the heiti-article (which is not linked in the mentioned passage), is written in a similar fashion. Quotations and Old Norse words should not stand alone, but be accompagnied with English translations or explanations. --Saddhiyama (talk) 18:34, 24 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Exactly. I could roughly make out the words through knowing Swedish, but I had trouble understanding the context, anyway. 惑乱 Wakuran (talk) 19:49, 24 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Right, yes, some explanation wouldn't be amiss. The problem is that it's a direct quote so some restructuring might be necessary. I've linked to heiti for the time being. Haukur (talk) 20:08, 24 February 2011 (UTC)


 * A literal translation of the term "kvenna heiti ókend" would be in order, or just a brief sentence explaining what it is. I gather it is some sort of collection of verses or poems whose author is unknown (ókend means unknown?), or am I misunderstanding it? --Saddhiyama (talk) 21:50, 24 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Yeah, ókend means "unknown", but I don't think it's the author that's unknown, rather what the heiti refers to, or something like that. I didn't completely understand it, as I said. 惑乱 Wakuran (talk) 20:53, 26 February 2011 (UTC)


 * No, see, it means "ways to refer to women without using kenningar". More prosaically, "synonyms for women". Haukur (talk) 20:26, 22 March 2011 (UTC)