Frigga (Frigg, Frija, Fri) (lady, mistress, bearer?) In Norse mythology, an Aesir goddess, wife of Odin, mother of Baldur. She presides over marriage. In the Prose Edda she is in the front rank of the goddesses. Her home was Fensalir (sea hall), and she dressed in the plumage of falcons and hawks. Frigga has 11 maidservants: Fulla, Hlin, Gna, Lofn, Vjofn, Syn, Gefjon, Snotra, Eira, Vara, and Vor, who help the goddess preside over marriage and justice. She is called upon in the ninth-century German “Merseburg Charms” to help cure a broken leg on Baldur’s horse. She appears in Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen as Fricka. Friday is dedicated to the goddess and is named for her. Frigg is part of many Scandinavian place names. Sometimes Frigga is confused with Freya in Germanic mythology.
SEE ALSO:
SOURCE:
Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, Third Edition – Written by Anthony S. Mercatante & James R. Dow-Copyright © 2009 by Anthony S. Mercatante
