Læraðr (Laerad) is a tree in Norse mythology, often identified with Yggdrasil. It stands at the top of the Valhöll. Two animals, the goat Heiðrún and the hart Eikþyrnir, graze its foliage.
Etymology
editThe meaning of Læraðr / Léraðr is unclear. One of the meanings of læ is "harm", "betrayal". A possible translation of Læraðr could therefore be "arranger of betrayal", which would relate to Yggdrasill as the place of Odin's self-sacrifice.[1] Another reading is sometimes suggested, *hléradr, whose first component means "shelter" and which could thus be rendered as "giver of protection".[2]
Attestations
editPoetic Edda
editLæraðr is mentioned in two stanzas of the Grímnismál:
- Heidrûn the goat is called,
- that stands o’er Odin’s hall,
- and bites from Lærâd’s branches.
- He a bowl shall fill
- with the bright mead;
- that drink shall never fail.
- Eikthyrnir the hart is called,
- that stands o’er Odin’s hall,
- and bites from Lærâd’s branches;
- from his horns fall
- drops into Hvergelmir,
- whence all waters rise:—
-
- —Grímnismál (25, 26), Thorpe's translation[3]
Prose Edda
editUnder the name Léraðr, it also appears in Gylfaginning:
- The she-goat, she who is called Heidrún, stands up in Valhall and bites the needles from the limb of that tree which is very famous, and is called [Léraðr]; and from her udders mead runs so copiously, that she fills a tun every day. [...] Even more worthy of note is the hart Eikthyrnir, which stands in Valhall and bites from the limbs of the tree; and from his horns distils such abundant exudation that it comes down into Hvergelmir, and from thence fall those rivers called thus [...].
-
- —Gylfaginning (39), Brodeur's translation[4]
Theories
editAccording to John Lindow, the first reason to identify Lærad with Yggdrasill is "Lærad's location at Odin's hall, which would be at the center of the cosmos".[1] Another argument is that many animals dwell in or around Yggdrasill, such as an eagle, the squirrel Ratatoskr, four stags, many snakes and the dragon Níðhöggr. Snorri also wrote that Hvergelmir was located under Yggdrasill (Gylfaginning, 15, 16).
References
edit- ^ a b Lindow, John. 2002. Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. New York: Oxford University Press. First published: ABC-Clio, 2001. ISBN 0-19-515382-0.
- ^ Simek, Rudolf. 1996. Dictionary of Northern Mythology. Translated by Angela Hall. First published: Alfred Kröner Verlag, 1984. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. ISBN 0-85991-513-1.
- ^ Thorpe, Benjamin (trans.). 1866. Edda Sæmundar Hinns Froða: The Edda Of Sæmund The Learned. London: Trübner & Co.
- ^ Brodeur, Arthur Gilchrist (trans.). 1916. Snorri Sturluson: The Prose Edda. New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation.