Óðr

The Prose Edda and Heimskringla, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, both describe Óðr as Freyja's husband and father of her daughter Hnoss.

[4] The adjective *wōđaz ultimately stems from a Pre-Germanic form *uoh₂-tós, which is related to the Proto-Celtic term *wātis, meaning 'seer, sooth-sayer' (cf.

[3][5] In the case a borrowing scenario is excluded, a PIE etymon *(H)ueh₂-tis ('prophet, seer') can also be posited as the common ancestor of the attested Germanic, Celtic and Latin forms.

[11] In chapter 35 of the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, the enthroned figure of High says that the goddess Freyja "was married to someone named" Óðr.

[13] In chapter 20 of the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, poetic names for the goddess Freyja are listed, including "wife of Óðr".

Óðr is often theorized as somehow connected to Odin (Old Norse: Óðinn), the head of the Æsir in Norse mythology, by way of etymological similarities between the two names (Lindow states that the linguistic relationship is identical to that of Ullr and Ullin—often considered as variant names of a single god), and the fact that both are described as going on long journeys, though Lindow points out that Snorri is careful to keep them apart.

Scholar Viktor Rydberg proposed that Freyja's husband Oðr is identical with the hero Svipdag from the eddic poems Grougaldr and Fjölsvinsmál.

Jacob Grimm and others have long identified Menglad ("the neck-lace lover"), Svipdag's love interest in that poem, with Freyja the owner of Brísingamen.

[21] Simek adds that although these similarities exist, there are things that speak against it, such as that "Freyja's tears for Odin and her search are unmotivated," and that "the reference to Hnoss as their only child is surprising - why, for example, should Baldr not be mentioned?"

Grundy concludes that, as "gods tend to reflect the social norms of their worshippers," it very possible that Odin/Óðr originally "could have rejoiced in Frigg and Freyja simultaneously".

Grundy posits that, over time polygynous marriages dwindled during the Viking Age and into the Christianization of the North Germanic territories and, as a result, such a relationship was less easily reflected in the deities of the people.