Nanna (Norse deity)

Nanna (Norse deity)

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Nanna (Norse deity)

Baldr sees Nanna for the first time, illustration by Louis Moe

Nanna is a goddess in Norse mythology, the daughter of Nepr and wife of Baldr (Balder). She and Baldr are both Ćsir and live together in the hall of Breidablik in Asgard. With Baldr, she was the mother of Forseti.

Prose Edda

Gylfaginning
Skáldskaparmál

Poetic Edda

Hyndluljód

Gesta Danorum
Chronicon Lethrense
Setre Comb
Notes
References

Prose Edda

Gylfaginning

According to Gylfaginning, when Baldr was unintentionally slain by the blind god Höđr through the treachery of Loki, she was overcome with grief and died. She was placed on the funeral pyre alongside her husband on his ship Hringhorni which was then launched out to sea. Later, when Hermód set out on his quest to bring Baldr back from the underworld and entered the hall of Hel, he saw Baldr there in the seat of honour alongside Nanna who sent back with Hermód gifts for the other gods including a robe for Frigg and a ring for Fulla along with the golden arm ring Draupnir sent back to Odin by Baldr.

Skáldskaparmál

According to Skáldskaparmál, Nanna is listed among the eight Ásynjur presiding over the banquet held for Aegir when he was a guest in Asgard, though Baldr is conspicuously absent among the hosting male Ćsir. Despite being known as a goddess, her name is also used in the same book in a kenning for giantess or "troll wife".

Poetic Edda

Hyndluljód

In the poem Hyndluljóđ, there is also a Nanna, daughter of Nokkvi, mentioned by the giantess Hyndla during her enumeration of the ancestors of Óttar, presumably referring to a human ancestor rather than the goddess.

Gesta Danorum

In Gesta Danorum, a Danish history written by Saxo Grammaticus, Nanna is a beautiful human woman caught up in a love triangle between the human king Hotherus and the demigod Balderus who, unlike their counterparts in Gylfaginning, are not brothers but rivals for the hand of Nanna.

Chronicon Lethrense

The chronicle which departs most from Norse mythology is the Danish Chronicon Lethrense (and the included Annales Lundenses). They tell that Höđr's son, the Danish king Rorik Slengeborre was succeeded by his son Wiglek. This Wiglek married Nanna and he ruled in peace. He died in his bed and was succeeded by his son Wermund, the father of Offe (Offa).

Setre Comb

The Setre Comb is a comb from the 6th or early 7th century featuring runic inscriptions. The comb is the subject of an amount of scholarly discourse as most experts accept the reading of the Germanic charm word alu and Nanna, though there exists questions as to if Nanna is the same figure as the goddess from later attestations.^[1]