Eitr

Eitr is a term for atter, or poison, in Old Norse. In Nordic mythology, it is the origin of the first jötunn, Ymir, who was conceived from eitr dripped from the icy rivers called the Élivágar. Eitr is also produced by poisonous snakes such as the worm Jörmungandr.

Not to be confused with Eitri.

Etymology

Eitr in Old Norse translates as "poison" and is derived from Proto-Germanic: *aitrą (“poison, pus”) from Proto-Indo-European:'*h₂eyd-ro-m' (“to swell; swelling, tumour, abscess”) and is the ancestor of terms in North Germanic languages meaning poison such as Icelandic: eitur and Swedish: etter.[1][2][3][4] It is further cognate with other terms in Germanic languages such as Old English: 'ātor' and Modern English:'atter', both also meaning 'poison'.[5]

Role in cosmogony

In Gylfaginning, eitr is described as forming in Ginnungagap, which gave rise to the primordial being Ymir,[6][7] as described by the jötunn Vafþrúðnir in Vafþrúðnismál:

Old Norse text[8] Bellows translation[9]
Ór Élivágum stukku eitrdropar,
svá óx, unz varð jötunn;
þar eru órar ættir komnar allar saman;
því er þat æ allt til atalt.
Down from Elivagar did venom drop,
And waxed till a giant it was;
And thence arose our giants' race,
And thus so fierce are we found.

Production by snakes

Eitr is described as being produced by snakes (Old Norse: 'ormar') such as in Gylfaginning when it is dripped on Loki by a snake placed above him by Skaði, and blown by Jörmungandr during Ragnarök, leading to the death of Thor.[10][11][12][13]

Citations
  1. eitr.
  2. *aitrą.
  3. eitur.
  4. etter.
  5. atter.
  6. Sturluson 2018, Gylfaginning, chapter 5.
  7. Gylfaginning, Chapter 5.
  8. Vafþrúðnismál (ON), Stanza 31.
  9. Bellows 2004, Vafþrúðnismál stanza 31.
  10. ormr.
  11. Sturluson 2018, Gylfaginning, chapter 50 & 51.
  12. Gylfaginning, Chapter 50 & 51.
  13. Simek 2008, p. 324.

Bibliography

Primary
  • Bellows, Henry Adam (2004). The poetic Edda : the mythological poems. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. ISBN 9780486437101.
  • Sturluson, Snorri (2018). The Prose Edda. Translated by Brodeur, Arthur Gilchrist. Franklin Classics Trade Press. ISBN 9780344335013.
  • "Gylfaginning (Old Norse)". heimskringla.no. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  • "Vafþrúðnismál (Old Norse)". heimskringla.com. Retrieved 26 November 2022.

Secondary
  • Simek, Rudolf (2008). A Dictionary of Northern Mythology. Translated by Hall, Angela. BOYE6. ISBN 9780859915137.
  • "atter". Wiktionary. 27 August 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  • "eitur". Wiktionary. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  • "eitr". Wiktionary. 26 June 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  • "etter". Wiktionary. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  • "ormr". Wiktionary. 3 July 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  • "*aitrą". Wiktionary. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
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