|
In Norse mythology, Gefjon or Gefjun (with the alternate spelling Gefion) is a goddess associated with ploughing, the Danish island of Zealand, the legendary Swedish king Gylfi, the legendary Danish king Skjöldr, foreknowledge, and virginity. Gefjon is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; the ''Prose Edda'' and ''Heimskringla'', written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson; in the works of skalds; and appears as a gloss for various Greco-Roman goddesses in some Old Norse translations of Latin works. The ''Prose Edda'' and ''Heimskringla'' both report that Gefjon plowed away what is now lake Mälaren, Sweden, and with this land formed the island of Zealand, Denmark. In addition, the ''Prose Edda'' describes that not only is Gefjon a virgin herself, but that all who die a virgin become her attendants. ''Heimskringla'' records that Gefjon married the legendary Danish king Skjöldr and that the two dwelled in Lejre, Denmark. Scholars have proposed theories about the etymology the name of the goddess, connections to fertility and ploughing practices, the implications of the references made to her as a virgin, five potential mentions of the goddess in the Old English poem ''Beowulf'', and potential connections between Gefjon and Grendel's Mother and/or the goddesses Freyja and Frigg. ==Etymology== The etymology of the name ''Gefjon'' has been a matter of dispute. In modern scholarship, the element ''Gef-'' in ''Gef-jon'' is generally theorized as related to the element ''Gef-'' in the name ''Gef-n''. The name ''Gefn'' is one of the numerous names for the goddess Freyja, and likely means "she who gives (prosperity or happiness)."〔Sturtevant (1952:166).〕 The connection between the two names has resulted in etymological results of Gefjun meaning "the giving one."〔Orchard (1997:52).〕 The names ''Gefjun'' and ''Gefn'' are both related to the Matron groups the Alagabiae or Ollogabiae.〔Davidson (1998:79).〕 Albert Murey Sturtevant notes that "the only other feminine personal name which contains the suffix ''-un'' is ''Njǫr-un'', recorded only in the ''þulur'' (), and among the ''kvenna heiti ókend''. Whatever the stem syllable ''Njǫr-'' represents (perhaps *''ner-'' as in *''Ner-þuz>Njǫrðr''), the addition of the ''n-'' and ''un''-suffixes seems to furnish an exact parallel to ''Gef-n'' : ''Gefj-un'' (cf. ''Njǫr-n'' : ''Njǫr-un'')."〔Sturtevant (1952:167).〕 A Finnish word for "bride's outfit, trousseau" may derive from Gefjon's name.〔Lindow (2001:136).〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gefjon」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|