Fylgja

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"Fylgia" redirects here. For the dragonfly genus, see Fylgia (dragonfly).

In Norse mythology, a fylgja (Old Norse: [ˈfylɡjɑ], plural fylgjur [ˈfylɡjuz̠]) is a supernatural being or spirit which accompanies a person in connection to their fate or fortune.[1]

Description

The word fylgja means "to accompany" similar to that of the Fetch in Irish folklore.

The fylgia is a ghost who associates with (or, for a lack of better word, stalks or shadows) a particular individual,[2] and may be characterized as a "guardian spirit".[3][1] However, contrary to its name meaning 'follower', it generally moves ahead, making some sort of "contact" with the individual before they arrive at some key spot.[2] And yet the fylgja will follow after the individual when that person is near death.[4]

A fylgia is sometimes associated with a particular family or clan, and is then called an aettarfylgja (pl. aettarfylgjur 'family followers'). And a closely related type of fylgia is the "dream woman", as appears in Gísla saga (cf. below).[5] It is contended that the Icelandic mar or mara (the folkloric "[night]mare") is a dream fylgja which has strayed from its assigned host and visiting the dreams of others, which tend to be more sinister than when visiting its usual host or ward.[6]

Placenta origins

The Icelandic word fylgja can also mean "placenta" or "afterbirth of a child"[7] and the folkloric supernatural connection made between child and afterbirth may be the origins of the fylgja as a concept.[8] In some instances, the fylgja can take on the form of the animal that shows itself when a baby is born or as the creature that eats the afterbirth. In some literature and sagas, the fylgjur can take the form of mice, dogs, foxes, cats, birds of prey, or carrion eaters because these were animals that would typically eat such afterbirths.[7]

Animal forms

Thus, while the fylgja usually was a lady ghost, in the shape of women, it sometimes took on the shape of animals (also female[1]). The animal fylgja typically came in the form of a dog, but also as various other land or even sea creatures.[9] The particular animal type that the fylgja takes on may reflect the character of the person they represent, akin to a totem animal. Hence fox-like fylgja shadowed a deceitful person, a swan-like from shadowed a beautiful woman.[10] Men who were viewed as a leader would often have fylgja to show their true character. This means that if they had a "tame nature", their fylgja would typically be an ox, goat, or boar. If they had an "untame nature" they would have fylgjur such as a fox, wolf, deer, bear, eagle, falcon, leopard, lion, or a serpent.[11]

The animal fylgja is also said to appear in front of its owner, often in dreams, and offer portents of events to come. As such it is a representation of the future itself, not the character of a person. Like a person's fate the fylgja is not changeable, nor can it improve or act on its own.[12]

Fylgjur may also "mark transformations between human and animal"[11] or shape shifting. In Egil's Saga, there are references to both Egil and Skallagrim transforming into wolves or bears, and there are examples of shape shifting in the Saga of King Hrolf Kraki, where Bodvar Bjarki turns into a bear during a battle as a last stand. These transformations are possibly implied in the saga descriptions of berserkers who transform into animals or display bestial abilities.[13]

Else Mundal has argued that the animal fylga and the woman-ghost type fylgja are of different origins, and the solitary animal fylga is actually that individual's alter ego present since birth, which perishes together when that person dies. [15]

Skotta and móri

In Jón Árnason's classification, he placed the the "fylgja" branch of stories under the broader class of "draugr" ('ghost' or "goblin stories" [16]); and under this fylgja" branch (Fylgjur or "followers"[3]) he collected many number of stories of ghosts which were of the female skotta and male móri types.[17] However, modern commentators have treated the móri and the skotta as wicked ghosts which were separate and distinguishable from the fylgja.[19]

The name skotta is explained from their odd habit of wearing the faldur, the woman's headdress Icelandic national costume: instead of wearing it curved forward as she is supposed to, she wears a faldur curled backward like a tail (skott', "tail"). They also wear red stockings and suck their fingers, but otherwise, she is dressed properly.[20][21][22] Just as the skotta favored wearing a brown (or brown-red, mórauð) faldur, the male móri were also characterized by their wearing brown (mór) clothing, hence this particular appellation, but the same male ghost could also be called by other names such as lalli, or goggur or by other kennings.[20][23]

Occurrences

Fylgjur usually appear in the form of an animal or a human and commonly appear during sleep, but the sagas relate that they could appear while a person is awake as well, and that seeing one's fylgja is an omen of one's impending death. However, when fylgjur appear in the form of women, they are then supposedly guardian spirits for people or clans (ættir). According to Else Mundal, the female fylgja could also be considered a dís, a ghost or goddess that is attached to fate.[1]

Gabriel Turville-Petre cites multiple instances where an evil wizard or sorcerer's fylgja is a fox, because the image is sly and hiding something, or an enemy's fylgja is a wolf.[7] In The Story of Howard the Halt (Hárvarðar saga Ísfirðings), the character Atli has a dream about eighteen wolves running towards him with a vixen as their leader. As it turns out, the dream presages that Atli will be attacked by an army with a sorcerer at the front.[24]

Connection with fate

Both Andy Orchard and Rudolf Simek note parallels between the concept of the female guardian hamingja—a personification of a family's or individual's fortune—and the fylgja.[25][26] An example of such an occurrence would be in Gisli Surrson's Saga where the main character, Gisli, is visited by two beautiful women, one who is trying to bring good fortune and one that is trying to edge him towards violence.[27] These two women could represent the women ancestors of Gisli's family ties, such as the ties between his wife Aud and his sister Thordis, relating to the idea of the Hamingja and Dís.[citation needed] The fylgjur in this saga are the already described "dream-women".[5] The good 'dream-woman' and the bad here are also difficult to distinguish from the dísir according to Carolyne Larrington.[28][a]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Jón Árnason's introduction to the "Fylgjur" section notes that the fylgja is also called dís, citing Fornmanna sögur II: 195.[29]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Mundal (1974), Summarized and translated @ Kvilhaug, Maria (handle:Lady of the Labyrinth). "Fylgjur – guardian spirits and ancestral mothers". Bladehoner. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Swatos, William H., Jr.; Gissurarson, Loftur Reimar (1997). Icelandic Spiritualism: Mediumship and Modernity in Iceland. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. p. 48–49. ISBN 9781412825771.
  3. ^ a b Jón Árnason, Powell (tr.) & Magnússon (tr.) (1866), p. lxxix.
  4. ^ Jón Árnason, Powell (tr.) & Magnússon (tr.) (1866), p. lxxxii.
  5. ^ a b Jón Árnason, Powell (tr.) & Magnússon (tr.) (1866), pp. lxxix–lxxx.
  6. ^ Jón Árnason, Powell (tr.) & Magnússon (tr.) (1866), p. lxxx.
  7. ^ a b c Turville-Petre, G. (1958). Dreams in Icelandic Traditions. Folklore Enterprises. pp. 93–11.
  8. ^ Jón Árnason, Powell (tr.) & Magnússon (tr.) (1866), pp. lxxx–lxxxi.
  9. ^ Jón Árnason, Powell (tr.) & Magnússon (tr.) (1866), pp. lxxxi–lxxxii.
  10. ^ Jón Árnason, Powell (tr.) & Magnússon (tr.) (1866), p. lxxxi.
  11. ^ a b Andrén, Anders; Jennbert, Kristina; Raudvere, Catharina (2006). Old Norse religion in long-term perspectives; The heroized dead. Nordic Academic Press. pp. 137–138.
  12. ^ Brink, Stefan (2008). The Viking World. London: Routledge. pp. 239. ISBN 978-0-415-33315-3.[dead link]
  13. ^ "Bodvar Bjarke". Nordisk familjebok. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  14. ^ (Review author) Brønner, Hedin (Summer 1976). "Fylgjemotiva i norrøn litteratur, Else Mundal". Scandinavian Studies. 48 (3): 335–337. JSTOR 40918612.
  15. ^ Mundal (1974), reviewed in English by Brønner.[14]
  16. ^ Jón Árnason, Powell (tr.) & Magnússon (tr.) (1866), p. lxviii.
  17. ^ Jón Árnason (1862), "2. Flokkur Draguasögur". "3. Grein. Fylgjur", pp. 354–404
  18. ^ Dempsey, Corinne G. (2017). Bridges Between Worlds: Spirits and Spirit Work in Northern Iceland. Oxford University Press. p. 28 and n18. ISBN 9780190625030.
  19. ^ Dempsey (2017), p. 28[18] quoting Swatos & Gissurarson (1997), p. 48[2]
  20. ^ a b Jón Árnason (1862), p. 359.
  21. ^ Jón Árnason, Powell (tr.) & Magnússon (tr.) (1866), p. lxxxiii.
  22. ^ Bjarnason, Brigitte (2022). Auf den Spuren von Hexern und Geistern in Island: Sagen, Mythen und Legenden. Mit Reisetipps. Hamburg: Acabus Verlag. ISBN 9783862828265.
  23. ^ Jón Árnason, Powell (tr.) & Magnússon (tr.) (1866), p. lxxxiii–lxxxiv.
  24. ^ "The Story of Howard the Halt - Icelandic Saga Database". Icelandic Saga Database. Retrieved 2015-11-21.
  25. ^ Orchard, Andy (1997) Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend (Cassell) ISBN 0-304-34520-2
  26. ^ Simek, Rudolf (2007) . Translated by Angela Hall. Dictionary of Northern Mythology. (D.S. Brewer) ISBN 0-85991-513-1
  27. ^ "Gísla Saga". snerpa.is. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  28. ^ Larrington, Carolyne (1997). "Hose". The Woman's Companion to Mythology. Pandora. p. 132. ISBN 9780044409922.
  29. ^ Jón Árnason (1862), p. 354.

Bibliography

Further reading

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