Nanna- Norse GodDeity
Also known as: Nanna Nepsdóttir
Domains
Description
A goddess of the Æsir whose grief at Baldur's death was so overwhelming that her heart burst, and she was placed beside him on his funeral pyre aboard Hringhorni. From Hel's realm, she sent gifts back to the living through Hermóðr.
Mythology & Lore
Baldur's Funeral
Nanna Nepsdóttir is Baldur's wife and mother of Forseti, the god of justice. She appears in the sources only in connection with Baldur's death.
The Gylfaginning tells it plainly. After Baldur was slain by the mistletoe thrown by Höðr, the gods carried his body onto the great ship Hringhorni and laid it on the funeral pyre. When Nanna saw this, her heart burst from grief and she died. The gods placed her body on the pyre beside her husband. Odin laid his ring Draupnir on the flames. Thor hallowed them with Mjölnir.
Gifts from Hel
When Hermóðr rode Sleipnir to Helheim to plead for Baldur's release, he found both Baldur and Nanna there. Nanna sent gifts back with him to the living: a linen robe for Frigg and a gold ring for the goddess Fulla.
Saxo's Nanna
In Saxo Grammaticus's Gesta Danorum, Nanna is not a goddess but a mortal woman courted by both Balderus and Hotherus. She chooses Hotherus. In this telling, she never dies of grief on a pyre. She marries the man she wants.
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