Ask and Embla: Difference between revisions

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==Etymology==
==Etymology==
[[File:Ask and Embla by Robert Engels.jpg|thumb|upright|A depiction of Ask and Embla (1919) by Robert Engels.]]
[[File:Ask and Embla by Robert Engels.jpg|thumb|upright|A depiction of Ask and Embla (1919) by Robert Engels.]]
[[Old Norse]] {{lang|non|askr}} literally means "[[fraxinus excelsior|ash tree]]" but the [[etymology]] of ''embla'' is uncertain, and two possibilities of the meaning of ''embla'' are generally proposed. The first meaning, "[[Ulmus glabra|elm tree]]", is problematic{{clarify|date=November 2022}}, and is reached by deriving ''*Elm-la'' from ''*Almilōn'' and subsequently to {{Transliteration|non|almr}} ('elm'). The second suggestion is "[[vine]]", which is reached through ''*Ambilō'', which may be related to the Greek term {{lang|grc|ἄμπελος}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|ámpelos}}), itself meaning "vine, [[liana]]".{{Sfn|Simek|2007|p=74}} The latter etymology has resulted in a number of theories.
[[Old Norse]] {{lang|non|askr}} literally means "[[fraxinus excelsior|ash tree]]" but the [[etymology]] of ''embla'' is uncertain, and two possibilities of the meaning of ''embla'' are generally proposed. The first meaning, "[[Ulmus glabra|elm tree]]", is problematic,{{clarify|date=November 2022}} and is reached by deriving ''*Elm-la'' from ''*Almilōn'' and subsequently to {{transl|non|almr}} ('elm'). The second suggestion is "[[vine]]", which is reached through ''*Ambilō'', which may be related to the Greek term {{lang|grc|ἄμπελος}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|ámpelos}}), itself meaning "vine, [[liana]]".{{Sfn|Simek|2007|p=74}} The latter etymology has resulted in a number of theories.


[[Linguist]] Gunlög Josefsson claims that the name Embla comes from the roots {{Transliteration|non|eim}} + {{Transliteration|non|la}} which would mean 'firemaker' or 'smokebringer' inflected for either gender. She connects this to the ancient practice of creating fire through a [[fire plough]] which was considered a magical and holy way of fire making in [[folk belief]] in [[Scandinavia]] long into modern times. She identifies the emergence of fire through the plowing symbolically to the moment of orgasm and hence fertilization and reproduction.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Josefsson |first=Gunlög |date=2001 |title=Var Embla en klängranka? Om den fornnordiska skapelsemyten såsom den möter oss i Völuspá |url=https://journals.lub.lu.se/anf/article/view/11623 |journal=Arkiv för nordisk filologi |language=sv |volume=116 |pages=71–96 |issn=0066-7668}}</ref>
[[Linguist]] Gunlög Josefsson claims that the name Embla comes from the roots {{transl|non|eim}} + {{transl|non|la}} which would mean 'firemaker' or 'smokebringer' inflected for either gender. She connects this to the ancient practice of creating fire through a [[fire plough]] which was considered a magical and holy way of fire making in [[folk belief]] in [[Scandinavia]] long into modern times. She identifies the emergence of fire through the plowing symbolically to the moment of orgasm and hence fertilization and reproduction.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Josefsson |first=Gunlög |date=2001 |title=Var Embla en klängranka? Om den fornnordiska skapelsemyten såsom den möter oss i Völuspá |url=https://journals.lub.lu.se/anf/article/view/11623 |journal=Arkiv för nordisk filologi |language=sv |volume=116 |pages=71–96 |issn=0066-7668}}</ref>


According to [[Benjamin Thorpe]], "[[Jacob Grimm|Grimm]] says the word embla, emla, signifies a busy woman, from amr, ambr, aml, ambl, assiduous labour; the same relation as [[Mashya and Mashyana|Meshia and Meshiane]], the [[Iranian religion|ancient Persian]] names of the first man and woman, who were also formed from trees."<ref name=THORPE337>Thorpe (1907:337).</ref>
According to [[Benjamin Thorpe]], "[[Jacob Grimm|Grimm]] says the word embla, emla, signifies a busy woman, from amr, ambr, aml, ambl, assiduous labour; the same relation as [[Mashya and Mashyana|Meshia and Meshiane]], the [[Iranian religion|ancient Persian]] names of the first man and woman, who were also formed from trees."<ref name=THORPE337>Thorpe (1907:337).</ref>
Line 16: Line 16:
==Attestations==
==Attestations==
In stanza 17 of the ''Poetic Edda'' poem {{lang|non|[[Völuspá]]}}, the [[Seeress (Germanic)|seeress]] reciting the poem states that [[Hœnir]], [[Lóðurr]] and [[Odin]] once found Ask and Embla on land. The seeress says that the two were capable of very little, lacking in {{lang|non|[[wyrd|ørlög]]}} and says that they were given three gifts by the three gods:
In stanza 17 of the ''Poetic Edda'' poem {{lang|non|[[Völuspá]]}}, the [[Seeress (Germanic)|seeress]] reciting the poem states that [[Hœnir]], [[Lóðurr]] and [[Odin]] once found Ask and Embla on land. The seeress says that the two were capable of very little, lacking in {{lang|non|[[wyrd|ørlög]]}} and says that they were given three gifts by the three gods:
<blockquote>
{{quote|
{|
{{wikitable
|
|- style{{=}}"vertical-align: top"
:<small>Old Norse:</small>
!<small>Old Norse:</small>
:{{lang|non|Ǫnd þau né átto, óð þau né hǫfðo,}}
!<small>[[Benjamin Thorpe]] translation:</small>
:{{lang|non|lá né læti né lito góða.}}
!<small>[[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Henry Adams Bellows]] translation:</small>
:{{lang|non|Ǫnd gaf Óðinn, óð gaf Hœnir,}}
|- style{{=}}"white-space: nowrap"|
:{{lang|non|lá gaf Lóðurr ok lito góða.}}<ref name=DRONKE11>Dronke (1997:11).</ref>
|style{{=}}"padding-right:0.5em"|<poem>{{lang|non|Ǫnd þau né átto, óð þau né hǫfðo,
|
lá né læti né lito góða.
:<small>[[Benjamin Thorpe]] translation:</small>
Ǫnd gaf Óðinn, óð gaf Hœnir,
:Spirit they possessed not, sense they had not,
lá gaf Lóðurr ok lito góða.<ref name=DRONKE11>Dronke (1997:11).</ref>}}</poem>
:blood nor motive powers, nor goodly colour.
|style{{=}}"padding-right:0.5em"|<poem>Spirit they possessed not, sense they had not,
:Spirit gave Odin, sense gave Hœnir,
blood nor motive powers, nor goodly colour.
:blood gave Lodur, and goodly colour.<ref name=THORPE5>Thorpe (1866:5).</ref>
Spirit gave Odin, sense gave Hœnir,
|
blood gave Lodur, and goodly colour.<ref name=THORPE5>Thorpe (1866:5).</ref></poem>
:<small>[[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Henry Adams Bellows]] translation:</small>
|<poem>Soul they had not, sense they had not,
:Soul they had not, sense they had not,
Heat nor motion, nor goodly hue;
:Heat nor motion, nor goodly hue;
Soul gave Othin, sense gave Hönir,
:Soul gave Othin, sense gave Hönir,
Heat gave Lothur and goodly hue.<ref name=BELLOWS8>Bellows (1936:8).</ref></poem>
:Heat gave Lothur and goodly hue.<ref name=BELLOWS8>Bellows (1936:8).</ref>
}}
|
}}
|}
 
</blockquote>
The meaning of these gifts has been a matter of scholarly disagreement and translations therefore vary.<ref name="SCHACH93">Schach (1985:93).</ref>
The meaning of these gifts has been a matter of scholarly disagreement and translations therefore vary.<ref name="SCHACH93">Schach (1985:93).</ref>


According to chapter 9 of the ''Prose Edda'' book {{lang|non|[[Gylfaginning]]}}, the three brothers [[Vili and Vé|Vili, Vé]], and Odin, are the creators of the first man and woman. The brothers were once walking along a beach and found two trees there. They took the wood and from it created the first human beings; Ask and Embla. One of the three gave them the breath of life, the second gave them movement and intelligence, and the third gave them shape, speech, hearing and sight. Further, the three gods gave them clothing and names. Ask and Embla go on to become the progenitors of all humanity and were given a home within the walls of [[Midgard]].<ref name=BYOCK18>Byock (2006:18).</ref>
According to chapter 9 of the ''Prose Edda'' book {{lang|non|[[Gylfaginning]]}}, the three brothers [[Vili and Vé|Vili, Vé]], and Odin, are the creators of the first man and woman. The brothers were once walking along a beach and found two trees there. They took the wood and from it created the first human beings: Ask and Embla. One of the three gave them the breath of life, the second gave them movement and intelligence, and the third gave them shape, speech, hearing and sight. Further, the three gods gave them clothing and names. Ask and Embla go on to become the progenitors of all humanity and were given a home within the walls of [[Midgard]].<ref name=BYOCK18>Byock (2006:18).</ref>


==Theories==
==Theories==
Line 47: Line 46:


===Indo-European origins===
===Indo-European origins===
A [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Proto-Indo-European]] basis has been theorized for the duo based on the etymology of ''embla'' meaning "vine." In Indo-European societies, an analogy is derived from the drilling of fire and [[sexual intercourse]]. Vines were used as a flammable wood, where they were placed beneath a drill made of harder wood, resulting in fire. Further evidence of ritual making of fire in [[Scandinavia]] has been theorized from a depiction on a stone plate on a [[The King's Grave|Bronze Age grave in Kivik]], [[Scania]], [[Sweden]].<ref name="SIMEK74">Simek (2007:74).</ref>
A [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Proto-Indo-European]] basis has been theorized for the duo based on the etymology of ''embla'' meaning "vine". In Indo-European societies, an analogy is derived from the drilling of fire and [[sexual intercourse]]. Vines were used as a flammable wood, where they were placed beneath a drill made of harder wood, resulting in fire. Further evidence of ritual making of fire in [[Scandinavia]] has been theorized from a depiction on a stone plate on a [[The King's Grave|Bronze Age grave in Kivik]], [[Scania]], [[Sweden]].<ref name="SIMEK74">Simek (2007:74).</ref>


[[Jaan Puhvel]] comments that "ancient myths teem with trite 'first couples' similar to the type of [[Adam and Eve|Adam and his by-product Eve]]. In Indo-European tradition, these range from the Vedic Yama and Yamī and the Iranian [[Mashya and Mashyana|Mašya and Mašyānag]] to the Icelandic Askr and Embla, with trees or rocks as preferred raw material, and [[dragon]]'s teeth or other bony substance occasionally thrown in for good measure".<ref name="PUHVEL-284">Puhvel (1989 [1987]:284).</ref>
[[Jaan Puhvel]] comments that "ancient myths teem with trite 'first couples' similar to the type of [[Adam and Eve|Adam and his by-product Eve]]. In Indo-European tradition, these range from the Vedic [[Yama]] and [[Yamī]] and the Iranian [[Mashya and Mashyana|Mašya and Mašyānag]] to the Icelandic Askr and Embla, with trees or rocks as preferred raw material, and [[dragon]]'s teeth or other bony substance occasionally thrown in for good measure".<ref name="PUHVEL-284">Puhvel (1989 [1987]:284).</ref>


In his study of the comparative evidence for an origin of mankind from trees in Indo-European society, Anders Hultgård observes that "myths of the origin of mankind from trees or wood seem to be particularly connected with ancient Europe and Indo-Europe and Indo-European-speaking peoples of Asia Minor and Iran. By contrast the cultures of the Near East show almost exclusively the type of anthropogonic stories that derive man's origin from clay, earth or blood by means of a divine creation act".<ref name="HULTGAARD-62">Hultgård (2006:62).</ref>
In his study of the comparative evidence for an origin of mankind from trees in Indo-European society, Anders Hultgård observes that "myths of the origin of mankind from trees or wood seem to be particularly connected with ancient Europe and Indo-Europe and Indo-European-speaking peoples of Asia Minor and Iran. By contrast the cultures of the Near East show almost exclusively the type of anthropogonic stories that derive man's origin from clay, earth or blood by means of a divine creation act".<ref name="HULTGAARD-62">Hultgård (2006:62).</ref>


===Other potential Germanic analogues===
===Other potential Germanic analogues===
Two wooden figures—the [[Braak Bog Figures]]—of "more than human height" were unearthed from a [[peat bog]] at [[Braak, Schleswig-Holstein|Braak]] in [[Duchy of Schleswig|Schleswig]], [[Germany]]. The figures depict a nude man and a nude woman. [[Hilda Ellis Davidson]] comments that these figures may represent a "Lord and Lady" of the [[Vanir]], a group of Norse gods, and that "another memory of [these wooden deities] may survive in the tradition of the creation of Ask and Embla, the man and woman who founded the human race, created by the gods from trees on the seashore".<ref name="DAVIDSON-88-89">Davidson (1975:88—89).</ref>
Two wooden figures—the [[Braak Bog Figures]]—of "more than human height" were unearthed from a [[peat bog]] at [[Braak, Schleswig-Holstein|Braak]] in [[Duchy of Schleswig|Schleswig]], [[Germany]]. The figures depict a nude man and a nude woman. [[Hilda Ellis Davidson]] comments that these figures may represent a "Lord and Lady" of the [[Vanir]], a group of Norse gods, and that "another memory of [these wooden deities] may survive in the tradition of the creation of Ask and Embla, the man and woman who founded the human race, created by the gods from trees on the seashore".<ref name="DAVIDSON-88-89">Davidson (1975:88–89).</ref>


A figure named [[Oisc of Kent|Æsc]] ([[Old English language|Old English]] "ash tree") appears as the son of [[Hengist and Horsa|Hengest]] in the [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] genealogy for the kings of [[Kent]]. This has resulted in a number of theories that the figures may have had an earlier basis in pre-Norse [[Germanic mythology]].<ref name=ORCHARD8>Orchard (1997:8).</ref>
A figure named [[Oisc of Kent|Æsc]] ([[Old English language|Old English]] "ash tree") appears as the son of [[Hengist and Horsa|Hengest]] in the [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] genealogy for the kings of [[Kent]]. This has resulted in a number of theories that the figures may have had an earlier basis in pre-Norse [[Germanic mythology]].<ref name=ORCHARD8>Orchard (1997:8).</ref>


Connections have been proposed between Ask and Embla and the [[Vandals|Vandal]] kings Assi and Ambri, attested in [[Paul the Deacon]]'s 7th century AD work ''[[Origo Gentis Langobardorum]]''. There, the two ask the god [[Wōdanaz|Godan]] (Odin) for victory. The name ''Ambri'', like Embla, likely derives from ''*Ambilō''.<ref name=SIMEK74/>
Connections have been proposed between Ask and Embla and the [[Vandals|Vandal]] kings Assi and Ambri, attested in [[Paul the Deacon]]'s 7th century AD work {{lang|la|[[Origo Gentis Langobardorum]]}}. There, the two ask the god [[Wōdanaz|Godan]] (Odin) for victory. The name ''Ambri'', like Embla, likely derives from ''*Ambilō''.<ref name=SIMEK74/>


===Catalog of dwarfs===
===Catalog of dwarfs===
A stanza preceding the account of the creation of Ask and Embla in ''Völuspá'' provides a catalog of [[Dwarf (Germanic mythology)|dwarfs]], and stanza 10 has been considered as describing the creation of human forms from the earth. This may potentially mean that dwarfs formed humans, and that the three gods gave them life.<ref name="LINDOW62-63">Lindow (2001:62—63).</ref> Carolyne Larrington theorizes that humans are metaphorically designated as trees in Old Norse works (examples include "trees of jewellery" for women and "trees of battle" for men) due to the origin of humankind stemming from trees; Ask and Embla.<ref name=LARRINGTON279>Larrington (1999:279).</ref>
A stanza preceding the account of the creation of Ask and Embla in ''Völuspá'' provides a catalog of [[Dwarf (Germanic mythology)|dwarfs]], and stanza 10 has been considered as describing the creation of human forms from the earth. This may potentially mean that dwarfs formed humans, and that the three gods gave them life.<ref name="LINDOW62-63">Lindow (2001:62—63).</ref> Carolyne Larrington theorizes that humans are metaphorically designated as trees in Old Norse works (examples include "trees of jewellery" for women and "trees of battle" for men) due to the origin of humankind stemming from trees: Ask and Embla.<ref name=LARRINGTON279>Larrington (1999:279).</ref>


==Modern depictions==
==Modern depictions==
Ask and Embla have been the subject of a number of references and artistic depictions.
<!--Do not add inconsequential references by name. Entries must be relevant to ''this'' article, as well as the subject, in terms of their content. See [[WP:IPC]]-->
 
A sculpture depicting the two, created by Stig Blomberg in 1948, stands in [[Sölvesborg]] in southern Sweden.
A sculpture depicting the two, created by Stig Blomberg in 1948, stands in [[Sölvesborg]] in southern Sweden.


Ask and Embla are depicted on two of the sixteen wooden panels by [[Dagfin Werenskiold]] on [[Oslo City Hall]].<ref name=OSLOKOMMUNE>{{cite web|url=http://www.oslo.kommune.no/losartikler/article23199-7726.html?articleID=23199&categoryID=7726&tip=1 |title=Yggdrasilfrisen |author=Municipality of Oslo |date=2001-06-26 |access-date=2008-09-08 |language=no |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125125123/http://www.oslo.kommune.no/losartikler/article23199-7726.html?articleID=23199&categoryID=7726&tip=1 |archive-date=2009-01-25 }}</ref>
Ask and Embla are depicted on two of the sixteen wooden panels by [[Dagfin Werenskiold]] on [[Oslo City Hall]].<ref name=OSLOKOMMUNE>{{cite web|url=http://www.oslo.kommune.no/losartikler/article23199-7726.html?articleID=23199&categoryID=7726&tip=1 |title=Yggdrasilfrisen |author=Municipality of Oslo |date=2001-06-26 |access-date=2008-09-08 |language=no |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125125123/http://www.oslo.kommune.no/losartikler/article23199-7726.html?articleID=23199&categoryID=7726&tip=1 |archive-date=2009-01-25 }}</ref>


''Ask to Embla'' is the title of a poem, parts of which are quoted, by R. H. Ash, one of the protagonists in [[A. S. Byatt]]'s novel [[Possession (Byatt novel)|Possession: A Romance]], which won the Booker prize in 1990.
''Ask to Embla'' is the title of a poem, parts of which are quoted, by R. H. Ash, one of the protagonists in [[A. S. Byatt]]'s novel [[Possession (Byatt novel)|''Possession: A Romance'']], which won the Booker prize in 1990.
 
In the video game ''[[Fire Emblem Heroes]]'', the two main warring kingdoms are Askr and Embla, which is where the Summoner, the player, finds themselves in, as the kingdom has been at war with the Emblian Empire when the game starts. It is later revealed both kingdoms are named after a pair of Ancient Dragons; with Askr being male and Embla female.
 
In the videogame [[Valheim]], the developers named an armor set after Embla, as stated in their [https://valheim.com/news/development-blog-well-equipped/ development blog entry] on November 21, 2023: "we have named this set after one of the two first humans in Norse mythology: Embla".


==See also==
==See also==

Latest revision as of 15:37, 12 August 2025

Template:Short description Script error: No such module "redirect hatnote". Template:Good article

File:Odin, Lodur, Hoenir skabe Ask og Embla by Frølich.jpg
"Hœnir, Lóðurr and Odin create Askr and Embla" (1895) by Lorenz Frølich.

In Norse mythology, Ask and Embla (Template:Langx)—man and woman respectively—were the first two humans, created by the gods. The pair are attested in both the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, composed in the 13th century. In both sources, three gods, one of whom is Odin, find Ask and Embla and bestow upon them various corporeal and spiritual gifts. A number of theories have been proposed to explain the two figures, and there are occasional references to them in popular culture.

Etymology

File:Ask and Embla by Robert Engels.jpg
A depiction of Ask and Embla (1919) by Robert Engels.

Old Norse Script error: No such module "Lang". literally means "ash tree" but the etymology of embla is uncertain, and two possibilities of the meaning of embla are generally proposed. The first meaning, "elm tree", is problematic,Template:Clarify and is reached by deriving *Elm-la from *Almilōn and subsequently to Template:Transl ('elm'). The second suggestion is "vine", which is reached through *Ambilō, which may be related to the Greek term Script error: No such module "Lang". (Script error: No such module "Lang".), itself meaning "vine, liana".Template:Sfn The latter etymology has resulted in a number of theories.

Linguist Gunlög Josefsson claims that the name Embla comes from the roots Template:Transl + Template:Transl which would mean 'firemaker' or 'smokebringer' inflected for either gender. She connects this to the ancient practice of creating fire through a fire plough which was considered a magical and holy way of fire making in folk belief in Scandinavia long into modern times. She identifies the emergence of fire through the plowing symbolically to the moment of orgasm and hence fertilization and reproduction.[1]

According to Benjamin Thorpe, "Grimm says the word embla, emla, signifies a busy woman, from amr, ambr, aml, ambl, assiduous labour; the same relation as Meshia and Meshiane, the ancient Persian names of the first man and woman, who were also formed from trees."[2]

Attestations

In stanza 17 of the Poetic Edda poem Script error: No such module "Lang"., the seeress reciting the poem states that Hœnir, Lóðurr and Odin once found Ask and Embla on land. The seeress says that the two were capable of very little, lacking in Script error: No such module "Lang". and says that they were given three gifts by the three gods: Template:Quote

The meaning of these gifts has been a matter of scholarly disagreement and translations therefore vary.[3]

According to chapter 9 of the Prose Edda book Script error: No such module "Lang"., the three brothers Vili, Vé, and Odin, are the creators of the first man and woman. The brothers were once walking along a beach and found two trees there. They took the wood and from it created the first human beings: Ask and Embla. One of the three gave them the breath of life, the second gave them movement and intelligence, and the third gave them shape, speech, hearing and sight. Further, the three gods gave them clothing and names. Ask and Embla go on to become the progenitors of all humanity and were given a home within the walls of Midgard.[4]

Theories

File:Sölvesborg Ask och Embla2.jpg
"Ask och Embla" (1948) by Stig Blomberg

Indo-European origins

A Proto-Indo-European basis has been theorized for the duo based on the etymology of embla meaning "vine". In Indo-European societies, an analogy is derived from the drilling of fire and sexual intercourse. Vines were used as a flammable wood, where they were placed beneath a drill made of harder wood, resulting in fire. Further evidence of ritual making of fire in Scandinavia has been theorized from a depiction on a stone plate on a Bronze Age grave in Kivik, Scania, Sweden.[5]

Jaan Puhvel comments that "ancient myths teem with trite 'first couples' similar to the type of Adam and his by-product Eve. In Indo-European tradition, these range from the Vedic Yama and Yamī and the Iranian Mašya and Mašyānag to the Icelandic Askr and Embla, with trees or rocks as preferred raw material, and dragon's teeth or other bony substance occasionally thrown in for good measure".[6]

In his study of the comparative evidence for an origin of mankind from trees in Indo-European society, Anders Hultgård observes that "myths of the origin of mankind from trees or wood seem to be particularly connected with ancient Europe and Indo-Europe and Indo-European-speaking peoples of Asia Minor and Iran. By contrast the cultures of the Near East show almost exclusively the type of anthropogonic stories that derive man's origin from clay, earth or blood by means of a divine creation act".[7]

Other potential Germanic analogues

Two wooden figures—the Braak Bog Figures—of "more than human height" were unearthed from a peat bog at Braak in Schleswig, Germany. The figures depict a nude man and a nude woman. Hilda Ellis Davidson comments that these figures may represent a "Lord and Lady" of the Vanir, a group of Norse gods, and that "another memory of [these wooden deities] may survive in the tradition of the creation of Ask and Embla, the man and woman who founded the human race, created by the gods from trees on the seashore".[8]

A figure named Æsc (Old English "ash tree") appears as the son of Hengest in the Anglo-Saxon genealogy for the kings of Kent. This has resulted in a number of theories that the figures may have had an earlier basis in pre-Norse Germanic mythology.[9]

Connections have been proposed between Ask and Embla and the Vandal kings Assi and Ambri, attested in Paul the Deacon's 7th century AD work Script error: No such module "Lang".. There, the two ask the god Godan (Odin) for victory. The name Ambri, like Embla, likely derives from *Ambilō.[5]

Catalog of dwarfs

A stanza preceding the account of the creation of Ask and Embla in Völuspá provides a catalog of dwarfs, and stanza 10 has been considered as describing the creation of human forms from the earth. This may potentially mean that dwarfs formed humans, and that the three gods gave them life.[10] Carolyne Larrington theorizes that humans are metaphorically designated as trees in Old Norse works (examples include "trees of jewellery" for women and "trees of battle" for men) due to the origin of humankind stemming from trees: Ask and Embla.[11]

Modern depictions

A sculpture depicting the two, created by Stig Blomberg in 1948, stands in Sölvesborg in southern Sweden.

Ask and Embla are depicted on two of the sixteen wooden panels by Dagfin Werenskiold on Oslo City Hall.[12]

Ask to Embla is the title of a poem, parts of which are quoted, by R. H. Ash, one of the protagonists in A. S. Byatt's novel Possession: A Romance, which won the Booker prize in 1990.

See also

Bibliography

Notes

Template:Reflist

References

Template:Sister project Template:Refbegin

Template:Refend

Script error: No such module "Navbox".

  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Thorpe (1907:337).
  3. ↑ Schach (1985:93).
  4. ↑ Byock (2006:18).
  5. ↑ a b Simek (2007:74).
  6. ↑ Puhvel (1989 [1987]:284).
  7. ↑ Hultgård (2006:62).
  8. ↑ Davidson (1975:88–89).
  9. ↑ Orchard (1997:8).
  10. ↑ Lindow (2001:62—63).
  11. ↑ Larrington (1999:279).
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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