Gunnlöð

File:Anders Zorn - Gunnlöd 1886.jpg

Gunnlöð by Anders Zorn (1886).

Gunnlǫð (Old Norse: ; also Gunnlöd) is a jötunn in Norse mythology. She is the daughter of Suttungr, for whom she guards the mead of poetry. Saturn's moon Gunnlod is named after her.

Name

The Old Norse name has been translated as 'war-invitation', or 'battle-invitation'. It stems from Old Norse Template:Wikt-lang ('battle').

Attestations

Skáldskaparmál (The Language of Poetry) mentions that the jötunn Suttungr has entrusted his daughter Gunnlöð to the guard of the mead of poetry: Template:Poem quote

But Odin, in the form of a snake, manages to gain access to the chamber within the Hnitbjörg mountain where the mead is kept. The god seduces the guardian Gunnlöð, and sleeps with her three nights. In return, Gunnlöð allows Odin to obtain three drinks of the mead, after which he immediately flies himself out of the cavern as an eagle. Template:Poem quoteIn Hávamál (Sayings of the High One), the account given by Odin differs in a number of details, and the narrative pays most attention to Gunnlöð herself.