Rán
In Norse mythology, Rán ("theft") is a sea goddess. According to Snorri Sturluson's retelling of Lokasenna in Skáldskaparmál,[1] she is married to Ægir and they have nine daughters together. Possibly those are identical to the mothers of Heimdallr.
He also informs that she had a net in which she tried to capture men who ventured out on the sea. Her net is also mentioned in Reginsmál and in the Völsunga saga where she lent it to Loki so he could capture Andvari.
In addition, Snorri tells in Skáldskaparmál that "Rán's husband" (verr Ránar) and "land of Rán" (land Ránar) are kennings for the sea.[2][3] Furthermore, her close association with the sea permitted the kenning for gold "brightness of the sea" to be rendered as "brightness of Rán" (gull er kallat eldr eða ljós eða birti Ægis, Ránar eða).[2][4] Not surprisingly, the sea was also referred to as "Rán's road" (Ránar vegr):
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Rán was a dangerous goddess and Snorri adds a stanza of poetry by the skald Refr where the voracious sea is called "Ægir's wide mouth" and "Rán's mouth".
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In this poem "Gymir's wet-cold Spae-Wife (völva)" is likely a reference to Rán, as Snorri and the skald present Gymir as another name for Ægir.
Her willingness to capture sailing men is referred to in this citation from the Eddic poem Helgakviða Hundingsbana I where escaping the perils of the sea are referred to as escaping Rán:
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Whether men drowned by her doing or not, she appears to have received those drowned at sea, as exemplified in the section called Hrímgerðarmál in the Eddic poem Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar, where the giantess Hrímgerðr is accused of having wanted to give the king's warriors to Rán, i.e. to drown them:
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In the legendary saga Friðþjófs saga ins frækna, Friðþjófr and his men find themselves in a violent storm, and the protagonist mourns that he will soon rest in Rán's bed.
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The protagonist then decides that as they are to "go to Rán" (at til Ránar skal fara) they would better do so in style with gold on each man. He divides the gold and talks of her again:
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She was believed to cause storms, and even as late as the 1960's, fishermen on the east coast of England (where Viking settlement was greatest) would throw a coin over the stern of the vessel upon leaving port, which was known as 'Rain's (or Ran's) tithe'.[citation needed] This is believed to date from the days when Norse sailors would throw gold into the sea to placate the goddess and ensure good weather.[citation needed]
Notes and references
- ^ But this is not mentioned in the version of Lokasenna found in the Poetic Edda.
- ^ a b c d Skáldskaparmál at «Norrøne Tekster og Kvad», Norway.
- ^ a b Section XXV of Skáldskaparmál in translation by Brodeur, at Northvegr.
- ^ Section XXXIII of Skáldskaparmál in translation by Brodeur, at Northvegr.
- ^ Section LX of Skáldskaparmál in translation by Brodeur, at Northvegr.
- ^ Helgakviða Hundingsbana I at «Norrøne Tekster og Kvad», Norway.
- ^ Ship.
- ^ Bellows' translation.
- ^ Hrímgerðarmál at «Norrøne Tekster og Kvad», Norway.
- ^ Hrímgerðarmál in Bellows' translation.
- ^ a b Friðþjófs saga ins frækna at «Norrøne Tekster og Kvad».
- ^ a b In translation by Magnússon and Morris at Northvegr.
