Cross-Dressing in the Poetic Edda: Mic muno Æsir argan kalla

Abstract

THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES the concept of cross-dressing as portrayed in one of the most prominent of the Scandinavian mythological poems: the Prymskvida. (1) In this eddic lay, Thor adorns himself in women's clothing and journeys to the land of the giants, where Thrym has absconded with his hammer. (2) The giant is willing to return Thor's hammer under one condition: that he be given the goddess Freyja for his wife. On the advice of Heimdal and seconded by Loki, Thor reluctantly agrees to dress himself in Freyja's bridal linen and travel to Jotunheimar in her stead. Not surprisingly, Loki-whose claim to fame rests on his gender-ending antics (3)--offers to accompany Thor as his bridesmaid. Thor's attire includes not only a wedding dress, but many of the accouterments of thirteenth-century bridal fashion: a head-dress, a veil, (4) expensive jewelry, brooches, and even a new bride's household keys. What follows is the sartorial advice offered by Heimdal and Loki: Bindo ver Por pa bridar lini hafi bann ip micla men Brisinga! Latom und hanom hrynia lucla oc qvennvadir um kne falla, enn d briosti breida steina, oc hagliga um hofud typpom! (Edda 113) 'Let's dress Thor in a bridal head-dress, let him wear the great necklace of the Brisings. 'Let keys jingle about him and let women's clothing fall down to his knees, and on his breast let's display jewels, and we'll arrange a head-dress suitably on his head!' (Larrington 99) Several critics have noted the comical and parodic elements in this description of the ultra-masculine Thor in bridal costume. (5) From the very beginning of the poem, Thor's manhood comes into question with the shaking of his red beard, (6) and dressing the god as a woman may be viewed as the height of parody. The anonymous author's intent can be inferred from his use of the term qvennvadir for Thor's dress--in its compound form a neologism unique to this particular text. The second half of this compound (-vadir) is employed in Old Norse literature and the law codices to signify a warrior's battle armor, for example: vapn eda vddir [weapons and armor], Hogna and Hedins vab [coat of mail], and Vadir Vafadar [Odin's coat of mail] (Cleasby s.v.). Combined with the word for woman, qvennvadir is best translated as woman's weeds, yet the association of vadir withi armor indicates, according to Helen Damico, that the anonymous author was parodying the figure of Thor by challenging both his masculinity and his military prowess. (7) A similar conclusion had been reached much earlier by Jan de Vries when he suggested that it was die intent of the author of the Prymskvida to create einen komischen Kontrast (de Vries 275) [a comical contrast] to the usual war-like portrayal of Thor. The head-dress Thor wears typically designated a married woman but was also an element of die disguise of cross-dressing worn by Brand in Hallfredar saga, as he eluded capture by his enemy Thorkell (Bragi Halldorsson 1216). The necklace, the Brisingamen, was owned and worn only by the goddess Freyja. Litde is known of it outside of the Prymskvida and two passages in Snorri's Edda, where we are informed that Loki may have stolen it, and Heimdal and he fought over it. (8) Its presence as an element of Thor's female costume further emphasizes the connection to goddess Freyja. The house keys were a standard item in female costume and were sometimes presented to die bride before her wedding night. Archeological evidence from graves indicates that even very young girls would hang keys from their belts in die manner of jewelry (von See 550). The fact that Thor's breasts are so prominently displayed when decorated with large gem stones (breida steina) has engendered much discussion, and some commentators have suggested die possibility of artificial enhancements. (9) A difficulty with this interpretation--as discussed in von See-is that Thor's protest seems to be limited specifically to the wearing of bridal linen and to the act of dressing as a woman (goddess) in general (552-3). …