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{{Short description|Norse goddess}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Other uses|Skadi (disambiguation)}}
{{Good article}}
[[File:Skadi Hunting in the Mountains by H. L. M.jpg|thumb|''Skadi Hunting in the Mountains'' (1901) by H. L. M.]]
In [[Norse mythology]], '''Skaði''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|k|ɑː|ð|i}}; [[Old Norse]]: {{IPA|non|ˈskɑðe|}}; sometimes anglicized as '''Skadi''', '''Skade''', or '''Skathi''') is a [[jötunn]] and [[Æsir|goddess]] associated with [[bowhunting]], [[skiing]], winter, and mountains. Skaði is attested in the ''[[Poetic Edda]]'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; the ''[[Prose Edda]]'' and in ''[[Heimskringla]]'', written in the 13th century by [[Snorri Sturluson]], and in the works of [[skald]]s.
Skaði is the daughter of the deceased [[Þjazi]], and Skaði married the god [[Njörðr]] as part of the compensation provided by the gods for killing her father Þjazi. In ''Heimskringla'', Skaði is described as having split up with Njörðr and as later having married the god [[Odin]], and that the two produced many children together. In both the ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda'', Skaði is responsible for placing the serpent that drips venom onto the bound [[Loki]]. Skaði is alternately referred to as '''Öndurguð''' (Old Norse 'ski god') and '''Öndurdís''' (Old Norse 'ski [[dís]]').
The etymology of the name ''Skaði'' is uncertain, but may be connected with the original form of ''[[Scandinavia]]''. Some place names in Scandinavia refer to Skaði. Scholars have theorized a potential connection between Skaði and the god [[Ullr]] (who is also associated with skiing), a particular relationship with the jötunn Loki, and that ''Scandinavia'' may be related to the name Skaði (potentially meaning 'Skaði's island') or the name may be connected to Old Norse nouns meaning either 'shadow' or 'harm'. Skaði has inspired various works of art.
==Etymology==
The [[Old Norse]] name ''Skaði'', along with ''[[Scandinavia|Sca(n)dinavia]]'' and ''[[Scania|Skáney]]'', may be related to [[Gothic language|Gothic]] ''skadus'', [[Old English]] ''sceadu'', [[Old Saxon]] ''scado'', and [[Old High German]] ''scato'' (meaning 'shadow') - compare also the Irish [[Scáthach]], a famous woman warrior known as 'the shadowy one'. Scholar John McKinnell comments that this etymology suggests Skaði may have once been a personification of the geographical region of Scandinavia or associated with the underworld.<ref name=MCKINNELL63>McKinnell (2005:63).</ref>
[[Georges Dumézil]] disagrees with the notion of ''Scadin-avia'' as etymologically 'the island of the goddess Skaði'. Dumézil comments that the first element ''Scadin'' must have had—or once had—a connection to "darkness" "or something else we cannot be sure of". Dumézil says that, rather, the name ''Skaði'' derives from the name of the geographical region, which was at the time no longer completely understood. In connection, Dumézil points to a parallel in ''[[Ériu]]'', a goddess personifying [[Ireland]] that appears in some Irish texts, whose name he says comes from ''Ireland'' rather than the other way around.<ref name=DUMEZIL35>Dumézil (1973:35).</ref>
Alternatively, ''Skaði'' may be connected with the Old Norse noun ''skaði'' ('harm'),<ref name=DAVIDSON62>Davidson (1993:62).</ref> source of the Icelandic and Faroese ''[[wikt:skaði#Icelandic|skaði]]'' ('harm, damage') and [[cognate]] with English ''scathe'' (''unscathed'', ''scathing'').<ref>{{Cite web|title=scathe|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scathe|work=Online Merriam-Webster Dictionary|publisher=Merriam-Webster|access-date=25 February 2014|quote=Middle English ''skathe'', from Old Norse ''skathi''; akin to Old English ''sceatha'' 'injury', Greek ''askēthēs'' 'unharmed'|archive-date=28 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328102753/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scathe|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Attestations==
Skaði is attested in poems found in the ''[[Poetic Edda]]'', in two books of the ''[[Prose Edda]]'' and in one ''[[Heimskringla]]'' book.
===''Poetic Edda''===
[[File:The Lovesickness of Frey.jpg|thumb|Njörðr, Skaði, and Freyr as depicted in ''The Lovesickness of Frey'' (1908) by W. G. Collingwood.]]
In the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''[[Grímnismál]]'', the god [[Odin]] (disguised as ''[[List of names of Odin|Grímnir]]'') reveals to the young [[Agnarr Geirröðsson|Agnarr]] the existence of twelve locations. Odin mentions the ___location [[Þrymheimr]] sixth in a single stanza. In the stanza, Odin details that the jötunn [[Þjazi]] once lived there, and that now his daughter Skaði does. Odin describes Þrymheimr as consisting of "ancient courts" and refers to Skaði as "the shining bride of the gods".<ref name=LARRINGTON53>Larrington (1999:53).</ref> In the prose introduction to the poem ''[[Skírnismál]]'', the god [[Freyr]] has become heartsick for a fair girl (the jötunn [[Gerðr]]) he has spotted in [[Jötunheimr]]. The god [[Njörðr]] asks Freyr's servant [[Skírnir]] to talk to Freyr, and in the first stanza of the poem, Skaði also tells Skírnir to ask Freyr why he is so upset. Skírnir responds that he expects harsh words from their son Freyr.<ref name=LARRINGTON61>Larrington (1999:61).</ref>
In the prose introduction to the poem ''[[Lokasenna]]'', Skaði is referred to as the wife of Njörðr and is cited as one of the goddesses attending [[Ægir]]'s feast.<ref name=LARRINGTON84>Larrington (1999:84).</ref> After [[Loki]] has an exchange with the god [[Heimdallr]], Skaði interjects. Skaði tells Loki that he is "light-hearted" and that Loki will not be "playing [...] with [his] tail wagging free" for much longer, for soon the gods will bind Loki to a sharp rock with the ice-cold entrails of his son. Loki responds that, even if this is so, he was "first and foremost" at the killing of Þjazi. Skaði responds that, if this is so, "baneful advice" will always flow from her "[[Vé (shrine)|sanctuaries]] and plains". Loki responds that Skaði was more friendly in speech when Skaði was in his bed—an accusation he makes to most of the goddesses in the poem and is not attested elsewhere. Loki's [[flyting]] then turns to the goddess [[Sif]].<ref name=LARRINGTON93AND276>Larrington (1999:93, 276).</ref>
In the prose section at the end of ''Lokasenna'', the gods catch Loki and bind him with the innards of his son [[Narfi (son of Loki)|Nari]], while they turn his son [[Váli (son of Loki)|Váli]] into a wolf. Skaði places a [[venom]]ous snake above Loki's face. Venom drips from the snake and Loki's wife [[Sigyn]] sits and holds a basin beneath the serpent, catching the venom. When the basin is full, Sigyn must empty it, and during that time the snake venom falls onto Loki's face, causing him to writhe in a tremendous fury, so much so that all [[earthquake]]s stem from Loki's writhings.<ref name=LARRINGTON95-96>Larrington (1999:95–96).</ref>
In the poem ''[[Hyndluljóð]]'', the female jötunn Hyndla tells the goddess [[Freyja]] various mythological genealogies. In one stanza, Hyndla notes that Þjazi "loved to shoot" and that Skaði was his daughter.<ref name=LARRINGTON257>Larrington (1999:257).</ref>
===''Prose Edda''===
In the ''Prose Edda'', Skaði is attested in two books: ''[[Gylfaginning]]'' and ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]''.
====''Gylfaginning''====
[[File:Njörd's desire of the Sea.jpg|right|thumb|''Njörd's desire of the Sea'' (1908) by [[W. G. Collingwood]]]]
[[File:Skadi's longing for the Mountains.jpg|right|thumb|''Skadi's longing for the Mountains'' (1908) by W. G. Collingwood]]
In chapter 23 of the ''Prose Edda'' book ''[[Gylfaginning]]'', the enthroned figure of [[High, Just-As-High, and Third|High]] details that Njörðr's wife is Skaði, that she is the daughter of the jötunn Þjazi, and recounts a tale involving the two. High recalls that Skaði wanted to live in the home once owned by her father called Þrymheimr. However, Njörðr wanted to live nearer to the sea. Subsequently, the two made an agreement that they would spend [[numbers in Germanic paganism|nine]] nights in Þrymheimr and then the next three nights in Njörðr's sea-side home [[Nóatún (mythology)|Nóatún]] (or nine winters in Þrymheimr and another nine in Nóatún according to the ''[[Codex Regius]]''.<ref name=BYOCK141>Byock (2006:141)</ref>). However, when Njörðr returned from the mountains to Nóatún, he said:
<blockquote>
:"Hateful for me are the mountains,
:I was not long there,
:only nine nights.
:The howling of the wolves
:sounded ugly to me
:after the song of the swans."<ref name=BYOCK34>Byock (2006:33–34).</ref>
</blockquote>
Skaði responded:
<blockquote>
:"Sleep I could not
:on the sea beds
:for the screeching of the bird.
:That gull wakes me
:when from the wide sea
:he comes each morning."<ref name=BYOCK34/>
</blockquote>
The sources for these stanzas are not provided in the ''Prose Edda'' or elsewhere. High says that afterward Skaði went back up to the mountains and lived in Þrymheimr, and there Skaði often travels on skis, wields a bow, and shoots wild animals. High notes that Skaði is also referred to as "ski god" (Old Norse ''Öndurgud'') or Öndurdis and the "ski lady" (''Öndurdís''). In support, the above-mentioned stanza from the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''Grímnismál'' is cited.<ref name=BYOCK141/> In the next chapter (24), High says that "after this", Njörðr "had two children": Freyr and Freyja. The name of the mother of the two children is not provided here.<ref name=BYOCK35>Byock (2006:35).</ref>
At the end of chapter 51 of ''Gylfaginning'', High describes how the gods caught and bound Loki. Skaði is described as having taken a venomous snake and fastening it above the bound Loki, so that the venom may drip on to Loki's face. Loki's wife Sigyn sat by his side and caught the venom in a bowl. But when the bowl becomes full, she must leave to empty it, and then Loki is burned by the acidic liquid and he writhes in extreme pain, causing the earth to shake and resulting in what we know as an earthquake.<ref name=BYOCK70>Byock (2006:70).</ref>
====''Skáldskaparmál''====
[[File:Skade by Saltza.jpg|thumb|right|''Skade'' (1893) by [[Carl Fredrik von Saltza]]]]
In chapter 56 of the ''Prose Edda'' book ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'', [[Bragi]] recounts to [[Ægir]] how the gods killed Þjazi. Þjazi's daughter, Skaði, took a helmet, a coat of mail, and "all weapons of war" and traveled to [[Asgard]], the home of the gods. Upon Skaði's arrival, the gods wished to atone for her loss and offered compensation. Skaði provides them with her terms of settlement, and the gods agree that Skaði may choose a husband from among themselves. However, Skaði must choose this husband by looking solely at their feet. Skaði saw a pair of feet that she found particularly attractive and said "I choose that one; there can be little that is ugly about Baldr." However, the owner of the feet turned out to be Njörðr.<ref name=FAULKES61>Faulkes (1995:61).</ref>
Skaði also included in her terms of settlement that the gods must do something she thought impossible for them to do: make her laugh. To do so, Loki tied one end of a cord around the beard of a [[goat|nanny goat]] and the other end around his [[testicle]]s. The goat and Loki drew one another back and forth, both squealing loudly. Loki dropped into Skaði's lap, and Skaði laughed, completing this part of her atonement. Finally, in compensation to Skaði, Odin took Þjazi's eyes, plunged them into the sky, and from the eyes made two stars.<ref name=FAULKES61/>
Further in ''Skáldskaparmál'', a work by the [[skald]] [[Þórðr Sjáreksson]] is quoted. The poem refers to Skaði as "the wise god-bride" and notes that she "could not love the [[Vanir|Van]]". Prose below the quote clarifies that this is a reference to Skaði's leaving of Njörðr.<ref name=FAULKES75>Faulkes (1995:75).</ref> In chapter 16, names for Loki are given, including "wrangler of Heimdall and Skaði".<ref name=FAULKES77>Faulkes (1995:77).</ref> In chapter 22, Skaði is referenced in the 10th century poem ''[[Haustlöng]]'' where the skald [[Þjóðólfr of Hvinir]] refers to an [[ox]] as "bow-string-[[Vár|Var]]'s [Skaði's] whale".<ref name=FAULKES87>Faulkes (1995:87).</ref> In chapter 23, the skald [[Bragi Boddason]] refers to Þjazi as the "father of the ski-dis".<ref name=FAULKES89>Faulkes (1995:89).</ref> In chapter 32, Skaði is listed among six goddesses who attend a party held by Ægir.<ref name=FAULKES95>Faulkes (1995:95).</ref> In chapter 75, Skaði is included among a list of 27 [[ásynjur]] names.<ref name=FAULKES157>Faulkes (1995:157).</ref>
===''Heimskringla''===
In chapter 8 of the ''Heimskringla'' book ''[[Ynglinga saga]]'', Skaði appears in an [[euhemerism|euhemerized]] account. This account details that Skaði had once married Njörðr but that she would not have sex with him, and that later Skaði married Odin. Skaði and Odin had "many sons". Only one of the names of these sons is provided: [[Sæmingr]], a king of [[Norway]]. Two stanzas are presented by the [[skald]] [[Eyvindr skáldaspillir]] in reference. In the first stanza, Skaði is described as a jötunn and a "fair maiden". A portion of the second stanza is missing. The second stanza reads:
<blockquote>
:Of sea-bones,
:and sons many
:the ski-goddess
:gat with Óthin<ref name=HOLLANDER12>Hollander (2007:12).</ref>
</blockquote>
[[Lee Hollander]] explains that "bones-of-the-sea" is a [[kenning]] for "rocks", and believes that this defective stanza undoubtedly referred to Skaði as a "dweller of the rocks" in connection with her association with mountains and skiing.<ref name=HOLLANDER12/>
==Theories==
===''Völsunga saga''===
[[File:Trollheimen.JPG|thumb|A light [[snowdrift]] in the mountains of Norway]]
Another figure by the name of Skaði who appears in the first chapter of ''[[Völsunga saga]]''. In the chapter, this Skaði—who is male—is the owner of a [[thrall]] by the name of [[Breði]]. Another man, [[Sigi]]—a [[Sons of Odin|son of Odin]]—went hunting one winter with the thrall. Sigi and the thrall Breði hunted throughout the day until evening, when they compared their kills. Sigi saw that the thrall's kills outdid his own, and so Sigi killed Breði and buried Breði's corpse in a [[snowdrift]].<ref name=BYOCK35/>
That night, Sigi returned home and claimed that Breði had ridden out into the forest, that he had lost sight of Breði, and that he furthermore did not know what became of the thrall. Skaði doubted Sigi's explanation, suspected that Sigi was lying, and that Sigi had instead killed Breði. Skaði gathered men together to look for Breði and the group eventually found the corpse of Breði in a snowdrift. Skaði declared that henceforth the snowdrift should be called "Breði's drift," and ever since then people have referred to large snow drifts by that name. The fact that Sigi murdered Breði was evident, and so Sigi was considered an outlaw. Led by Odin, Sigi leaves the land, and Skaði is not mentioned again in the saga.<ref name=BYOCK35/>
Scholar [[Jesse Byock]] notes that the goddess Skaði is also associated with winter and hunting, and that the episode in ''Völsunga saga'' involving the male Skaði, Sigi, and Breði has been theorized as stemming from an otherwise lost myth.<ref name=BYOCK111>Byock (1990:111).</ref>
===Other===
Scholar [[John Lindow]] comments that the episode in ''Gylfaginning'' detailing Loki's antics with a goat may have associations with castration and a ritual involving making a goddess laugh. Lindow notes that Loki and Skaði appear to have had a special relationship, an example being Skaði's placement of the snake over Loki's face in ''Lokasenna'' and ''Gylfaginning.''<ref name=LINDOW268-270>Lindow (2001:268–270).</ref>
Due to their shared association with skiing and the fact that both place names referring to Ullr and Skaði appear most frequently in Sweden, some scholars have proposed a particular connection between the two gods.<ref name=LINDOW268-270/> On the other hand, ''Skaði'' may potentially be a masculine form and, as a result, some scholars have theorized that Skaði may have originally been a male deity.<ref name=DAVIDSON61>Davidson (1993:61).</ref>
Scholar [[Hilda Ellis Davidson]] proposes that Skaði's cult may have thrived in [[Hålogaland]], a province in northern [[Norway]], because "she shows characteristics of the [[Sami people]], who were renowned for skiing, shooting with the bow and hunting; her separation from Njord might point to a split between her cult and that of the [[Vanir]] in this region, where Scandinavians and the Sami were in close contact."<ref name=DAVIDSON61-62>Davidson (1993:61–62).</ref>
==Modern influence==
[[File:Niorder und Skadi auf dem Wege nach Noatun after an original by W Engelhard by F W Heine.jpg|thumb|''Njörðr and Skaði on the Way to Nóatún'' (1882) by [[Friedrich Wilhelm Heine]]]]
Modern works of art depicting Skaði include ''Skadi und Niurd'' (illustration, 1883) by K. Ehrenberg and ''Skadi'' (1901) by [[Emil Doepler|Emil Doepler the Younger]]. Skaði also appears in [[Adam Oehlenschläger]]'s poem (1819) ''Skades Giftermaal''.<ref name=SIMEK287>Simek (2007:287).</ref>
[[Art deco]] depictions of both the god [[Ullr]] (1928) and Skaði (1929) appear on covers of the Swedish ski annual ''På Skidor'', both skiing and wielding bows. E. John B. Allen notes that the deities are portrayed in a manner that "give[s] historical authority to this most important of Swedish ski journals, which began publication in 1893".<ref name=ALLEN2007>Allen (2007:16).</ref>
A [[Moons of Saturn|moon of the planet Saturn]] ([[Skathi (moon)|Skathi]]) and the highest [[List of montes on Venus|mountain on Venus]] ([[Skadi Mons]])<ref name="t725">{{cite web | last=Beall | first=Abigail | title=Race to Venus: What we'll discover on Earth's toxic twin | website=BBC Science Focus Magazine | date=16 January 2020 | url=https://www.sciencefocus.com/space/race-to-venus-what-well-discover-on-earths-toxic-twin | access-date=13 March 2025}}</ref> are named after the goddess.<ref>{{cite web|title=Skadi Mons|url=http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/5590?__fsk=-1367958240|website=Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature|access-date=21 March 2016|archive-date=16 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190916024330/https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/5590?__fsk=-1367958240|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Clear}}
==See also==
* [[Artemis]]
* [[Boreas (god)|Boreas]], north wind god associated with winter
==References==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|2}}
=== General and cited references ===
{{Refbegin}}
* Allen, E. John B. (2007). ''The Culture and Sport of Skiing''. Amherst, Mass.: [[University of Massachusetts Press]]. {{ISBN|1-55849-601-7}}.
* Byock, Jesse (trans.) (1990). ''The Saga of the Volsungs: The Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer''. [[University of California Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0-520-23285-3}}.
* Byock, Jesse (trans.) (2006). ''The Prose Edda''. [[Penguin Classics]]. {{ISBN|0-14-044755-5}}.
* [[Hilda Ellis Davidson|Davidson, Hilda Ellis]] (1993). ''The Lost Beliefs of Northern Europe''. [[Routledge]]. {{ISBN|0-203-40850-0}}.
* Dumézil, Georges (1973). ''From Myth to Fiction: the Saga of Hadingus''. [[University of Chicago Press]]. {{ISBN|0-226-16972-3}}.
* Faulkes, Anthony (trans.) (1995). ''Edda''. [[Everyman's Library|Everyman]]. {{ISBN|0-460-87616-3}}.
* Hollander, Lee Milton (trans.) (2007). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=qHpwje7-wNkC&q=Heimskringla:+History+of+the+Kings+of+Norway Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway]'' ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126122140/https://books.google.com/books?id=qHpwje7-wNkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Heimskringla:+History+of+the+Kings+of+Norway&lr= |date=26 January 2017 }}). [[University of Texas Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0-292-73061-8}}
* Larrington, Carolyne (trans.) (1999). ''The Poetic Edda''. [[Oxford World's Classics]]. {{ISBN|0-19-283946-2}}.
* [[John Lindow|Lindow, John]] (2001). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=KlT7tv3eMSwC Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs]'' ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126122224/https://books.google.com/books?id=KlT7tv3eMSwC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s |date=26 January 2017 }}). [[Oxford University Press]]. {{ISBN|0-19-515382-0}}.
* McKinnell, John (2005). ''Meeting the Other in Norse Myth and Legend''. [[Boydell & Brewer|D.S. Brewer]]. {{ISBN|1-84384-042-1}}.
*[[Rudolf Simek|Simek, Rudolf]] (2007). ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. Translated by Angela Hall. [[Boydell & Brewer|D.S. Brewer]]. {{ISBN|0-85991-513-1}}.
{{Refend}}
== External links ==
* {{Commons category inline|Skaði}}
{{Norse mythology}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skadi}}
[[Category:Ásynjur]]
[[Category:Gýgjar]]
[[Category:Hunting goddesses]]
[[Category:Ice and snow deities]]
[[Category:Mountain goddesses]]
[[Category:Vengeance goddesses]]
[[Category:Winter deities]]
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