Barri
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2007-12-19T10:49:48Z
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{{for|the town that is called ''Barri'' in the Welsh language|Barry, Vale of Glamorgan}}
In [[Norse mythology]], '''Barri''' is the place where [[Freyr]] and [[Gerðr]] are to consummate their union, as stated in the ''[[Skírnismál]]'':
:Barri the grove is named,
:which we both know,
:the grove of tranquil paths.
:Nine nights hence,
:there to Niörd’s son
:Gerd will grant delight.
:
::—''För Skirnis eðr Skirnismál'' <small>(39)</small>, [http://www.northvegr.org/lore/poetic2/011_02.php Thorpe's translation]
In [[Snorri Sturluson]]'s account of the myth (found in ''Gylfaginning'', <small>37</small>), the place is called Barrey or Barey<ref>Two out of the four main [[Manuscripts of the Prose Edda|manuscripts of the ''Prose Edda'']] (''Trajectinus'' and ''Wormianus'') have the name Barrey, another (''Codex Regius'') has the alternative form Barey.</ref>:
:And nine nights later she was to come to the place called Barrey, and then go to the bridal with Freyr.
:
::—''Gylfaginning'' <small>(37)</small>, [http://www.cybersamurai.net/Mythology/nordic_gods/LegendsSagas/Edda/ProseEdda/GylfaginningXXXI-XL.htm#gylf37 Brodeur's translation]
The meaning of the name is uncertain. Barri is called a grove (''lundr'') but Bar(r)ey is probably an island (''ey'' being the [[Old Norse]] for "island")<ref name="Faulkes">Faulkes 1988.</ref> and could be connected with [[Barra]], one of the [[Hebrides|Hebrides islands]], which was once called Barrey<ref name="Simek">Simek 1996.</ref>. The meaning of the first part of the name, ''barr'', is not very enlightening for it has several meanings: "pine needle", "conifer", "tree" or "grain"<ref>Dillmann 2003, p.175.</ref>, especially "barley"<ref name="Faulkes" />. [[Magnus Olsen]] suggested that Barri meant "cornfield". This supports his interpretation of the union of Freyr and Gerðr as a [[Hieros gamos|holy wedding]] between a fertility god and the [[Earth Mother]]<ref>Olsen, Magnus. "Fra gammelnorsk myte og kultus". ''Maal og minne''. 1909.</ref>. But this interpretation has been contested and Barri could be rendered into "coniferous forest" (as Rudolf Simek noticed, it would be a suitable name for a grove<ref name="Simek" />) and the signification of Barrey might be "barley-island" or "grain-island", which, John Lindow underlined, "makes no sense in the context of a fertility myth"<ref>Lindow 2002.</ref>.
==Notes==
<references/>
==References==
* Brodeur, Arthur Gilchrist (trans.). 1916. ''Snorri Sturluson: The Prose Edda''. New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation.
* [[Benjamin Thorpe|Thorpe, Benjamin]] (trans.). 1866. ''Edda Sæmundar Hinns Froða: The Edda Of Sæmund The Learned''. London: Trübner & Co.
* Dillmann, François-Xavier (trans.). 2003. ''Snorri Sturluson. L'Edda''. Paris: Gallimard. First published in 1991. ISBN 2-07-072114-0.
* Faulkes, Anthony (ed.). 1988. ''Snorri Sturluson: Edda. Prologue and Gylfaginning. London: Viking Society for Northern Research. First published by Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-903521-21-0.
* Lindow, John. 2002. ''Norse mythology: a guide to the gods, heroes, rituals, and beliefs''. New York: Oxford University Press. , First published in 2001 by ABC-Clio. ISBN 0-19-515382-0.
* Simek, Rudolf. 1996. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. Translated by Angela Hall. First published by Alfred Kröner Verlang in 1984. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. ISBN 0-85991-513-1.
{{NorseMythology}}
[[Category:Locations in Norse mythology]]
[[zh:巴里 (北歐神話)]]