Endill
Encyclopedia
In Norse mythology
, Endill is a jötunn, god or sea-king
. He is attested in the Prose Edda
list Nafnaþulur
, and in various kenning
s.
In Nafnaþulur, he is mentioned as only a name in a list of 75 sea kings. In Þórsdrápa
his name appears in the kenning á Endils mó which means "onto Endil's moor" and refers to the sea. Likewise, on the Karlevi Runestone
his name appears in [Æ]ndils iarmungrundaR which is a kenning
for the sea. The Scandinavian Rundata
project translates it as "Endill's expanses" or "Endill's mighty dominion", and suggests that Endill may have been a god of the vessels of the sea. Other kennings where he appears are Endils öndur meaning "Endil's ski" and Endils eykur meaning "Endil's horse" both referring to ships. Another kenning Endils fold which means "Endil's earth" is a kenning for the sea.
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
, Endill is a jötunn, god or sea-king
Sea-King
A Sea King was the Viking name for a powerful pirate chieftain.They could be actual kings of Sweden , Denmark or a Norwegian kingdom, and sons of kings, such as Refil, but they could also be men "without roof" like Hjörvard the Ylfing.In the Norse sagas, such men without roof could be so powerful...
. He is attested in the Prose Edda
Prose Edda
The Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda or simply Edda, is an Icelandic collection of four sections interspersed with excerpts from earlier skaldic and Eddic poetry containing tales from Nordic mythology...
list Nafnaþulur
Nafnaþulur
Nafnaþulur is a subsection of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the last part of the Skáldskaparmál. It is a listing in verse of names that may be used in poetry for various items, such as gods, giants, people, animals, and weapons...
, and in various kenning
Kenning
A kenning is a type of literary trope, specifically circumlocution, in the form of a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse and later Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon poetry...
s.
In Nafnaþulur, he is mentioned as only a name in a list of 75 sea kings. In Þórsdrápa
Þórsdrápa
Þórsdrápa is a skaldic poem by Eilífr Goðrúnarson, a poet in the service of Jarl Hákon Sigurðarson. The poem is noted for its creative use of kennings and other metaphorical devices, as well as its labyrinthine complexity....
his name appears in the kenning á Endils mó which means "onto Endil's moor" and refers to the sea. Likewise, on the Karlevi Runestone
Karlevi Runestone
The Karlevi Runestone, designated as Öl 1 by Rundata, is commonly dated to the late 10th century and located near the Kalmarsund straight in Karlevi on the island of Öland, Sweden...
his name appears in [Æ]ndils iarmungrundaR which is a kenning
Kenning
A kenning is a type of literary trope, specifically circumlocution, in the form of a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse and later Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon poetry...
for the sea. The Scandinavian Rundata
Rundata
The Scandinavian Runic-text Data Base is a project involving the creation and maintenance of a database of runic inscriptions. The project's goal is to comprehensively catalog runestones in a machine-readable way for future research...
project translates it as "Endill's expanses" or "Endill's mighty dominion", and suggests that Endill may have been a god of the vessels of the sea. Other kennings where he appears are Endils öndur meaning "Endil's ski" and Endils eykur meaning "Endil's horse" both referring to ships. Another kenning Endils fold which means "Endil's earth" is a kenning for the sea.