#gefjun

Norsery Rhymes from A to Z - Gefjun, The Rich Plow

Happy Thorsday! - Here’s another 20 min sketch of a Norse (and Germanic, Celtic) mythological characters. This week it’s the Gefjun, Geifjun, Gevjon, Gefjon, Gefn.

Her name means "The giving one", from the word 'gefa' realted to the fertility of soil, or possibly "rich" or "nobility" from the Gothic 'Gabei'

Goddess of prosperity in farming, especially related to plowing. And the creator of Sjælland, Zealand Isaland through her plowing.

Also possible related to Freyja given her name is sometime said as Gefn, as Freyja is also called that.

She questions Loki why he brings trouble to a gathering of gods. Loki claims that she is not a virgin and slept with someone who gave her a necklace. Odin then says that she knows the fates of all men and no to cross her.

She takes into her service all virgins who die. And is her said to be herself one. Though with Loki's claim and her three sons with a Jotun, this may mean more in that she is not married. Or that this tale originally belonged to someone else.

GEFJON (FRENCH VERSION)

Gefjon est une déesse nordique associée à l'agriculture, au labour, à la fertilité et aux femmes non mariées. Dans les mythes, elle trompa le roi suédois Gylfi, qui lui avait promis autant de terre qu'elle pourrait en labourer en une journée. Elle transforma ses quatre fils géants en bœufs et arracha une vaste étendue de terre qu’elle traîna jusqu'à la mer, formant ainsi l'île danoise de Seeland. Le vide laissé derrière devint le lac Vänern en Suède.Gefjon est également associée au légendaire roi danois Skjöldr, que l'on dit être le fils d'Odin. Ils se marièrent et elle devint l'ancêtre de la dynastie des Skjöldungar. L'insulte de Loki dans la Lokasenna laisse entendre qu'elle aurait en jour échangé certaines faveurs intimes contre un collier, ce qui rappelle l'histoire de Freyja et les nains. Certains chercheurs avancent que Gefjon pourrait avoir des liens avec la mère de Grendel dans Beowulf. Chez les païens, on croit que les femmes mortes sans être mariées deviennent ses servantes.

(Text and Translation by Delia Gosforth, Illustration by Ellen Artistic)

I am the artist! Do not post without permission & credit! Thank you! Come visit me over on: instagram.com/ellenartistic or tiktok.

These illustrations made it into a Norse Goddess Coloring Book!

(Print Copy)

There are also PDF copies available!

Gefjon

Gefjon is a Norse goddess linked to agriculture, ploughing, fertility, and unmarried women. In the myths, she tricked the Swedish king Gylfi, who promised her as much land as she could plough in a day. She transformed her four giant sons into oxen and carved out a massive tract of land, dragging it into the sea, forming the Danish island of Zealand. The void left behind became Lake Vänern in Sweden.

Gefjon is also associated with the legendary Danish king Skjöldr, said to be the son of Odin. They married and she became the ancestral mother of the Skjöldung dynasty. Loki’s taunt in the Lokasenna suggests she once traded intimacy for a necklace, mirroring Freyja’s tale with the dwarves. Some scholars speculate that Gefjon may have connections to Grendel’s mother in Beowulf. Among pagans, it is believed that women who die unmarried become her handmaidens.

(Text by Delia Gosforth, Illustration by Ellen Artistic)

I am the artist! Do not post without permission & credit! Thank you! Come visit me over on: instagram.com/ellenartistic or tiktok.

These illustrations all made it into a Norse Goddess Coloring Book!

(Print Copy)

There are also PDF copies available!

I wanted to make a little lineup piece for my interpretation of all Freyja’s daughters . I headcanon Sjofn, Gefjon/Gefjun,and Lofn to be the daughters of Freyja’s and the sons of Ivaldi. While Hnoss and Gersemi are her two myth named daughters with Odr. I drew all of them awhile ago, but I wanted to update their designs a bit. I gave them each a little jewel or gem as well(because of how Freyja's daughters are often referred to as her jewels).

Not so long ago, I was telling you I could not find anymore the thesis I had read a few months ago about the Norse goddesses, and that contested Riccardo Ginevra's paper about Sigyn's name, but I did not remember its title... Well I found it on Academia.edu, and EVEN BETTER, I found the academic who wrote it, the amazing and very knowledgeable Ellis B Wylie , aka @loptrcoptr.

Her Master thesis is truly interesting, and give us more information on the Norse goddesses, allowing us to get to know them a little better :3

LAS PECAS DE GEFJUN

Pintura a la venta/For sell ✨