Gróa

Gróa
Gróa
Queen of the Danes
Predecessor	Alfhild
Successor	Signe
Consort	Gram
Issue	daughter; Guthorm
Father	Sigtryg
Religion	Pagan

In Norse mythology, Gróa (possibly from Old Norse "growing"^[1]) is a völva (seeress) and practitioner of seiðr. She is the wife of Aurvandil the Bold. Groa was also the goddess of knowledge.

Attestations

Prose Edda

Gróa appears in the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, in the context of Thor's battle with the jötunn Hrungnir. After Thor has dispatched Hrungnir with the hammer Mjollnir, Gróa is asked to help magically remove shards of Hrungnir's whetstone which became embedded in Thor's head. Unfortunately while Gróa was about her work, Thor distracted her by telling her of how he had earlier helped Aurvandil cross the river Élivágar, and had saved her husband's life by snapping off his frost-bitten toe. Gróa's spell miscarried and the pieces of whetstone remained permanently embedded in Thor's head.

Poetic Edda

Gróa is also a völva (or seeress), summoned from beyond the grave, in the Old Norse poem Grógaldr, (a section of Svipdagsmál), by her son Svipdagr. In death she has lost none of her prophetic powers, and is able to assist him in a successful conclusion of the task which he has been set by his cruel stepmother. It is possible that this second Gróa is the same as the first one, but the poem is a late 17th-century imitation of the Edda.

Gesta Danorum

In Gesta Danorum, Gro is a woman saved from marrying a giant by King Gram. She is the daughter of Sigtrygg, King of Sweden, and the mother of Guthorm (and possibly Guthorm's sister) by Gram.

In Viktor Rydberg's elaborate theories on Norse mythology, this Gro is identified with the seeress described in other sources.^[2]

The family tree of legendary Kings of the Danes, according to the Gesta Danorum (Books I to VII)

Kings of the Danes are in bold and marked with an asterisk (*). Kings of the Swedes are marked with a dagger (†). Superscript numbers before a name indicate in which books of Gesta Danorum the individual is mentioned.

⁽¹⁾ Humble

KEY

⁽¹⁾ Angul

⁽¹⁾ Dan*

⁽¹⁾ Grytha

Marriage or coupling

Parent and child

The Angles

⁽¹⁾ Humble*

⁽¹⁾ Lother*

⁽¹⁾ King of the Saxons

Succession by other or unclear means

⁽¹⁾ Roar

⁽¹⁾ Sigtryg, King of the Swedes†

⁽¹⁾ Skiold*

⁽¹⁾ Alfhild

⁽¹⁾ daughter of Roar

⁽¹⁾ Bess

⁽¹⁾ sister of Gram

⁽¹⁾ Gróa

⁽¹⁾ Gram*†

⁽¹⁾ Sumble, King of the Finns

⁽¹⁾ Wagnhofde

⁽¹⁾ Signe

⁽¹⁾ Henry, King of the Saxons

⁽¹⁾ Hakon, King of the Nitherians

⁽¹⁾ Hardgrep

⁽¹⁾ Swipdag*†, King of Norway

⁽¹⁾ sister of Guthorm

⁽¹⁾ Guthorm*

^(1,2) Hadding*

⁽¹⁾ Ragnhild

⁽¹⁾ Asmund†

⁽¹⁾ Gunnhild

⁽¹⁾ Guthorm

^(1,2) Ulfhild

⁽²⁾ Ubbe*

⁽¹⁾ Henry

⁽¹⁾ Uffe†

^(1,2) Hunding†

⁽²⁾ Thorhild

⁽²⁾ Scot

⁽¹⁾ daughter of Uffe

⁽²⁾ Ragnar†

⁽²⁾ Swanhwid

⁽²⁾ sisters of Swanhwid

⁽²⁾ Handwan

⁽²⁾ Thorwald

⁽²⁾ Frode*

⁽²⁾ daughter of Handwan

^(2,3) Hothbrodd†

⁽²⁾ Halfdan*

⁽²⁾ Ro

⁽²⁾ Skat

⁽²⁾ Thora

^(2,3) Helge*

⁽²⁾ Ro*

^(2,3) Athisl†

⁽²⁾ Urse

^(2,3) King Gewar

^(2,3) Rolf*† Krage

⁽²⁾ Rute

⁽²⁾ Bjarke

⁽²⁾ Skulde

^(2,3) Hiartuar†*

^(2,3) Hother†*

⁽³⁾ Nanna

⁽³⁾ Herlek

⁽³⁾ Gerit

⁽³⁾ former King of Britain

⁽³⁾ mother of the King of Britain

⁽³⁾ a slave

⁽³⁾ a bondmaid

⁽³⁾ Rorik*

⁽³⁾ Gerwendil

⁽³⁾ King of Britain

⁽³⁾ Queen of Britain

⁽³⁾ Gerutha

⁽³⁾ Horwendil

⁽³⁾ Feng

⁽³⁾ foster sister of Amleth

⁽³⁾ daughter of the King of Britain

⁽³⁾ Amleth

Hermutrude, Queen of Scotland

Wiglek*

Wermund*

Frowin, governor of Sleswik

Uffe*, aka Olaf the Gentle

[unnamed]

Ket

Wig

Dan*

Hugleik*

Frode* the Vigorous

Dan*

Kraka

Ragnar

Brak

Fridleif* the Swift

Gotar, King of Norway

Hun, King of the Huns

Westmar

Koll

Gotwar

Roller

Erik†

Gunwar the Fair

Alfhild

Frode*

Hanund

Grep

11 other brothers (two named Grep)

Hythin, King of Tellemark

Alf

Eyfura

Arngrim

Grubb

Hiarn*

Amund, King of Norway

[unnamed]

Halfdan†

12 sons, including Anganty

Ane

Juritha

Fridleif*

Frogertha

Frok

Hanef, King of Saxony

Swerting, King of Saxony

Olaf

Frode*

Siward†

Unnamed sons

[unnamed]

Ingeld*

Helga

Helge

Asa

Frode

Fridleif

Ingeld

Olaf*

Karl, governor of Gothland

Ulfhild

Frode*

Hather, a chief

Harald*

Signe

Erik

Thorhild

Halfdan*† Biargramm

Harald

Asmund

Kings of Norway

Name spellings are derived from Oliver Elton's 1905 translation, The First Nine Books of the Danish History of Saxo Grammaticus, via Wikisource.

Notes

^ Orchard (1997:63).
^ Rydberg's Teutonic Mythology, Chapter 24

References

Orchard, Andy (1997). Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. Cassell. ISBN 0-304-34520-2

[ORCHARD63-1] Orchard (1997:63).

[2] Rydberg's Teutonic Mythology, Chapter 24

[1]

[2]

Characters of Gesta Danorum
Danish kings (family tree)
Dan I Humble Lother Skiold Gram Guthorm Hading
Foreign rulers
Skat Sigtrygg Asmund Uffe Gusonis Svipdagr Sumble Henry Handwan Loker
Other men
Bess Lysir Roar
Women
Grytha Alfhild Gróa Signe
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