View source for Byggvir

{{Short description|Figure in norse mythology}}
[[File:Loki_taunts_Bragi.jpg | thumb | right]]
'''Byggvir''' is a figure in [[Norse mythology]]. The only surviving mention of Byggvir appears in the prose beginning of ''[[Lokasenna]]'', and stanzas 55 through 56 of the same poem, where he is referred to as one of [[Freyr]]'s servants and as the husband of [[Beyla]].

''Bygg'' is the [[Old Norse]] word for [[barley]]. Subsequently, Byggvir {{IPA|non|ˈbyɡːvir|}} is often identified with this [[etymology]] of his name and connections have been placed with the mentioning of Byggvir's described involvement with mill-grinding as being potential references to barley processing.<ref name=LINDOW90-91>Lindow (2001:90-91)</ref> Comparisons to the [[Anglo-Saxon paganism|Anglo-Saxon]] figure of [[Beowa]] ([[Old English]] "barley") have been put forth.<ref name=BRUCE28>Bruce (2002:28).</ref>

==''Lokasenna''==
In ''Lokasenna'', Loki is depicted as degrading Byggvir for being of slight stature and as a gossiper:

Stanza 43:
{|
|
:Byggvir qvaþ: 
:«Veiztv, ef ec øþli ettac 
:sem Ingvnar-Freyr 
:oc sva selict setr, 
:mergi smera ma/lþa ec 
:þa meíncráco 
:oc lemþa alla i liþo.»
|
:Byggvir spake:
:Had I birth so famous
:as Ingunar-[[Freyr]],
:And sat in so lofty a seat,
:I would crush to marrow
:this croaker of ill,
:And beat all his body to bits."<ref name=BELLOWSLOKASENNA>[[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Henry Adams Bellows]]' 1936 translation of ''Lokasenna''. Available online: [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe10.htm]</ref>
|}

Stanza 44:
{|
|
:Loci qvaþ: 
:«Hvat er þat iþ litla, 
:er ec þat la/ggra sec 
:oc snapvist snapir; 
:at eyrom Freys 
:mvnðv e vera 
:oc vnd kvernom klaca.»
|
:Loki spake:
:"What little creature
:goes crawling there,
:Snuffling and snapping about?
:At Freyr's ears ever
:wilt thou be found,
:Or muttering hard at the mill."<ref name=BELLOWSLOKASENNA/>
|}

Stanza 45:
{|
|
:Beyggvir qvaþ: 
:«Beyggvir ec heíti, 
:enn mic braþan qveþa 
:goð a/ll oc gvmar: 
:þvi em ec her hroðvgr, 
:at drecca Hroptz megir 
:allir a/l saman.»
|
:Byggvir spake:
:"Byggvir my name,
:and nimble am I,
:As gods and men do grant;
:And here am I proud
:that the children of [[List of names of Odin|Hropt]]
:Together all drink ale."<ref name=BELLOWSLOKASENNA/>
|}

Stanza 46:
{|
|
:Loci qvaþ: 
:«Þegi þv, Byggvir! 
:þv kvnnir aldregi 
:deila meþ monnom mat; 
:oc þic i fletz strá 
:finna ne mattv, 
:þa er vago verar.»
|
:Loki spake:
:"Be silent, Byggvir!
:thou never couldst set
:Their shares of the meat for men;
:Hid in straw on the floor,
:they found thee not
:When heroes were fain to fight."<ref name=BELLOWSLOKASENNA/>
|}

==Interpretation==

In relation to Loki's comments in ''Lokasenna'', proposals have been made that Beyla and her husband are personifications of [[agriculture]] associated with Freyr: Beyla as the [[manure]] that softens the earth and develops the seed, Byggvir as the refuse of the mill, [[chaff]].<ref name=THORPE198-199>Thorpe (1851:198-199.</ref>

==See also==
*[[John Barleycorn]]
*[[Corn dolly]]
*[[Sif]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* [[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Bellows, Henry Adams]] (1936). ''The Poetic Edda''. [[The American-Scandinavian Foundation]]
* Bruce, Alexander M. (2002) ''Scyld and Scef: Expanding the Analogues'' [[Routledge]] {{ISBN|0-8153-3904-6}}
* [[John Lindow|Lindow, John]] (2001). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=KlT7tv3eMSwC Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs]''. [[Oxford University Press]]. {{ISBN|0-19-515382-0}}
* [[Benjamin Thorpe|Thorpe, Benjamin]] (1851). ''Northern Mythology'' Vol. I. London: Edward Lumley
{{refend}}

{{Freyr}}
{{Norse paganism topics}}

[[Category:Freyr]]
[[Category:Servants in Norse mythology]]
[[Category:Personifications in Norse mythology]]
[[Category:Deities of wine and beer]]