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{{short description|Norse mythical character}}
{{For|the moon of Saturn named after Bestla|Bestla (moon)}}

'''Bestla''' ([[Old Norse]]: {{IPA|non|ˈbestlɑ|}}) is a [[jötunn]] in [[Norse mythology]], and the mother of the [[god]]s [[Odin]], [[Vili and Vé]] (by way of [[Borr]]). She is also the sister of an unnamed man who assisted Odin, and the daughter (or granddaughter depending on the source) of the [[jötunn]] [[Bölþorn]]. Odin is frequently called "Bestla's son" in both skaldic verses and the [[Poetic Edda]].{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=19}}

Bestla is attested in the [[Poetic Edda]], compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, the [[Prose Edda]], written in the 13th century by [[Snorri Sturluson]], and in the poetry of [[skald]]s. Scholars have commented on the obscurity of the figure's name and have proposed various theories to explain the role and origin of the giantess.

==Name==
The meaning of the [[Old Norse]] name ''Bestla'' remains uncertain. Scholars have proposed potential meanings such as 'wife', or '[[Bark (botany)|bark]], [[Bast fibre|bast]]'.{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=19}} It might stem from ''*Bastilōn'' (perhaps a yew goddess, originally a 'bast-donor'), or from ''*Banstillōn'' (via an intermediate form ''*Böstla''), related to [[Old Frisian]] ''bös'' ('marriage, union', originally 'wife').{{Sfn|de Vries|1962|p=34}}

According to [[Rudolf Simek]], "the name appears to be very old" due to its obscurity.{{Sfn|Simek|1996|p=37}}

==Attestations==
In ''[[Gylfaginning]]'' (The Beguiling of [[Gylfi]]), she is portrayed as the daughter of the giant [[Bölþorn]] and as the spouse of [[Borr]], while the enthroned figure of [[Hárr]] (High) tells Gangleri (described as king [[Gylfi]] in disguise) of the genealogy of the god [[Odin]].{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=77}}
{{Poem quote|text=He married that woman who was called Bestla, the daughter of the giant Bölthorn. They had three sons; the first was called Odin, the second Vili, the third Vé.|char=|sign=Snorri Sturluson|title=''[[Gylfaginning]]''|source=5–7, trans. [[John Lindow|J. Lindow]], 2002.}}

In ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'' (The Language of Poetry), a poem by the [[skald]] [[Einarr Helgason|Einarr Helgarson]] refers to Odin as "Bestla's son".{{Sfn|Faulkes|1987|p=69}}

''[[Hávamál]]'' (140) makes Bölþor(n) the grandfather of Bestla.{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=77}} Odin recounts his gaining of [[Numbers in Norse mythology|nine]] [[galdr|magical songs]] from Bestla's unnamed brother. If nothing indicates a family relationship between Odin and the man in the stanza (although skalds were certainly aware of Bestla as Odin's mother), and if the mead was allegedly stolen according to other sources, it is possible that Odin obtained magical songs from his maternal uncle.{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=77}}
<blockquote>
{|
|
:[[Benjamin Thorpe|B. Thorpe]] translation (1866):
:Potent songs nine from the famed son I learned
:of Bolthorn, Bestla’s sire,
:and a draught obtained of the
:precious mead, drawn from [[Óðrerir|Odhrærir]].{{Sfn|Thorpe|1866|p=45}}
|
:[[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|H. A. Bellows]] translation (1923):
:Nine mighty songs I got from the son
:Of Bolthorn, Bestla's father;
:And a drink I got of the goodly mead
:Poured out from Othrorir.<ref name="BELLOWS92">Bellows (1923:92).</ref>
|
:[[John Lindow|J. Lindow]] translation (2002):
:Nine magic songs I got [learned?] from the famous son
:Of Bölthor, Bestla’s father,
:And I got a drink of the precious mead,
:Poured from [by? to?] Ódrerir.{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=77}}
|}
</blockquote>

==Theories==
On the basis of the ''Hávamál'' stanza handled above (wherein Odin learns nine magic songs from the unnamed brother of Bestla), some scholars have theorized that Bestla's brother may in fact be the wise being [[Mímir]], from whose severed head the god Odin gains wisdom.<ref name="MIMIR-BESTLA">Examples include Rydberg (1886), Bellows (1923:92), and {{harvnb|Puhvel|1989|p=212}}.</ref>

Since Odin is descended from the jötnar on his mother's side, the slaying of [[Ymir]] by him and his brothers could be seen as an intra-familial killing and, according to scholar [[John Lindow]], "the slaying or denial of a maternal relation".{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=77}}

[[Waltraud Hunke]] has argued that Bestla should be regarded as the bark of the [[Yggdrasil|world tree]] on which Odin was perhaps born, alluding to ''[[Hávamál]]'' (141): "then I started to grow fruitful".{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=77}}

In his translation of the ''Poetic Edda'', [[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Henry Adams Bellows]] comments that such the position of the stanza 140 in ''Hávamál'' appears to be the result of [[Interpolation (manuscripts)|manuscript interpolation]], and that its meaning is obscure.<ref name="BELLOWS92" />

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

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* [[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Bellows, Henry Adams]] (1923). ''The Poetic Edda''. [[American-Scandinavian Foundation]].
*{{Cite book|last=de Vries|first=Jan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hLceAAAAIAAJ|title=Altnordisches Etymologisches Worterbuch|date=1962|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-05436-3|edition=1977|author-link=Jan de Vries (linguist)}}
*{{Cite book|last=Faulkes|first=Anthony|title=Edda|publisher=Everyman|year=1987|isbn=0-460-87616-3|edition=1995|author-mask=Faulkes, Anthony, trans.}}
*{{Cite book|last=Lindow|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KlT7tv3eMSwC|title=Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs|date=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-983969-8|language=en|author-link=John Lindow}}
*{{Cite book|last=Orchard|first=Andy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uIujQgAACAAJ|title=Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend|date=1997|publisher=Cassell|isbn=978-0-304-34520-5|language=en|author-link=Andy Orchard}}
*{{Cite book|last=Puhvel|first=Jaan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OMPagyYOe8gC|title=Comparative Mythology|date=1989|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|isbn=978-0-8018-3938-2|language=en|author-link=Jaan Puhvel}}
*{{citation | editor-last = Thorpe | editor-first = Benjamin | editor-link = Benjamin Thorpe | year = 1866 | edition=1907 | volume = 1 | title = Edda Sæmundar Hinns Froða: The Edda Of Sæmund The Learned | publisher = London: Trübner & Co.}}
*{{Cite book|last=Simek|first=Rudolf|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MZ24QgAACAAJ|title=Dictionary of Northern Mythology|date=1996|publisher=D.S. Brewer|isbn=978-0-85991-513-7|language=en|author-link=Rudolf Simek}}
{{refend}}

{{Norse mythology}}

[[Category:Gýgjar]]

Bestla - Revision history

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