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{{short description|Norse mythical character}}
{{Redirect|Gunnlod|the moon of Saturn|Gunnlod (moon)}}
[[File:Anders Zorn - Gunnlöd 1886.jpg|thumb|''Gunnlöð'' by [[Anders Zorn]] (1886).]]

'''Gunnlǫð''' ([[Old Norse]]: {{IPA|non|ˈɡunːlɔð|}}; also '''Gunnlöd''') is a [[jötunn]] in [[Norse mythology]]. She is the daughter of [[Suttungr]], for whom she guards the [[mead of poetry]].
Saturn's moon [[Gunnlod (moon)|Gunnlod]] is named after her.

== Name ==
The [[Old Norse]] name {{lang|non|Gunnlǫð}} has been translated as 'war-invitation',{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=68}} or 'battle-invitation'.{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=156}} It stems from Old Norse {{wikt-lang|non|gunnr}} ('battle').{{Sfn|de Vries|1962|p=195}}

== Attestations ==
''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'' (The Language of Poetry) mentions that the [[jötunn]] [[Suttungr]] has entrusted his daughter Gunnlöð to the guard of the [[mead of poetry]]:
{{Poem quote|text=Suttung took the mead home with him and put it for safe keeping in a place called Hnitbiorg, setting his daughter Gunnlod in charge of it.|char=|sign=|title=''[[Skáldskaparmál]]''|source=57–58, trans. A. Faulkes, 1987}}

But [[Odin]], in the form of a snake, manages to gain access to the chamber within the [[Hnitbjorg|Hnitbjörg mountain]] where the mead is kept. The god seduces the guardian Gunnlöð, and sleeps with her three nights.{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=69}}{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=156}} In return, Gunnlöð allows Odin to obtain three drinks of the mead, after which he immediately flies himself out of the cavern as an eagle.{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=156}}
{{Poem quote|text=Bolverk [Odin] went to where Gunnlod was and lay with her for three nights and then she let him drink three draughts of the mead. In the first draught he drank everything out of Odrerir, and in the second out of Bodn, in the third out of Son, and then he had all the mead. Then he turned himself into the form of an eagle and flew as hard as he could.|char=|sign=|title=''[[Skáldskaparmál]]''|source=58, trans. A. Faulkes, 1987}}In ''[[Hávamál]]'' (Sayings of the High One), the account given by Odin differs in a number of details, and the narrative pays most attention to Gunnlöð herself.{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=69}}

{{Poem quote|text=Gunnlöd gave me, on the golden throne, a drink of the dear-won mead.
In return I gave her bad recompense,
for her whole heart,
for her sorrowful soul.|char=|sign=|title=''[[Hávamál]]''|source=105, trans. [[Andy Orchard|A. Orchard]], 1997.}}{{Poem quote|text=I doubt I would have returned
back from the giants’ domain,
if I hadn’t had Gunnlöd, that fine woman
whom I laid in my arms.|char=|sign=|title=''[[Hávamál]]''|source=108, trans. [[Andy Orchard|A. Orchard]], 1997.}}

==References==
{{Commons category|Gunnlöð}}
{{reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
*{{Cite book|last=de Vries|first=Jan|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=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}}

{{Norse mythology}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunnlod}}
[[Category:Gýgjar]]

Gunnlöð - Revision history

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