| Alternate Names: | Gerda, Gyrd |
| Iconography: | Acorn, Grove, Walled Garden |
| Domains: | Early Spring, Horticulture, Romantic Love, Renewal |
Table of Contents
Gerda (Old English: Gerd, Dutch: Gerda) is a goddess associated with the earth, fertility, and the changing of the seasons in the North Sea and Anglo-Saxon traditions. Her story, particularly the tale of her wooing by Ing-Frea (the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of Freyr or Dutch Froh), embodies the themes of renewal, transformation, and the awakening of the natural world from winter’s slumber to spring’s vitality.
Historical Attestation
Gerda’s story finds its parallels in the Old Norse myth of Gerðr, a giantess from the Poetic Edda who is wooed by Freyr, the Norse god of fertility and growth. In the North Sea context, Gerda represents a localized understanding of this mythological figure, adapting the story to the specific cultural and agricultural cycles of the Anglo-Saxons and their neighboring North Sea Germanic tribes. The sole surviving non-Scandinavian telling of the myth of Ing-Frea awakening and courting the slumbering Gerd, seems to be preserved in the Sagas of Veluwe, a compendium of Low Countries folk lore and myth compiled in the early 20th century from various sources, by the folklorist and artist, Perné. The story is simply called a “Tale from Pomphul” after the sacred vale which is the setting for the story. However, the themes of this story are also clearly present in the enigmatic Anglo-Saxon poem known as the “Wife’s Lament”, and mirrored as well in other tellings of the story.
Saxo Grammaticus, a Danish historian and writer of the late 12th and early 13th centuries, provides a reference to a play or mummery involving the retrieval of Gerdr (or Gerda in the North Sea context) in his work, “Gesta Danorum” (“The Deeds of the Danes”).
The Reluctant Bride
In Book 3 of “Gesta Danorum,” Saxo describes a popular dramatic performance or ritual play that involved the mythological story of Freyr’s (or Froh/Ing-Frea in the Anglo-Saxon tradition) wooing and retrieval of Gerdr. According to Saxo, this mummery was performed during public gatherings and often had elements of humor and mockery, likely used to engage the audience with a familiar mythological narrative in a lively, theatrical fashion.
Saxo specifically mentions how the performance depicted Freyr (whom Saxo refers to by his Latinized name, Frotho) sending his servant Skirnir (or Scirner in Saxo’s Latin) to woo the reluctant Gerdr. The play would involve a dramatic reenactment of the challenges and threats that Skirnir used to persuade Gerdr to agree to marry Freyr, including the famous bargain of waiting nine nights before the marriage could take place. The Old Norse version of the story, contained in the lay known as Skírnismál, seems to make it clear that the giantess will at some point wish for a mate and companionship, and yet when Freyr (or his proxy, Skirnir) arrive to seek her hand in marriage, she is at first quite reluctant. In the Skírnismál version, she is not merely wooed, but cajoled, and finally threatened by Skirnir, before relenting, and consenting to marry Freyr. Interestingly, she will not consummate the wedding however, until nine nights have passed, and then the two will be wed in a place called “Barri”, which means a grove or wooded place, and is likely cognate to Old English “Bearu”, a word with the same meaning. Here we see again, the cultic significance of clearings within the forest in Germanic Heathenship, and specifically with respect to this giantess-become-goddes whose very name means “Enclosure”. It is worth noting that even today, such a sacred grove within the woods exists in Pomphul, in Gelderland, where the spring that gives the vale it’s name is rumored by locals to have been created by none other than Woden.
Trapped Beneath the Earth
In the Pomphul tale, Gerda is initially seen by Froh in a a sleep-like state, fettered by ice in the domain of her father, the Winter Giant, Hymer. This otherworldly estate is implied to lie beneath burial mounds in a dell in Gelderland, where a scared spring and grove lie surrounded by hills. The tale recounts how ice and snow lay thick on the trees, when Froh spots the beautiful giantess from afar, and sends a bird (an omen of Spring?) to awaken her. Then she paces to and fro, in her father’s hall, as Froh attempts to reach her. In this tale, Ing-Frea falls deeply in love with Gerda, whose beauty and strength are tied to the earth. Here too, she initially resists his advances, and only agrees to marry him after he persuades her that the greatest treasures buried here in this wintry hall, seeds, will never become tall, golden grain without the warmth and sunlight her can bring. She then consents to be wed, and we are told that the snow begins to thaw, flowers emerge, and there is a great celebration, attended by Elves, and White Wives. In this telling, the couple are quite happily married, and the language used is quite romantic, implying an aspect of romantic love and courtship in the myth of Gerda and Ing-Frea that some modern scholars may be too quick to dismiss.
Gerda’s resistance to Froh’s advances reflects a distance that must be bridged, a barrier formed by the cold of winter and the forces that keep her isolated. Similarly, in “The Wife’s Lament,” the speaker mourns her separation from her lord, lamenting her exile to a desolate and isolated place described as an Earthen hall beneath a “wudubærwe”— a grove in the woods. Like Gerda, she paces back and forth, able to move about, but not seemingly, to leave these dark premises at the moment we find her. This environment of imprisonment and solitude beneath the trees of the overworld, echoes the setting of Gerda’s father’s abode, where she, too, is trapped and kept apart from the love that would bring renewal. It seems quite likely that the cause and duration of her internment was originally seen as seasonal, and that “The Wife’s Lament” is if not actually spoken by the Goddess herself, clearly a preservation of this ancient Germanic leitmotif.
It is difficult to pinpoint precisely what the Old English version of Gerðr might be, but the consensus seems to be Gierd or Gerd. In the Old English corpus, there is an interesting entry in one of the 7th century Aldhelm glosses: “vimina silvestria virgulta agrestia wudebære gerda” The latin means “wild vines, wild bushes” and the Old English gloss is “vines/growth in a grove.” Here we have a cognate of ON “Gerðr” associated with growth in a grove, specifically a “wudebære,” the exact same word describing the place that the wife in the The Wife’s Lament lives!
Gerda, like Scandinavian Gerðr, can be seen as a chthonic figure, perhaps similar in some respects to Greek Persephone, often representing the frozen but potentially fertile land of the cultivated enclosure. In her role as a goddess, Gerda represents the dormant earth during Winter, held in a state of stasis by her father, Hymer, who is depicted as a Winter Giant in the story from Pomphul. This identification with the earth (and a dwelling beneath it) places her firmly in a chthonic role, as she symbolizes the soil, the hidden seeds, and the potential for growth that lies beneath the surface. Her story is deeply intertwined with the seasonal transition from winter to spring, a fundamental chthonic theme. During winter, the earth appears lifeless and barren, but beneath its surface, the seeds of renewal lie waiting to awaken. Gerda, like the earth, is hidden and inert until she is coaxed or persuaded to emerge from her icy confinement. Her eventual agreement to marry Ing-Frea symbolizes the release of the earth’s fertility, embodying the cycle of death and rebirth that is central to chthonic symbolism.
Symbolism of the Nine Nights
The nine-night delay is a significant motif in the myth. It represents a period of waiting, reflection, and transformation, much like the gradual lengthening of days and the warming of the earth as winter gives way to spring. The number nine holds special significance in Germanic traditions, often associated with cycles of change and cosmic order. This period allows for the necessary transformation of both Gerda and the land, ultimately leading to the celebration of their union and the fertility it brings.
Festival Connections: Foranlenctin
Gerda’s story is closely tied to the celebration of Foranlenctin, a nine-day festival marking the imminent arrival of spring. This festival begins with Awakening Day, which celebrates the moment Gerda agrees to marry Ing-Frea and symbolizes the awakening of the earth. It culminates in a Victory Sacrifice to Woden, who oversees the sacred marriage and ensures the renewal of the world. The nine nights during Foranlenctin echo the waiting period Gerda imposes, symbolizing the anticipation of spring and the triumph over winter.
Ingwine Guidance
While Gerda shares similarities with the Norse Gerðr, she is uniquely adapted to the cultural context of the North Sea Germanic peoples, including the Anglo-Saxons and the Frisians. In these traditions, she is not only a goddess of fertility and the frozen earth but also a figure who represents the resilience and renewal of the land. The story of her marriage to Ing-Frea is not just a romantic tale but also a metaphor for the agricultural cycles that were central to life in the North Sea region. In our modern Ingwine Heathenship, Gerda is honored as a goddess of romantic love, renewal, and fertility, representing the power and mystery of nature’s cycles. Her story with Ing-Frea is celebrated during the festival of Foranlenctin, marking the awakening of the earth from winter’s slumber and the promise of spring’s return. Gerda embodies the nurturing yet formidable aspects of the earth, guarding its hidden treasures until the time is right for their release. Offerings of seeds, flowers, and freshly baked bread are made to her in sacred groves or natural places to honor her role in the renewal of life and the flourishing of the land. Through ritual, storytelling, and seasonal observances, we connect with Gerda’s chthonic strength, acknowledging her vital role in the balance of life and the cycles of growth, decay, and rebirth.
