Gerðr

Gerðr (or Gerda) is a jötunn and goddess in Norse mythology. She is the daughter of the jötunn (giant) Gymir and Aurboda; the sister of Beli; the wife of Frey, whose servant Skirnir, wooed and won her for his master. Gerðr spurned apples and gold but finally gave in at the terrible threat of eternal cold and loneliness, thus personifying winter giving in at last to the warm sunshine of spring. The nine nights of waiting between her consent to become Frey’s bride and the actual union is symbolic of the long nine months of hard winter in northern countries before spring arrives. In some mythologies the radiance of Gerda personifies the aurora borealis (northern lights).

Gerðr Media

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  Skyrnir and Gerda - Illustration by Harry George Theaker for Children's Stories from the Northern Legends by M. Dorothy Belgrave and Hilda Hart, 1920

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  Skírnir has turned to threats, describing Gerðr's fate at her refusal, as illustrated (1895) by Lorenz Frølich.

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  Skírnir continues his threats as illustrated (1895) by Lorenz Frølich.

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  Two figures embrace on a small piece of gold foil dating from the Migration Period to the early the Viking Age.