The Goddess Eir. EIR: the Goddess from Norse mythology. Heathens, Asatruar - What can you tell me about the goddess Eir. I have no personal experience of this Goddess but this is what I have found: Eir is one of the "missing" gods, one that is mentioned here and there but no great myth or saga accompanies her.
In Mike Smith's The Kids' Book of the Norse Gods, there is a lovely page that reads: "Eir is the goddess of healing and health. It is good to pray to her when you or someone you love is feeling sick. She’s like the nice people you see at the doctor’s office. Crossley-Holland states in the introduction to Norse Myths Gods of the Vikings that Eir is one of the twelve divine goddesses and is goddess of healing. Bellows, Svipdagsmol (Poetic Edda) translation: Svipdag spake: 51. Fjolsvith spake: 52.
Svipdag spake: 53. Fjolsvith spake: 54. Bellow's Notes: 52. The Bellows suggestion the Menglad is Frigga contradicts Crossley-Holland who suggest that Menglad has much in common with Freya and translates Menglad as "Necklace Glad" EDIT: Eir can be found in Grimm's Teutonic Mythology Project, Ch 36 Sickness, Mengloth's Shrine: Who is Eir? Eir is the healer of Asgard, the “Norse Hygeia” as some call her.
Her name simply means “healer”. It is disturbing to some to see her listed among the handmaidens of Mengloth, a Jotun goddess. However, it is clear to me that Eir and Mengloth are colleagues, and when Eir comes to work at Lyfjaberg, she defers to Mengloth whose “practice” it is out of courtesy, as I’m sure that Mengloth would defer to Eir were she to come assist in Asgard. (I don’t know if that ever happens, but I suspect that healers in general are less likely to care about politics and wars than those with other jobs.)
Obviously, Eir’s world-energy is Asgard, the home of the warrior sky-gods … and it is not surprising that her specialty is surgery. Eir’s color is the red of fresh blood (although some have seen her to like green as well), and a magic charm pouch should be made of red cloth with blood-stanching herbs such as Yarrow or Bistort. Prayer for Eir by Nornoriel Physician of the Gods, the Merciful One. Hail Eir, Eir. In Norse mythology, Eir (Old Norse "help, mercy"[1]) is a goddess and/or valkyrie associated with medical skill.
Eir 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 skaldic poetry, including a runic inscription from Bergen, Norway from around 1300. Scholars have theorized about whether or not these three sources refer to the same figure, and debate whether or not Eir may have been originally a healing goddess and/or a valkyrie. In addition, Eir has been theorized as a form of the goddess Frigg and has been compared to the Greek goddess Hygieia. Attestations[edit] Poetic Edda[edit] In the Poetic Edda poem Fjölsvinnsmál, the watchman Fjölsviðr presents a list of the maidens that attend the lady of the keep—Menglöð—that includes Eir, and states that they all sit on the hill Lyfjaberg (Old Norse "hill of healing"[2] or "healing mountain"[3]). Prose Edda[edit] Theories[edit]