Sharing some of my MUS about Sif

[Riverwolf]

I've been REALLY drawn to Sif lately, ever since I had a UPG about her relationship to Thor/Thunor. I've come to sometimes call her Frith, as the embodiment of that very concept.

So, here's some of my MUS (Made-Up S***) about Sif/Frith that I've been thinking about lately, some of it based on that UPG experience, and some of it on the very precious little about her that's survived. (I must stress again that this is MUS; none of this is historically attested!)

Her domain is largely domestic matters; think roughly equivalent to a combination of the Olympioi Hestia and Demeter.
She is the sister of the God who's name in Old English was Beowa, who (according to Kathleen Herbert) is likely John Barleycorn. (Like Beowa is Barley and embodies alcohol, Frith is Wheat and embodies bread).
Her smile is "warm as freshly cooked bread", and is very forgiving, kindly, and non-confrontational... mostly. In domestic matters, she is in charge and is not afraid to remind anyone who forgets. She might, therefore, be thought of as "Queen of Housewights."

 

[Toxikmynd]

Interesting lol

 

[Treks]

I've been REALLY drawn to Sif lately, ever since I had a UPG about her relationship to Thor/Thunor. I've come to sometimes call her Frith, as the embodiment of that very concept.

So, here's some of my MUS (Made-Up S***) about Sif/Frith that I've been thinking about lately, some of it based on that UPG experience, and some of it on the very precious little about her that's survived. (I must stress again that this is MUS; none of this is historically attested!)

Her domain is largely domestic matters; think roughly equivalent to a combination of the Olympioi Hestia and Demeter.
She is the sister of the God who's name in Old English was Beowa, who (according to Kathleen Herbert) is likely John Barleycorn. (Like Beowa is Barley and embodies alcohol, Frith is Wheat and embodies bread).
Her smile is "warm as freshly cooked bread", and is very forgiving, kindly, and non-confrontational... mostly. In domestic matters, she is in charge and is not afraid to remind anyone who forgets. She might, therefore, be thought of as "Queen of Housewights."

Do you know if there are any hints about Sif's name in OE?

If she is boss of domestic matters, what's you view of Frige?

 

[Riverwolf]

Do you know if there are any hints about Sif's name in OE?

Not off the top of my head. Her Old Norse name is cognate with the English word "sib", as in "sibling", so that could have been her name in Old English, but I personally have a bit of trouble seeing that word as the name of a specific Goddess. Hence why I use the word "Frith" as another byname for her.

(Though incidentally, the "fri-" in "frith" I believe is the same root as the "fri-" in "Frige.")

If she is boss of domestic matters, what's you view of Frige?

...still kinda up in the air, to be honest, since I don't work with her much.

But if I had to answer based on what I know of her... if the household is, theoretically, supposed to be a "mirror" of society as a whole (itself a "mirror" of the cosmos), as is common in religious thinking, then Frige could be the big boss of domestic societal matters.

Hence why Frith is Housewights' Queen, while Frige is the Gods' Queen.

I'm just throwing that out there, though; it might not be wholly accurate. I do know that Frige is traditionally associated with weaving, but I sort of de-emphasize that from her, and put the emphasis on weaving on Wyrd. (Not that Frige doesn't weave; she does. She's a weaver; just not The Weaver in my mind.)

 

[Treks]

Thanks for the reply.

I'm just throwing that out there, though; it might not be wholly accurate. I do know that Frige is traditionally associated with weaving, but I sort of de-emphasize that from her, and put the emphasis on weaving on Wyrd. (Not that Frige doesn't weave; she does. She's a weaver; just not The Weaver in my mind.)

I think your de-emphasis may be on track. I've seen the emphasis for Frige more on spinning than weaving. That seems to fit together nicely.

 

[Riverwolf]

Thanks for the reply.

No prob. Thanks for your inquiries.

I think your de-emphasis may be on track. I've seen the emphasis for Frige more on spinning than weaving. That seems to fit together nicely.

Oh, right. I'd forgotten about spinning. I think what you say does make sense, since spinning is more technologically sophisticated than weaving.

I want to stress again that none of this is reflective of the historical Anglo-Saxon pre-Christians' beliefs. I'm just not as interested in "picking up where we left off", as I often think of the emphasis on historical accuracy; I'm more okay with filling in the gaps.