Sæhrimnir of Asgard – the pig of eternal bacon

This is an account on the animal that fed the host of Odin each day, and each night returned to life.

The hall of Odin, Allfather of gods in Asgard, is Valhalla. To Valhalla are gathered human warriors who have been slain in battle. Every day these so called Einherjar train for Ragnarök, and at the end of each day they enjoy a feast (art Yoann Lossel).

Hailed among the dishes is the meat of Sæhrimnir. We know the animal as a boar, yet it is must not be the beast that the Norsemen imagined it as.

The oldest preserved record about it is in the poem Grímnismál, that presumably was written in the first half of the 10th century (art by Kris Verwimp).

The Einherjar were served food prepared in the cauldron Eldhrímnir [Old Norse for Fire-sooty] by a chef named Andhrímnir [O.N. for The one exposed to soot]:

"Andrhrimnir has Sæhrimnir cooked in Eldrhrimnir,
best of meats.
But there are few that know
on what the Einheriar feed."

– Poetic Edda; Grímnismál; 18, translation by A. Faulkes

Grímnismál does not tell what animal Sæhrimnir is and this has led to scholarly debate. Partly since few Einherjar know what they eat, but mainly due to etymology: Sæhrimnir is usually translated as "sooty sea-beast" or "sooty sea-animal".

Is Sæhrimnir some kind of sea animal - or at least was originally imagined as one? It is possible. Then from where is the today predominant tradition that it is a swine?

About 1220 was the saga Gylfaginning written. In it Sæhrimnir is stated to be a boar, on the question how the multitude of warriors in Valhalla were fed:

"But never is so vast a multitude in Valhall that the flesh of that boar shall fail, which is called Sæhrímnir; he is boiled every day and is whole at evening."

– Prose Edda; Gylfaginning; 38 onwards, translation by A. G. Brodeur (art by Alexander Forssberg)

"But this question which thou askest now: I think it likelier that few may be so wise as to be able to report truthfully concerning it. His name who roasts is Andhrímnir, and the kettle is Eldhrímnir; so it is said here:

Andhrímnir has in Eldhrímnir
Sæhrímnir sodden,
Best of hams; yet how few know
With what food the champions are fed."

It has been proposed that Snorri Sturluson (1179 - 1241), author or editor of Gylfaginning, embellished about the animal since it has more to tell than Grímnismál (that it as seen quotes).

This could mean that a swine aligned better with the vision of an afterlife in Sturluson's own time rather than shedding light on what his pagan ancestors imagined (art by Christian Krohg).

Yet Sæhrímnir may always been a swine, be it with a to our modern ears curious name. That it was, or at least had become a swine prior to or unrelated of Sturluson, is seemingly supported by the Nafnaþulur. It is a catalogue of names, titles and words for use by artists.

Nafnaþulur is an often excluded subsection of the Prose Edda since its poems are not written by Snorri Sturluson, though he may have used it as a source. The entry on the topic of Göltr/Galtar ["boars" or "hogs"] lists Sæhrímnir among the various names and words for swine:

"Boar, slaughter-glittering one, pig and sooty one, svíntarr, hog, Sæhrímnir, castrated boar, rái, slaughter-bear, røðr, dirt-stepper, thriver, vigrir, skunpr, thriving one, Vanr-born one."

– Prose Edda; Nafnaþulur; 97, translation by Elena Gurevich

Pig tax: in Sweden is preserved the Linderöd pig (above), a breed that is thought to be near to swine held by Norsemen. It is shorter and rounder than modern breeds, but compared to wild boar (which domestic pigs in Scandinavia may often interbred with at the time) it is less squat and with a straight snout.

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Viking hound https://imgur.com/gallery/wQdJyLZ

Freyja and Folkvangr https://imgur.com/gallery/3sKGYee

For other posts on historical or mythological topics, see https://imgur.com/gallery/unWnIaq