Freyju vagn

Authors: Youla Azkarrula

---

Freyju vagn, painting by Jessica Gullberg for Stellarium.

Freyju vagn, the Freyja’s chariot, is a Norse constellation mentioned in the Rímtǫl glosses, which dates back to the 11th century CE and is an Old Norse calendar of 52 weeks (364 days). 

Concordance, Etymology, History

Origin of Constellation

Freyju vagn (Freyja’s chariot) is the chariot of the fertility goddess Freyja, drawn by cats. When Freyja rides to a battlefield, she receives half of the slain warriors, the other half going to Odin (Sturluson 2017, p. 38). In the Rimtöl gloss, the small chariot in Ursa Minor is referred to as Kvennavagn, or “woman’s chariot”.

Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation

nothing known

Rökstenen, rune stone near Ödeshög in south Sweden (CC BY Bengt Olof ÅRADSSON)

Weblinks

• Norse Constellations by Digitalis Solutions
• Valkyria.com Norse Calendar

All HIP Stars within this constellation

Convex Hull for the stars inside Freyju vagn (CC BY Jakob Eyermann).

References

• References (general)