In Norse mythology, Sif is a golden-haired goddess associated with earth. Sif is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and in the poetry of skalds. In both the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, she is known for her golden hair and is married to the thunder god Thor. The Prose Edda recounts that Sif once had her hair shorn by Loki, and that Thor forced Loki to have a golden headpiece made for Sif, resulting in not only Sif’s golden tresses but also five other objects for other gods. Sif is also named in the Prose Edda as the mother of Þrúðr (by Thor) and Ullr. Scholars have proposed that Sif’s hair may represent fields of golden wheat, that she may be associated with fertility, family, wedlock and/or that she is connected to rowan, and that there may be an allusion to her role or possibly her name in the Old English poem Beowulf.
Appearance List Literary: Prose Edda (c. 1220 CE) by Snorri Sturluson; Poetic Edda (c. 1270 CE); Northern Mythology (1851–1852) by Benjamin Thorpe [Internet Archive]; Asgard Stories: Tales from Norse Mythology (1901) by Mary H. Foster and Mabel H. Cummings [Internet Archive]; In the Days of Giants: A Book of Norse Tales by Abbie Farwell Brown (1902) [Internet Archive]; The Elder or Poetic Edda (1908) [Internet Archive]; The Heroes of Asgard: Tales from Scandinavian Mythology by Keary and Keary (1909) [Internet Archive]; Teutonic Myths and Legends (1912) by Donald A. Mackenzie [Internet Archive]; The Children of Odin (1920) by Padraic Colum [Internet Archive].
Sample Read “Sif’s Golden Hair” in School Reading by Grades: Fourth Year (1897) by James Baldwin [Internet Archive]
Description In Norse mythology, Sif is a golden-haired goddess associated with earth. Sif is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and in the poetry of skalds. In both the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, she is known for her golden hair and is married to the thunder god Thor. The Prose Edda recounts that Sif once had her hair shorn by Loki, and that Thor forced Loki to have a golden headpiece made for Sif, resulting in not only Sif’s golden tresses but also five other objects for other gods. Sif is also named in the Prose Edda as the mother of Þrúðr (by Thor) and Ullr. Scholars have proposed that Sif’s hair may represent fields of golden wheat, that she may be associated with fertility, family, wedlock and/or that she is connected to rowan, and that there may be an allusion to her role or possibly her name in the Old English poem Beowulf.
School Reading by Grades: Fourth Year (1897) by James Baldwin | Illustration signed “Day” (perhaps unidentified engraver, American Book Company, c. 1897)
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