The Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas on Holda

Contents > Chapter Iii: Frigga

• attestation: Holda taught the peasant in the legend to harvest flax and spin, weave, and bleach linen, and promised him he would live as long as the blue flowers she gave him did not droop.

  "Holda came once more to teach the peasant and his wife how to harvest the flax--for such it was--and from it to spin, weave, and bleach linen."

• attestation: When the peasant's bouquet finally drooped, he climbed the mountain, found the glacier doorway again, entered, and was never seen again; Holda took him under her care.

  "Knowing what this portended, and that he too must die, the peasant climbed the mountain once more to the glacier, and found again the doorway for which he had often vainly searched. He entered the icy portal, and was never seen or heard of again, for, according to the legend, the goddess took him under her care, and bade him live in her cave, where his every wish was gratified."

• attestation: Tannhäuser, a medieval knight, lived under Holda's spell in the Hörselberg in Thuringia (where she was known as Frau Venus) and sought papal absolution before returning.

  "According to a medieval tradition, Holda dwelt in a cave in the Hörselberg, in Thuringia, where she was known as Frau Venus, and was considered as an enchantress who lured mortals into her realm, where she detained them for ever, steeping their senses in all manner of sensual pleasures. The most famous of her victims was Tannhäuser"

• attestation: Holda was believed to own a magic fountain called Quickborn that rivalled the fountain of youth.

  "Holda was also the owner of a magic fountain called Quickborn, which rivalled the famed fountain of youth"