Disclaimer: I am not a myths scholar. I am simply interested in myths and how they shape human behavior and stories. The post below is a synthesis of my research about Freya’s necklace Brísingamen and my personal thoughts and should not be taken as verified fact, though I have done my best to ensure its accuracy. My sources are included at the end of the post.
What is Brísingamen?
Brísingamen is a necklace belonging to the goddess Freya (sometimes spelled Freyja). Scholars don’t know many details about the Brísingamen, but artists often depict the goddess wearing a large necklace.
Most often researchers conclude the necklace’s name comes from the root -men, meaning “ornamental neck-ring” and either “brísingr” translated to some form of “shiny” or “Brísingr” after a group of people, potentially the people who created the necklace.
Some scholars believe Brísingamen enhanced Freya’s beauty, which would make sense since she was the goddess of love and sexuality. Assuming it had magical properties wouldn’t be too presumptuous. Historical accounts credit Freya with bringing magic, called seidr, to the gods.
(Related post: Research Files: Seidr, Magic of Destiny)
Both the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda mention Brísingamen in reference to Freya, as well as others’ many attempts to steal it.
Brísingamen’s (Possibly False) Origin Story
As far as my research went (admittedly just scratching the surface), I couldn’t find a concrete origin story from the Norse themselves, other than mentions of Freya receiving the necklace from a group of dwarves.
However, one story from the late 1300s details how this event supposedly took place. Two Christian priests penned the account during the time when Christianity barged in and pushed Old Norse culture out, so we have to take their words with a few large grains of salt. If they created their own version of Norse deity stories to further their own values, it wouldn’t be the first time a conquering power sought to oppress and demean those they deemed lesser.
In this story, the priests portray Freya not as a goddess, but as a human concubine of the god Odin. Freya, for some unknown reason, wanders around and happens to find the dwarves’ forge where they’re making exquisite jewelry. She offers to buy Brísingamen with gold and silver, but they refuse. Instead, they want something else: her body. She agrees to spend a night with each of them in exchange for the necklace.
But nothing is ever that simple in the world of gods or women. Loki, well-known as a trickster god, happens to observe this transaction and tattles to Odin. Odin orders Loki to steal Brísingamen. He succeeds, and knowing the mastermind behind the theft, Freya goes to Odin and is all, “What the heck, man?”
Odin says he’ll give it back to her if she curses two kings to fight for eternity, or until they’re killed by Christians. She agrees, because shiny jewelry.
So, two poor kings fight for over a hundred years, until Christian Lord Olaf Tryggvason comes and puts them out of their misery, thereby ending the pagan curse.
How to Use Brísingamen as Inspiration
Magic and enchanted objects in fantasy are like sweet corn in the Midwest, USA—everywhere, iconic, and memorable if you find a good one.
I used Brísingamen as loose inspiration for Dunamai’s Eye in my Sezna Seer Series. The necklace in my books allows the owner to See and Alter different events throughout time. But there’s so much to take from the story of Freya’s necklace. Just a few idea starters:
- What kind of objects hold power in your story world?
- What specific powers do they wield, and what is required of the owner?
- Who can use the magic, and why are they special?
- What kind of sacrifice is your character willing to make for something they covet?
- When your character is faced with a choice that could alter others’ perceptions of them, what do they do?
- How do gender roles in society affect the decisions your characters make or the options they have?
- How do the people/beings in power punish those who have gone against them? Are the punishments fair?
- If your character lost something important to them, to what lengths would they go to retrieve it?
Have a favorite story about a magic object? Have more info about Brísingamen to share? Leave a comment!
Get more Norse mythology or check out the rest of the Research Files Archives to find more inspiration!
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisingamen
https://blog.vkngjewelry.com/brisingamen/
https://mythopedia.com/norse-mythology/gods/freya/
Image: “Freya and the Necklace” (1890) by James Doyle Penrose
