thumb|Nanna (1857) by [[Herman Wilhelm Bissen.]]

In Norse mythology, Nanna or Nána is a goddess associated with devotion, peace and harmony. Accounts of Nanna vary greatly by source. In the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, Nanna is married with the god Baldr and the couple produced a son, the god Forseti.

Mythology

After Baldr's death, Nanna dies of grief. Nanna is placed on Baldr's ship with his corpse and the two are set aflame and pushed out to sea. In Hel, Baldr and Nanna are united again. In an attempt to bring back Baldr from the dead, the god Hermóðr rides to Hel and, upon receiving the hope of resurrection from the goddess Hel, Nanna gives Hermóðr gifts to give to the goddess Frigg (a robe of linen), the goddess Fulla (a finger-ring), and for others (unspecified). Nanna is frequently mentioned in the poetry of skalds and a Nanna, who may or may not be the same figure, is mentioned once in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources.

An account provided by Saxo Grammaticus in his 12th century work Gesta Danorum euhemerises Nanna as a human female, the daughter of King Gevar, and the love interest of both the demi-god Baldr and the human Höðr. Spurred by their mutual attraction to Nanna, Baldr and Höðr repeatedly do battle. Nanna is only interested in Höðr and weds him, while Baldr wastes away from nightmares about Nanna.

The Setre Comb, a comb from the 6th or early 7th century has runic inscriptions engraved, which may reference the goddess.

The etymology of the name Nanna is a subject of scholarly debate. Scholars have debated connections between Nanna and other similarly named deities from other cultures, and the implications of the goddess' attestations.

Etymology and place names

The etymology of the name of the goddess Nanna is debated: Some scholars have proposed that the name may derive from a babble word, nanna, meaning "mother". Scholar J. de Vries connects the name Nanna to the root *nanþ-, leading to "the daring one". Lindow (2001)

Archaeological record

The Setre Comb, a comb from the 6th or early 7th century has runic inscriptions which may refer to the goddess. The comb is the subject of an amount of scholarly discourse as most experts accept the reading of the Germanic charm word alu and Nanna; whether the Nanna engraved on the comb is the same as the goddess Nanna from the Eddas is questioned by some scholars.

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