Editing Meili

{{short description|Norse deity}}
{{about|the Norse god|the ancient Chinese place|Wuxi}}

In [[Norse mythology]], '''Meili''' ([[Old Norse]]: {{IPA|non|ˈmɛile|}}) is a [[Æsir|god]], a brother of the god [[Thor]]. Meili 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]]. In the ''[[nafnaþulur]]'', a section at the end of the ''Prose Edda'' that may be later, he is named as a son of the god [[Odin]]. No additional information is provided about Meili in either source.

==Attestations==
In the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''[[Hárbarðsljóð]]'', Thor declares that, even if he were an [[outlaw]], he would reveal his name and his homeland, for he is the son of Odin, the brother of Meili, and the father of [[Móði and Magni|Magni]].<ref name="LARRINGTON70">Larrington (1999:70).</ref>

Meili receives four mentions in the ''Prose Edda'' book ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]''. In chapter 17, verses from the poem ''[[Haustlöng]]'' (attributed to the 10th-century [[skald]] [[Þjóðólfr of Hvinir]]) are provided, where Thor is referred to as "Meili's brother".<ref name="FAULKES80">Faulkes (1995:80).</ref> The lines mentioning Meili are also quoted in chapter 23.<ref name="FAULKES89">Faulkes (1999:89).</ref> In chapter 22, additional quotes from ''Haustlöng'' are provided where a [[kenning]] is employed for the god [[Hœnir]] that refers to Meili ('step-Meili').<ref name="FAULKES87">Faulkes (1995:87).</ref> In the ''[[nafnaþulur]]'' at the end of the ''Prose Edda'', Meili is listed among names of the [[Æsir]] and as a son of Odin (between the god [[Baldr]] and the god [[Víðarr]]).<ref name="FAULKES156">Faulkes (1995:156).</ref>

==Reception==
The name Meili is of unknown etymology and meaning. [[Rudolf Simek]] suggested ''der Liebe'', 'the dear one'.<ref name=SIMEK210>Simek (2006:272).</ref><ref>Mistranslated "the lovely one" in Angela Hall's 2007 translation, ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology'', [[Boydell & Brewer|D.S. Brewer]], {{ISBN|0-85991-513-1}}, p.&nbsp;210. <!-- Hall also omits Simek's "vielleicht", and the Haustlǫng citation. --></ref>

Scholars have generally accepted that Meili, like Thor, is a son of Odin. Some 19th-century scholars proposed that he should also be understood as having the same mother as Thor, [[Jörð]], a goddess and the personified Earth.<ref name="JORDMOTHER">Examples include Pierer (1844:204), Barth (1846:396), and Uhland (1868:18).</ref> Also during the 19th century, [[Viktor Rydberg]] theorized that [[Baldr]] and Meili are one and the same.<ref name="RYDBERG191">Rydberg (2003:191).</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* Barth, Christian K. (1846). ''Teutschlands Urgeschichte''. Vol. 5. Rev. ed. Erlangen: J. J. Palm & Ernst Enke. {{in lang|de}}
* Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995). ''Edda''. [[Everyman's Library|Everyman]]. {{ISBN|0-460-87616-3}}
* [[Carolyne Larrington|Larrington, Carolyne]] (Trans.) (1999). ''The Poetic Edda''. [[Oxford World's Classics]]. {{ISBN|0-19-283946-2}}
* Pierer, Heinrich A. (1844). ''Universallexikon der Gegenwart und Vergangenheit, Vol. 21''. Altenburg: H. A. Pierer. {{in lang|de}}
* [[Rudolf Simek|Simek, Rudolf]] (2006). ''Lexikon der germanischen Mythologie''. Kröners Taschenausgabe, 368. 3rd ed.  Stuttgart: Kröner, {{ISBN|3-520-36803-X}} {{in lang|de}}
* [[Viktor Rydberg|Rydberg, Viktor]] (2003). ''Our Father's Godsaga: Retold for the Young''. Lincoln: iUniverse. {{ISBN|0-595-29978-4}}
* [[Ludwig Uhland|Uhland, Ludwig]] (1868). ''Schriften zur Geschichte der Dichtung und Sage, Vol. 6''. Stuttgart: Verlag der J. G. Cotta'schen Buchhandlung. {{in lang|de}}
{{refend}}

{{Norse mythology}}

[[Category:Æsir]]
[[Category:Sons of Odin]]
[[Category:Norse gods]]
[[Category:Baldr]]