Meili

In Norse mythology, Meili (Old Norse: {{#invoke:IPA|main}}) is a 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 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, D.S. Brewer, Template:ISBN, p. 210. </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>

References

• Barth, Christian K. (1846). Teutschlands Urgeschichte. Vol. 5. Rev. ed. Erlangen: J. J. Palm & Ernst Enke. Template:In lang
• Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995). Edda. Everyman. Template:ISBN
• Larrington, Carolyne (Trans.) (1999). The Poetic Edda. Oxford World's Classics. Template:ISBN
• Pierer, Heinrich A. (1844). Universallexikon der Gegenwart und Vergangenheit, Vol. 21. Altenburg: H. A. Pierer. Template:In lang
• Simek, Rudolf (2006). Lexikon der germanischen Mythologie. Kröners Taschenausgabe, 368. 3rd ed. Stuttgart: Kröner, Template:ISBN Template:In lang
• Rydberg, Viktor (2003). Our Father's Godsaga: Retold for the Young. Lincoln: iUniverse. Template:ISBN
• Uhland, Ludwig (1868). Schriften zur Geschichte der Dichtung und Sage, Vol. 6. Stuttgart: Verlag der J. G. Cotta'schen Buchhandlung. Template:In lang