Einherjar - Theories and Etymological Connections

Theories and Etymological Connections

According to John Lindow, Andy Orchard, and Rudolf Simek the einherjar are commonly connected to the Harii, a Germanic tribe attested by Tacitus in his 1st century CE work Germania. Tacitus writes:

As for the Harii, quite apart from their strength, which exceeds that of the other tribes I have just listed, they pander to their innate savagery by skill and timing: with black shields and painted bodies, they choose dark nights to fight, and by means of terror and shadow of a ghostly army they cause panic, since no enemy can bear a sight so unexpected and hellish; in every battle the eyes are the first to be conquered.

Lindow says that "many scholars think there may be basis for the myth in an ancient Odin cult, which would be centered on young warriors who entered into an ecstatic relationship with Odin" and that the name Harii has been etymologically connected to the -herjar element of einherjar. Simek says that since the connection has become widespread, "one tends to interpret these obviously living armies of the dead as religiously motivated bands of warriors, who led to the formation of the concept of the einherjar as well as the Wild Hunt ". Simek continues that the notion of an eternal battle and daily resurrection can be found in book I of Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum and in reports of the eternal battle of Hjaðningavíg.

According to Guðbrandur Vigfússon, the concept of the einherjar is directly connected to the Old Norse name Einarr. Vigfússon comments that "the name Einarr is properly = einheri" and points to a relation to the term with the Old Norse common nouns einarðr (meaning "bold") and einörð (meaning "valour").