Hörgr

Old Norse Dictionary - hörgr

Meaning of Old Norse word "hörgr" (or hǫrgr) in English.

As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:

hörgr Old Norse word can mean:

hörgr (hǫrgr): m., never f., for the form hörg (Landn. 111) is merely an error; [A. S. hearg; O. H. G. haruc]:—a heathen place of worship. Distinction is to be made between hof (temple) and horg; the hof was a house of timber, whereas the horg was an altar of stone (the hátimbraðr in Vþm. is not literal) erected on high places, or a sacrificial cairn (like haugr), built in open air, and without images, for the horg itself was to be stained with the blood of the sacrifice; hence such phrases as, to ‘break’ the horgs, but ‘burn’ the templeS. The horg worship reminds one of the worship in high places of the Bible. The notion of a ‘high place’ still remains in the popular Icel. phrase, það eru ekki uppi nema hæstu hörgar, only the highest horgs jut out, when all lies under a deep snow. In provincial Norse a dome-shaped mountain is called horg (Ivar Aasen). The worship on horgs seems to be older than that in temples, but was in after times retained along with temple worship, and then, it seems, specially reserved for the worship of the goddesses or female guardians (dísir), Hervar. S. ch. 1, Hdl. l. c., Edda l. c., cp. also Hörga-brúðr, f. the bride of the horgs, see Hölgi. Many of the old cairns and hows are no doubt horgs or high places of worship of the heathen age. A third way of worshipping is recorded, viz. a portable booth or tabernacle in which the god was carried through the land, mentioned in Tacit. Germ. ch. 40; traces of this ancient worship were still found in Sweden at the close of heathendom, see the interesting tale of Gunnar Helming in FmS. ii. 73–78.

hörgr (hǫrgr): II. references; hörg hann mér görði hlaðinn steinum, nú er grjót þat at gleri orðit, etc., Hdl. 10; hofum ok hörgum, Vþm. 38; þeir er hörg ok hof hátimbruðu, Vsp. 7; hof mun ek kjósa, hörga marga, Hkv. Hjörv. 4; hátimbraðr h., Gm. 16; hamra ok hörga, skóga, vötn ok tré, FmS. v. 239; brjóta ok brenna hof ok hörga, FmS. i. 283, ii. 41; Oddr brenndi hof ok hörga braut, FaS. ii. 288 (in a verse); hauga né hörga, en ef maðr verðr at því kunnr eða sannr, at hann hleðr hauga, eðr gerir hús, ok kallar hörg, eða reisir stöng, n. G. l. i. 430, cp. ii. 496; höfðu frændr hennar síðan mikinn átrúnað á hólana, var þar görr hörg(r) er blót tóku til, trúðu þeir at þeir dæi í hólana, Landn. 111; þar vóru áðr blót ok hörgar, Kristni S. ch. 11; eitt haust var gört dísablót mikit hjá Álfi konungi, gékk Álfhildr at blótinu, en um nóttina er hón rauð hörginn …, FaS. (Hervar. S.) i. 413; þat var hörgr er gyðjurnar áttu, Edda 9, a paraphrase of the passage in the Vsp. l. c.; blóthús ok hörga, Rekst.

hörgr (hǫrgr): 2. poët., brúna-hörgr, the ‘forehead-horg’ or peak = the horns of a steer, Ýt.; gunn-hörgr, a ‘war-horg’ = a helmet (not a shield), Hkr. i. 135 (in a verse); hörga herr, the host of the horgs = the heathen host, Knytl. S. (in a verse).

hörgr (hǫrgr): III. in Icel. local names, but not so freq. as Hof; Hörg-á and Hörgár-dalr, in the north; Hörga-eyrr, in the west; Hörgs-dalr and Hörgs-land, in the east; Hörgs-holt and Hörgs-hlíð, in the west, Landn., Kristni S., map of Icel.; Hörgs-hylr, Dipl., Ísl. Hörg-dælir, m. the men from Hörgárdalr, Sturl. In Norway, Hörg-in, Hörga-setr, Munch’s Norg. Beskr.

Orthography: The Cleasby & Vigfusson book used letter ö to represent the original Old Norse vowel ǫ. Therefore, hörgr may be more accurately written as hǫrgr.

Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᚼᚢᚱᚴᚱ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements

Abbreviations used:

A. S.: Anglo-Saxon.

ch.: chapter.

cp.: compare.

f.: feminine.

Germ.: German.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

l.: line.

l. c.: loco citato.

m.: masculine.

n.: neuter.

O. H. G.: Old High German.

S.: Saga.

viz.: namely.

etc.: et cetera.

L.: Linnæus.

s. v.: sub voce.

v.: vide.

poët.: poetically.

freq.: frequent, frequently.

pl.: plural.

Works & Authors cited:

Edda: Edda. (C. I.)

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

Hdl.: Hyndlu-ljóð. (A. II.)

Hervar. S.: Hervarar Saga. (C. II.)

Ivar Aasen: Ivar Aasen’s Dictionary, 1850.

Landn.: Landnáma. (D. I.)

Vþm.: Vafþrúðnis-mál. (A. I.)

Fas.: Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)

Gm.: Grímnis-mál. (A. I.)

Hkv.: Helga-kviða Hundingsbana. (A. II.)

Hkv. Hjörv.: Helga-kviða Hjörvarðssonar. (A. II.)

Kristni S.: Kristni Saga. (D. I. III.)

N. G. L.: Norges Gamle Love. (B. II.)

Vsp.: Völuspá. (A. I.)

Hkr.: Heimskringla. (E. I.)

Knytl.: Knytlinga Saga. (E. I.)

Dipl.: Diplomatarium. (J. I.)

Sturl.: Sturlunga Saga. (D. I.)

➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

Also available in related dictionaries:

This headword also appears in dictionaries of other languages descending from Old Norse.