“Forbidden Freyja Poems”: Fact-checking an internet myth

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Occasionally, a curious claim surfaces on the internet (e.g. on Facebook, Reddit and various blogs) that there were supposedly “forbidden poems about Freyja” in Norse tradition; that is, erotic poetry that was suppressed or banned due to its obscenity.
On closer inspection, however, it becomes clear that no such tradition is documented in the sources. The claim likely arises from a conflation of several real elements of Norse literature and culture. Below, I provide a summary of the key points.

1. Freyja and sexual myths

A possible starting point is the well-known episode from the Sörla þáttr (part of the Flateyjarbók).
It describes how Freyja discovers the necklace Brísingamen in the possession of four dwarves and wishes to acquire it. The dwarves set a condition.

Old Norse text:

“Freyja bað þá selja sér menit. Þeir sögðu, at þeir myndi selja henni þat fyrir engan annan hlut en þann, at hon skyldi sofa hjá hverjum þeirra eina nótt.”

Translation:

“Freyja asked them to sell her the necklace. They said they would sell it to her for nothing other than that she should sleep with each of them for one night.”

This is immediately followed by the brief statement that Freyja agrees and receives the jewellery:

Old Norse:

“Freyja játaði þessu. Svá fékk hon menit.”

Translation:

“Freyja agreed. Thus she received the necklace.”

Notes on the text:
- The word men means “necklace” or “necklace-like ornament”.
- sofa hjá (“to sleep with someone”) is a common euphemism in Old Norse for a sexual relationship.
- The text describes the scene in a strikingly concise manner and without moral commentary. It is therefore clearly sexual in nature, yet is recounted in an almost businesslike, matter-of-fact manner.

This episode is one of the best-known myths about Freyja, yet it appears in a relatively late source. The Flateyjarbók was written around 1387-1394, several centuries after the christianisation of Iceland. The Sörla þáttr itself was probably composed even later and, in literary terms, belongs to the so-called þættir; short narrative episodes that often place historical or legendary material within a christian framework.

Furthermore, the Brísingamen tradition predates this specific episode. The actual name of the jewellery is not explained again in this passage, as it is assumed to be already known to the audience. The jewellery itself is already mentioned in other sources, such as the Skáldskaparmál of the Prose Edda and in several skaldic kennings, in which Freyja is referred to as the ‘owner of the Brísingamen’. These older sources mention the jewellery but say nothing about its acquisition. The sexual episode could therefore be a later narrative elaboration of an already known mythological object.

Several researchers have pointed out that such depictions may contain literary or polemical elements.
Hilda Ellis-Davidson noted that many surviving myths were recorded in a christian environment and therefore sometimes present a morally coloured portrayal of heathen gods.
Rudolf Simek and John Lindow also point out that some episodes in the later-transmitted myths may exhibit a certain satirical or disparaging tendency.
Britt-Mari Näsström has further argued that Freyja’s sexuality is, in some cases, overemphasised in the sources, possibly as a literary device to characterise the goddess as a particularly passionate or uninhibited figure.
Thus, whilst the episode remains a genuine source within the Norse tradition, its historical value regarding pre-christian beliefs is limited. Above all, it demonstrates how medieval authors dealt with older mythological motifs. An already familiar object (Brísingamen) is embedded in a new, narratively pointed origin story that contains both dramatic and moral elements.

2. Sexual insults in the Edda

A second important text frequently cited as ‘evidence’ for such notions is the Eddic poem Lokasenna (‘Loki’s Quarrel’). The poem belongs to the Poetic Edda and describes a feast in the hall of the sea-jötunn Ægir, during which Loki systematically insults the gods present.

The structure of the poem follows the literary form of the senna (‘slander’, ‘insulting contest’). This form is attested to on several occasions in Old Norse literature. In it, two figures hurl the most hurtful accusations at one another in order to publicly damage their opponent’s honour.
A well-known example outside the Edda is the episode Mannjafnaðr (“Comparison of Men”) in Haralds saga Sigurðarsonar in the Heimskringla, in which two kings compare their deeds and belittle one another. In the Íslendingasögur, too, such verbal attacks occasionally appear as triggers for conflicts.
The senna follows a relatively fixed rhetorical pattern:
- accusations of sexual immorality
- accusations of cowardice or dishonour
- accusations of inappropriate behaviour (e.g. effeminate activities)
The aim is not to establish an objective truth, but to shame the opponent as effectively as possible.

Following this line of reasoning, Loki also directs his attacks against Freyja. In one stanza, he claims that she has slept with numerous gods and elves.

Old Norse (Lokasenna 30):

“Þegi þú, Freyja!
þú ert fjǫlkunnig;
eigi veit ek, at þú ert ólyginn:
af ásum ok álfum
er hér inni eru
hverr hefir þinn hór verit.”

Translation:

“Be silent, Freyja!
You are skilled in magic.
I do not know that you are without guilt:
of the Æsir and the Elves,
who are here in this hall,
every one has been your lover.”

This passage, too, is clearly constructed as an insult. The text does not confirm the accusation; it stands solely in the context of Loki’s taunt.

The Lokasenna contains numerous similarly scathing attacks on other gods.
Some examples:

Óthinn
Loki accuses Óthinn of practising magic on the island of Sámsey, which is considered unbecoming of a man:

“En þik síða kóðu
Sámseyju í,
ok draptu á vétt sem vǫlur;
vitka líki
fórtu verþjóð yfir,
ok þótti mér þat args aðal.”

Translation (paraphrased):

“It was said that you had been on Sámsey
and had practised magic like a seer;
in the guise of a sorcerer
you roamed amongst the people,
and that seemed to me to be shameful behaviour.”

Here, Óthinn is accused of practising seiðr; a practice that, in the Norse conception of honour, could be regarded as unmanly.

Njörthr
Njörthr is also mocked. Loki claims that the daughters of the jötunn Hymir humiliated him and used him as a hlandtrogi (‘piss-pot’; ‘urine trough’); a particularly crude form of humiliation.

Týr
Loki also attacks Týr, reminding him that he lost his hand when Fenrir was bound. The accusation here is directed less at sexuality than at personal weakness.
These examples show that no god is spared in the poem. Each is attacked with a specific insult.

The prevalence of sexual accusations is linked to the Norse culture of honour. In Old Norse society, personal reputation was a central social value.
The Lokasenna deliberately employs these mechanisms to create a dramatic and provocative scene.

Against this background, it is problematic to interpret individual statements from the Lokasenna in isolation as historical accounts of the gods. The text belongs to a literary tradition of invective, in which exaggerated and defamatory accusations are a central stylistic device.
The verses therefore primarily demonstrate the rhetorical strategies of a verbal duel, not necessarily generally accepted myths about the behaviour of the gods.

In fact, in the poem itself, Freyja responds directly to Loki’s accusation, and this response is important for the interpretation of the passage. It shows that the accusations are part of a debate and are not presented in the text as confirmed facts.
Freyja’s reply follows directly on from Loki’s insult.

Old Norse text (Lokasenna, stanza 31):

“Þú ert fullr, Loki,
ok ertu frá vitinu;
ør er þér, er þú þetta mælir.
Veit ek, at þér munu
víta allir æsir
ok ásynjur
í einum hug.”

Translation:

“You are drunk, Loki,
and no longer in your right mind;
you are confused when you speak thus.
I know that
all the Æsir
and Asynjur
will condemn you on this point.”

Freyja’s reaction also follows a typical pattern of the senna:
1. Rejection of the accusation: she declares that Loki is drunk and talking nonsense.
2. Questioning his credibility: his words are portrayed as an expression of confusion.
3. Appeal to the community: she claims that the other gods would likewise condemn his accusations.
The text therefore does not confirm that Loki’s accusation is true; instead, it is presented as part of an escalating verbal duel.
This dynamic is typical of the Lokasenna. Almost every character rejects Loki’s accusations or counters them with a counter-accusation. The poem thus develops into a series of mutual attacks on honour, which only ends when Thórr appears and threatens Loki with violence, whereupon Loki leaves the hall.

For the interpretation, this means that the passage about Freyja is not an isolated myth about her behaviour, but part of a literary scene in which a dispute escalates and the sharpest possible insults are exchanged.

Another passage in which Freyja is confronted with a similar accusation is also found in the Poetic Edda, though in a completely different context: in the poem Þrymskviða (‘The Song of Thrymr’).
This poem recounts how the jötunn Thrymr steals Thórr’s hammer Mjöllnir and will only return it if he is given Freyja as his wife. When the gods convey this demand to Freyja, she reacts with indignation and firmly rejects the proposal.

Old Norse text (Þrymskviða 13):

“Reið varð þá Freyja
ok fnasaði,
allr ása salr
undir bifðisk;
stökk þat it mikla
men Brísinga:
‘Mik veiztu verða
vergjarnasta,
ef ek með þér fer
í Jǫtunheima.’”

Translation:

“Then Freyja grew angry
and snorted with rage,
the whole hall of the Aesir
trembled at it;
the great
Brísingamen sprang up:
‘You will surely
think me the most lustful of all women,
if I go with you
to the world of the jötnar.’“

The crucial point lies in the final part of the speech. Freyja rejects the suggestion by saying ironically: if she were to go with the jötunn, everyone would believe she was ‘vergjarnasta’, that is, the ‘most desirable’ or ‘sexually promiscuous’ of all women.

Several aspects are worth noting here:
1. The accusation appears to be a social expectation. Freyja does not say that she is actually like that, but that others would believe she is if she agreed to the proposal.
2. The term is part of a rhetorical argument. She uses it to show how unreasonable the demand is.
3. The scene is set within the context of a comic poem. The Þrymskviða is, on the whole, strongly humorous in tone. At the end, Thórr himself disguises himself as Freyja in order to get the hammer back.
Thus, this passage demonstrates that the accusation of sexual promiscuity levelled at Freyja is not presented within the Edda as an established mythological fact, but rather as a rhetorical motif or as part of the social perception within the narrative world.

The sexualisation of Freyja in individual passages is likely only part of the literary portrayal, not necessarily a central characteristic of the goddess in pre-christian times.

3. Real, forbidden love poems

Perhaps the most important element of the modern misinterpretation is a real, legal and literary term: mansǫngr (plural: mansǫngvar).

In the Old Norse context, this term referred to love or courtship poems in which a poet addressed or sang of a specific woman directly. Unlike many other forms of skaldic poetry, mansǫngvar were not primarily focused on fame, war or genealogy, but on personal relationships, and it was precisely in this that their potential for conflict lay.

In medieval Icelandic society, such poems could be considered defamatory. The Grágás law code (12th-13th centuries, drawing on older legal traditions) states this explicitly.

Old Norse:

“Ef maðr yrkir mansǫng um konu, þá varðar þat fjǫrbaugsgarð.”

Translation:

“If a man composes a mansǫngr about a woman, that entails the punishment of banishment.”

The punishment fjǫrbaugsgarðr refers to a form of temporary banishment (outlawry) that excluded the person concerned from the community and rendered them legally vulnerable.

The reason for this ban lies not in a general sense of ‘prudishness’, but in the social structure of Icelandic society.
A love poem recited in public could:
- give the impression that an intimate relationship existed between the poet and the woman,
- damage the woman’s reputation,
- impair her chances of marriage and
- undermine her family’s honour.
Since marital ties played a central role in social networks, property and political alliances, such an intervention could have significant consequences.

The mansǫngr was not problematic because it was ‘sexual’, but because it publicly asserted or implied a relationship that was socially relevant.

Saga literature confirms that such poems could indeed trigger conflicts.

Hallfreðar saga vandræðaskálds
The Hallfreðar saga describes how the skald Hallfrethr composes love poems about a woman named Kolfinna. This poetry leads to tensions with those around her and contributes to a series of conflicts.
The saga clearly shows:
- The poet uses poetry to express a personal relationship.
- Those around him react with rejection or hostility.
- The situation escalates into social and, in some cases, violent conflicts.

Other texts (such as Kormák’s Saga and Gunnlaug’s Saga of Ormstungu) also suggest that love poetry could be legally and socially sensitive. The existence of a clear legal prohibition suggests that these were not isolated incidents, but rather a well-known social problem.

This point is particularly important for the interpretation of the Freyja passages, because
- in real society, even mere hints of relationships could be considered defamatory, and
- in literature, such themes are deliberately used as weapons of attack (e.g. in Lokasenna).
This means that when texts claim a woman has slept with many men, this is not a neutral account, but corresponds precisely to the kind of accusation that was also considered deeply defamatory in real life.

The portrayal of Freyja in individual passages therefore follows a familiar social and literary pattern: a character is deliberately disparaged through accusations of sexual availability or promiscuity.

Summary
- mansǫngr refers to real love poems about specific women
- such poems could be subject to legal action
- the reason was to protect honour, reputation and social order
- similar motifs appear in literature as a strategy for insulting others

The term mansǫngr thus provides an important key to understanding, as it shows that sexualised statements about women in the Old Norse context were often social attacks and not necessarily descriptions of actual circumstances.

4. Eroticism and Profanity in Nordic Culture

Even outside literary texts, the Nordic tradition features strikingly direct and, at times, coarse language. The so-called Bryggen runic inscriptions from the medieval trading town of Bergen in Norway form a particularly revealing corpus.
These inscriptions date mainly from the 12th to 14th centuries and were carved onto wooden sticks, bones or other everyday objects. They are not representative monuments like runestones, but rather everyday communication, comparable to notes, messages or spontaneous remarks.

The texts cover an astonishingly broad spectrum:
- love messages and flirtations
- sexual boasting
- insults and mockery
- magical formulas and love spells
- everyday messages (trade, appointments, requests)
It is precisely this combination of everyday life and directness that makes them particularly valuable for understanding linguistic culture.

A frequently cited example is:

Old Norse (runic inscription):

“Ingibjǫrg elskða mik þá er ek var í Stafangri.”

Translation:

“Ingibjörg loved me when I was in Stavanger.”

This brief statement contains several typical elements:
- specific mention of a name (Ingibjǫrg)
- assertion of a relationship (“loved me”)
- geographical location (Stavanger, Norway)
It is precisely this structure that is strikingly reminiscent of mansǫngvar. Here, too, a relationship is publicly asserted or at least implied.

Alongside such love messages, there are also significantly more crude texts. Some inscriptions contain:
- obscene insults
- sexual innuendo or boasting
- mockery of specific individuals
An example from Bergen (rendered in a greatly simplified form) contains, for instance, a direct insult portraying someone as sexually deviant or dishonourable; precisely the kind of accusation that was also regarded as particularly serious in legal texts and sagas.
Examples:
- “Þú ert argr ok ragr maðr.” (“You are an unmanly and effeminate man.” Insult.)
- “Sá er þik ríðr, er meiri maðr.” (“He who rides you is the greater man.” A clear accusation of sexual passivity towards another man. A massive insult.)
- “Unn þú mér, ef þú þorir.” (“Love me, if you dare.” Flirtation.)

Other inscriptions combine eroticism and magic, for example in the form of love spells, in which runes are used to influence or compel affection.
Example: “Ek ríst rúnar þér til ástar.” (“I carve runes for you to love.”)

These inscriptions are particularly important because they show:
1. Runes were not a purely sacred medium
They were used in everyday life for quite ordinary purposes, including personal and intimate communication.
2. Direct language was socially accepted
Eroticism, mockery and insults do not appear as exceptions, but as a normal part of the repertoire of expression.
3. The same motifs found in literature also appear in everyday life.

Literary texts therefore do not reflect an isolated ‘mythical world’, but draw on forms of communication that actually existed.

This raises an important point regarding the interpretation of the Freyja passages:
a) Statements about sexual relationships could be deliberately formulated as social commentary or as an attack
b) The same type of language appears
- in law (mansǫngr, níð),
- in literature (Lokasenna),
- in everyday life (Bryggen inscriptions).
This means that such statements are often functional. They serve to say something about a person (or to harm them), not necessarily to describe real circumstances objectively.

5. The modern origins of the myth

The online claim regarding supposedly ‘forbidden Freyja poems’ can most likely be explained as a misinterpretation resulting from the combination of real, yet unrelated, elements.
Several historically attested aspects of Old Norse tradition are conflated and placed within a new context for which there is no historical evidence.

The real building blocks:
- 1. Freyja as a goddess with erotic aspects
In the sources, Freyja is also associated with love, desire and sexuality. At the same time, however, she is also a goddess of wealth, magic (seiðr) and death (Fólkvangr). Reducing her to a purely ‘sexual’ function is already a modern oversimplification.
- 2. Individual sexualised narrative motifs
Later or literary texts (e.g. Sörla þáttr) contain episodes such as the acquisition of the Brísingamen. However, these are isolated narratives with a specific context, not a systematic tradition of erotic poetry about the goddess.
- 3. Insults in the Lokasenna
Loki levels serious sexual accusations against Freyja. These, however, are clearly set within the framework of a senna, that is, a verbal duel, and form part of a rhetorical strategy, not a confirmed tradition.
- 4. Legally prohibited love poetry (mansǫngr)
In fact, there was a ban on love poems about real women, as such texts could damage their reputation. This practice is well documented, but refers exclusively to specific individuals.

The modern myth arises when these elements are combined without critical reflection (examples from the internet):
- ‘Freyja is associated with sexuality’ becomes → ‘there were many erotic stories about her’.
- From “there is a sexualised episode (Brísingamen)” becomes → “her myths are generally erotic in nature”.
- From “Loki sexually insults her” becomes → “she was traditionally portrayed as promiscuous”.
- From “love poems could have been banned” becomes → “there were banned love poems about Freyja”.

The result is a seemingly logical but in fact unsubstantiated conclusion, namely that there was a tradition of erotic, possibly even banned, poetry about Freyja.

The central error lies in the conflation of two entirely different levels.
The historical sources clearly show:
- Love poems were written about real women,
- these could be prosecuted, but
- there are no surviving mansǫngvar about Freyja or other goddesses.

There is also another factor at play: modern patterns of interpretation.
In popular depictions, the following often occur:
- Freyja’s role as a goddess of love is overemphasised,
- individual passages are read in isolation,
- legal or social terms (mansǫngr) are taken out of context.
This gives rise to a kind of synthetic myth that appears convincing because all its individual components are real, yet their combination is not.

The notion of ‘forbidden Freyja poems’ is not based on historical tradition, but on a misinterpretation of various source areas:
- mythology,
- satirical poetry,
- legal history,
- everyday culture.

The only elements historically attested are:
- love poems about real women (mansǫngvar),
- sexualised insults in literary contexts,
- individual, context-bound narrative motifs concerning Freyja.

There is, however, no evidence of a tradition of erotic or even forbidden poetry about the goddess herself.

6. My Conclusion

Norse tradition is by no means as ‘moral’ or restrained as it sometimes appears in popular depictions. Both Eddic poetry and the sagas, as well as the runic inscriptions, display a remarkably direct language that unflinchingly addresses topics such as sexuality, desire, mockery and insults to honour.
These elements are real and well-documented. They reveal a culture in which language was deliberately employed to assert relationships, attack honour or mark social positions.
However, a tradition of ‘forbidden Freyja poems’ cannot be traced in the sources.
Rather, the impression arises from a modern amalgamation of originally separate domains.
At first glance, this combination seems plausible, as all the individual components are historically attested. Their linking into a supposed tradition of forbidden poetry about Freyja is, however, not based on sources, but rather a retrospective construction.
There is also an important methodological point to consider here:
Such a tradition has never been seriously considered in academic research, as there is no textual evidence, manuscript references or indirect allusions that would point to any such poems. Neither the Eddic nor the skaldic tradition recognises a genre of love poetry directed at goddesses that would also be legally sanctioned.
This is therefore not a ‘lost tradition’, but a modern misinterpretation arising from the conflation of different types of sources.
Ultimately, this case exemplifies a common pattern:
Modern reception, particularly in internet-based or neo-pagan contexts, tends to combine isolated motifs into synthetic narratives that never existed historically, but appear convincing due to their internal logic.
The notion of ‘forbidden Freyja poems’ falls precisely into this category:
a fascinating idea based on real fragments, but one that has only emerged in this form in the present day.

Selected bibliography:

• Sörla þáttr, in: Flateyjarbók

• Lokasenna, in: Poetic Edda

• Þrymskviða, in: Poetic Edda

• Grímnismál, in: Poetic Edda

• Sigrdrífumál, in: Poetic Edda

• Skáldskaparmál (part of Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda)
  

• Haralds saga Sigurðarsonar in: Heimskringla

• Hallfreðar saga vandræðaskálds

• Kormáks saga

• Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu

• Grágás (in particular the sections on mansǫngr and defamation)
  

• Aslak Liestøl: Runer fra Bryggen i Bergen

• James E. Knirk (Ed.): Runes: A Handbook

• Terje Spurkland: Norwegian Runes and Runic Inscriptions

• John Lindow: Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs

• Rudolf Simek: Dictionary of Northern Mythology

• Hilda Ellis Davidson: Gods and Myths of Northern Europe

• Britt-Mari Näsström: Freyja: The Great Goddess of the North

• Margaret Clunies Ross: Prolonged Echoes: Old Norse Myths in Medieval Northern Society

• Preben Meulengracht Sørensen: The Unmanly Man: Concepts of Sexual Defamation in Early Northern Society