On now to Finn, the grandfather of Odin. Finn was the husband of Hildeburgh, daughter of Hoc and sister to king Hnaef, grandson of Hamundr, which is Hammedatha the Agagite. Finn was the brother of Fornjot, a man who was eventually mythicized into being a god.
The name Finn is the eponym, that is, source name, of Finland. Although not much information can be gained by his name Finn, if we consider that Finn was also known by the name Buri (84)(as related to us in the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturlsson/Sturluson), we can learn more.
For instance, in the Prose Edda we learn that Buri was born in a place called Ginnungagap (84) by the primordial cow Audumbla/Authumbla. While it is true that no person can be born of a cow, it does tell us that Finn/Buri was born after three days labor: "She licked the ice-blocks, which were salty; and the first day that she licked the blocks, there came forth from the blocks in the evening a man's hair; the second day, a man's head; the third day the whole man was there."(84)
It also tells us that he was good looking (fair of feature) and that he was strong and victorious in battle (great and mighty). It also tells us where he was born, Ginnungagap, (which is located on the western side of Lake Van in what is now called Turkey (formerly called Thrace,) and that he had a son named Borr, which was the father of Odin, also called Voden.
Now concerning Finn's mother, Audumbla, she appears to have had four children, Finn/Buri, Ymir/Aurgelmir, who is called Fornjot, and two unnamed daughters (This is figured in that there are four streams of milk flowing from her "udders," a.k.a. breasts, and that two sons, Buri and Ymir, are mentioned while two children are not, which I take to be daughters.)
She also gave birth in the place called Ginnungagap. Different places have been suggested as to its real life location such as between Greenland and Vinland (North America (85),) and the Davis Strait, which lies at the southern tip of Greenland. The true location, as stated earlier, lies at the western edge of Lake Van in Turkey.
If you look at a map of Lake Van, you will see that Mt. Nemrut is on the western edge of Lake Van.(86) Mount Nemrut is named after Nimrod, the son of Cush as mentioned in Genesis 10 of the Bible.(87) This is the place identified as Muspelheim, a hot place, which is where Audumbla/Authumbla came from. Nemrut is the name of a volcano which went extinct about 2,000 years ago.
Niflheim, the place of cold (Ginnungagap was located between Muspelheim and Niflheim,) was just to the north, on the other side of a now dried up outlet, making it one of the world's largest endorheic (having no outlet) lake. What happened is that there was significant volcanic activity from Mt. Nemrut which melted some of the ice that formed on the other side of the then working outlet, and it was during this time that Authumbla/Audumbla gave birth to Finn/Buri.
That Authumbla/Audumbla licked rime rocks while "creating" Buri is significant also. Lake Van is a saline soda lake (88), which means that it has a very high salt content. While in labor, Authumbla must have needed water and possibly some nourishment as she was having a difficult delivery. To relieve her of her thirst, she licked blocks of ice to quench it. The salt content would have given her clarity of mind as it would not be difficult to imagine three days labor to be difficult under any circumstances and would test a woman's sanity.
What should be taken into account is this: That the events and people mentioned in Prose Edda, while accurate, (some places are mentioned there under different names elsewhere); that while the places and events mentioned are accurate to a great degree, it covers hundreds of years, even a thousand years or more, and must be sorted out with great care if a person wishes to arrive at an accurate chronological timelime as to when they occurred. The best way to do this is by considering each mention of a person as a different person unless you are absolutely sure of their identity.
One more interesting thing should be noted concerning Finn's/Buri's birth. In mentioning the timeline of the events of his birth, we get an accurate picture of just how difficult his birth was for Authumbla/Audumbla: On day one of his delivery, only his hair was visible. On day two, his head became visible. On day three, Finn/Buri was finally delivered all the way, much to the relief of his mother. It would not be too difficult to imagine her wanting to castrate her husband, Gudolfr, also known as Godwulf, so that he never got her pregnant again.
It should be noted that while there are some mythological aspects to this genealogy, it seems utterly impossible to me that supposedly mythological characters should have documented living descendants some of them famous in their own right.)
The name Finn is the eponym, that is, source name, of Finland. Although not much information can be gained by his name Finn, if we consider that Finn was also known by the name Buri (84)(as related to us in the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturlsson/Sturluson), we can learn more.
For instance, in the Prose Edda we learn that Buri was born in a place called Ginnungagap (84) by the primordial cow Audumbla/Authumbla. While it is true that no person can be born of a cow, it does tell us that Finn/Buri was born after three days labor: "She licked the ice-blocks, which were salty; and the first day that she licked the blocks, there came forth from the blocks in the evening a man's hair; the second day, a man's head; the third day the whole man was there."(84)
It also tells us that he was good looking (fair of feature) and that he was strong and victorious in battle (great and mighty). It also tells us where he was born, Ginnungagap, (which is located on the western side of Lake Van in what is now called Turkey (formerly called Thrace,) and that he had a son named Borr, which was the father of Odin, also called Voden.
Now concerning Finn's mother, Audumbla, she appears to have had four children, Finn/Buri, Ymir/Aurgelmir, who is called Fornjot, and two unnamed daughters (This is figured in that there are four streams of milk flowing from her "udders," a.k.a. breasts, and that two sons, Buri and Ymir, are mentioned while two children are not, which I take to be daughters.)
She also gave birth in the place called Ginnungagap. Different places have been suggested as to its real life location such as between Greenland and Vinland (North America (85),) and the Davis Strait, which lies at the southern tip of Greenland. The true location, as stated earlier, lies at the western edge of Lake Van in Turkey.
If you look at a map of Lake Van, you will see that Mt. Nemrut is on the western edge of Lake Van.(86) Mount Nemrut is named after Nimrod, the son of Cush as mentioned in Genesis 10 of the Bible.(87) This is the place identified as Muspelheim, a hot place, which is where Audumbla/Authumbla came from. Nemrut is the name of a volcano which went extinct about 2,000 years ago.
Niflheim, the place of cold (Ginnungagap was located between Muspelheim and Niflheim,) was just to the north, on the other side of a now dried up outlet, making it one of the world's largest endorheic (having no outlet) lake. What happened is that there was significant volcanic activity from Mt. Nemrut which melted some of the ice that formed on the other side of the then working outlet, and it was during this time that Authumbla/Audumbla gave birth to Finn/Buri.
That Authumbla/Audumbla licked rime rocks while "creating" Buri is significant also. Lake Van is a saline soda lake (88), which means that it has a very high salt content. While in labor, Authumbla must have needed water and possibly some nourishment as she was having a difficult delivery. To relieve her of her thirst, she licked blocks of ice to quench it. The salt content would have given her clarity of mind as it would not be difficult to imagine three days labor to be difficult under any circumstances and would test a woman's sanity.
What should be taken into account is this: That the events and people mentioned in Prose Edda, while accurate, (some places are mentioned there under different names elsewhere); that while the places and events mentioned are accurate to a great degree, it covers hundreds of years, even a thousand years or more, and must be sorted out with great care if a person wishes to arrive at an accurate chronological timelime as to when they occurred. The best way to do this is by considering each mention of a person as a different person unless you are absolutely sure of their identity.
One more interesting thing should be noted concerning Finn's/Buri's birth. In mentioning the timeline of the events of his birth, we get an accurate picture of just how difficult his birth was for Authumbla/Audumbla: On day one of his delivery, only his hair was visible. On day two, his head became visible. On day three, Finn/Buri was finally delivered all the way, much to the relief of his mother. It would not be too difficult to imagine her wanting to castrate her husband, Gudolfr, also known as Godwulf, so that he never got her pregnant again.
It should be noted that while there are some mythological aspects to this genealogy, it seems utterly impossible to me that supposedly mythological characters should have documented living descendants some of them famous in their own right.)
All scriptures listed are taken from the King James Version 1611 edition of the Holy Bible
(84) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%BAri
(85) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinland
(86) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemrut_(volcano)
(87) http://av1611.com/kjbp/kjv-bible-text/Ge-10.html
(88) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Van
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