Yggdrasil · Gods and Their Allies
Vár: The Weight of a Promise
A goddess in Gylfaginning who hears the oaths between men and women and punishes those who break them.
In Anderson’s translation
“The ninth is Var. She hears the oaths and troths that men and women plight to each other. Hence such vows are called vars, and she takes vengeance on those who break their promises.”
- Rasmus B. Anderson, The Younger Edda; Also called Snorre's Edda, or The Prose Edda (opens in a new tab) (1897), Gylfaginning, the list of the goddesses (Anderson’s translation) Rights: Public domain. Public domain; Project Gutenberg #18947.
What the sources say
In Gylfaginning, Vár is ninth in the list of goddesses. She listens when men and women pledge themselves to one another, and such pledges are called vars after her. Those who break their promises meet her vengeance. Snorri does not describe how.
The next goddess in the list is a separate figure, Vör, who is wise and searching, so that nothing can be hidden from her. Snorri gives her a different task, and the two names should not be merged.
- Rasmus B. Anderson, The Younger Edda; Also called Snorre's Edda, or The Prose Edda (opens in a new tab) (1897), Gylfaginning, the list of the goddesses (Anderson’s translation) Rights: Public domain. Public domain; Project Gutenberg #18947.
Names and background
Snorri ties the goddess to the word vár, used for a pledge, and ties Vör to a word meaning aware. Both explanations are his; whether Vár was worshipped is not said by this text.
Her role matches a common feature of the list: many goddesses stand for a duty or a human matter, such as trust, protection or wisdom.
- Rasmus B. Anderson, The Younger Edda; Also called Snorre's Edda, or The Prose Edda (opens in a new tab) (1897), Gylfaginning, the list of the goddesses (Anderson’s translation) Rights: Public domain. Public domain; Project Gutenberg #18947.
Where the sources attest it
Vár is named in Gylfaginning in Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda. The text used here is Rasmus B. Anderson’s translation of 1897. Some translations fold her together with Vör into one goddess, so the list can look different from edition to edition. No archaeological or pictorial evidence for her is cited here.
- Rasmus B. Anderson, The Younger Edda; Also called Snorre's Edda, or The Prose Edda (opens in a new tab) (1897), Gylfaginning, the list of the goddesses (Anderson’s translation) Rights: Public domain. Public domain; Project Gutenberg #18947.