Sessrumnir | Norse Mythology

In Norse mythology, Sessrúmnir is the hall of the goddess Freya located in Fólkvangr, a field where Freya receives half of those who have fallen in battle; it is also the name of a ship.

Both the hall and the ship are mentioned in the prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. Several academic theories have been formulated about a potential connection between the hall and the ship.

Sessrumnir in the Edda

In the 24th chapter of the book Gylfaginning, part of the prose Edda, Sessrúmnir is specifically referred to as a hall. After describing Fólkvangr, High tells Gangleri (disguised as King Glyfi) that Freya has a hall of her own called Sessrúmnir and that it is very large and majestic.

In the 20th chapter of the book Skáldskaparmál also part of the prose Edda, the Sessrúmnir is mentioned. Also in the following chapter, we are given the means of referring to Freya, including a reference of Sessrúmnir: "possessor of the fallen and of Sessrúmnir". In the 75th chapter, Sessrúmnir is mentioned within a list of ship names.

Theories about Sessrumnir 

According to Rudolf Simek's theory, he believes that one of the two meanings of Sessrúmnir (as a hall or as a ship) may result from a misunderstanding, since it can be understood in both cases as "space with many places".

In a 2012 paper written by Joseph Hopkins and Haukur Þorgeirsson they propose a connection between the Fólkvangr, the Sessrúmnir, and numerous stone ships found throughout Scandinavia. According to the opinions of the two, they believe that together they paint a picture of a ship and a field, which has broader implications and may link Freia to the Isis of the Suebi, mentioned by the Roman senator Tacitus in Germania Magna.