Gnosis Diary: Life as a Heathen
My personal experiences, including religious and spiritual experiences, community interaction, general heathenry, and modern life on my heathen path, which is Asatru.
The Handmaidens of the Goddess Frigga
Due to a certain popular show, people are confused about what Frigga's Handmaidens are. Frigga is the queen of Asgard, so her Handmaidens are a queen's ladies in waiting. A queen's handmaidens are other noblewomen who serve the queen as their brothers might serve as army officers.
The hand part of the word means close at hand. Hand maid and hand thegn (thane) used to be words for a female and male personal attendant, respectively. The idea is that this is someone usually to be found in the same room during work hours, which would be while the monarch is holding court, unless sent on some errand. It is in this sense that older Christian writings sometimes use the title Handmaiden of the Lord for the Virgin Mary.
The maiden part of the word means unmarried. They serve until marriage and then take their training and social connections they gained while employed off to their new estates, just as retired army officers take the skills, leadership training, and social connections they gained in the service off to their own dukedoms to apply to running their estates / counties / towns. Although in other contexts it can just mean a female servant, a queen's handmaiden is a job title for a highborn lady seeking skills, social power, and possibly a noble husband by being courtiers to a ruling monarch.
That covers what they are. For the question of who they are, for an overview of the individual Handmaidens, I recommend the book Norse Goddess Magic (link to my review): https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/spring-equinox-2016/norse-goddess-magic/
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