Frigg's messenger. Rides the horse Hofvarpnir through air and water.
Gna (Old Norse Gná) is an Asynja described by Snorri in Gylfaginning 35. She is Frigg's messenger and rides the horse Hofvarpnir, which can gallop through air and over water. Hofvarpnir was sired by Hamskerpir out of Gardrofa.
Snorri relates that when Gna rides through the air the Vanir see her and ask 'What flies there?', from which arose the proverb that gnæfa ('to tower, to soar') derives from Gna's name. Beyond Gylfaginning she lacks attestation in the poetic Eddic sources. Her function as messenger gives her a clear role as a parallel to Hermod among the Aesir.
Sources in the Eddas
- Gylfaginning 35
- Snorri describes Gna as Frigg's messenger who rides Hofvarpnir through the air.
Interpretive traditions
A What we know
Gna is Frigg's messenger and rides the horse Hofvarpnir (Gylfaginning 35).
B What we think we know
Whether Gna had an independent mythological role beyond the messenger function is uncertain.
C What we do not know
Gna's cult and older traditions are undocumented.