Goddess of oaths between lovers. Punishes oath-breakers.
Var (Old Norse Vár) is an Asynja described by Snorri in Gylfaginning 35. She listens to oaths and pledges that men and women make to each other, and she punishes those who break their promises. Snorri states that such agreements are called várar after her name.
Var represents the legal and moral dimension of love-bonds in the Norse divine world. Beyond Gylfaginning she lacks attestation in the Eddic poems. Her figure may be interpreted as a personification of the oath and its sanctity, rather than a goddess with her own myth cycle.
Sources in the Eddas
- Gylfaginning 35
- Snorri describes Var as the goddess of oaths and pledges between lovers.
Interpretive traditions
A What we know
Var listens to oaths and punishes oath-breakers (Gylfaginning 35).
B What we think we know
Whether Var was an actual cult figure or a personification in Snorri's systematization is unknown.
C What we do not know
Var's prehistory and possible cultic practice lack attestation.