ABSTRACT
One of the main themes in the theory of the probable sacral rulership of pagan Scandinavia has been a genealogical one: the question of whether the king or the earl was looked upon as the offspring of a god. A new aspect was added to the debate in the 1990s, which in several ways may influence the theory. It was argued that the prototypic ruler was the offspring not only of a god, but of a giantess as well (Steinsland 1991). The further hypothesis is that the feminine element in the myth changes the deeper meaning of the mythical pattern connected to Norse ideology of rulership. This is a story about a myth of marriage, a so-called hieros gamos, a holy wedding, in different variations well known from several other cultures. The Norse myth about the holy marriage is, however, of a special structure and meaning.
