Son of Búri and father of Óðinn, who married the giantess Bestla and with her produced the three gods who shaped the world.
Borr is an almost transparent figure in Old Norse mythology: his sole function in the sources is to serve as the link between the divine primal substance Búri and the active divine generation headed by Óðinn. He married Bestla, daughter of the giant Bölthorn, and with her fathered Óðinn, Vili, and Véi.
The three brothers joined forces and slew the primordial giant Ymir, whose body they used to shape the sky, earth, sea, and vault of heaven. Borr is mentioned in Gylfaginning 6 and alluded to in the Völuspá. He has no independent actions in the mythology and appears to have existed as a genealogically necessary link rather than as an active deity.
Sources in the Eddas
- Gylfaginning 6
- Snorri's account of Borr and his sons. Own translation.
Interpretive traditions
A What we know
Borr is attested in Gylfaginning as Óðinn's father and Búri's son, making him a necessary genealogical link in the history of the Old Norse divine lineage.
C What we do not know
Some scholars suggest that Borr and Búri were originally the same figure, later split to create genealogical depth in the myth.