e sprung;
And all that is to come I know, but lock
In my own breast, and have to none reveal'd."

Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).

She was generally represented as a tall, beautiful, and stately woman,
crowned with heron plumes, the symbol of silence or forgetfulness, and
clothed in pure white robes, secured at the waist by a golden girdle,
from which hung a bunch of keys, the distinctive sign of the Northern
housewife, whose special patroness she was said to be. Although she
often appeared beside her husband, Frigga preferred to remain in her
own palace, called Fensalir, the hall of mists or of the sea, where
she diligently plied her wheel or distaff, spinning golden thread or
weaving long webs of bright-coloured clouds.

In order to perform this work she made use of a marvellous jewelled
spinning wheel or distaff, which at night shone brightly in the sky as
a constellation, known in the North as Frigga's Spinning Wheel, while
the inhabitants of the South called the same stars Orion's Girdle.

To her hall Fensalir the gracious goddess invited husbands and wives
who had led virtuous lives on earth, so that they might enjoy each
other's companionship even after death, and never be called upon to
part again.

"There in the glen, Fensalir stands, the house
Of Frea, honour'd mother of the gods,
And shows its lighted windows and the open doors."

Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).

Frigga was therefore considered the goddess of conjugal and
motherly love, and was specially worshipped by married lovers and
tender parents. This exalted office did not entirely absorb her
thoughts however, for we are told that she was very fond of dress,
and whenever she appeared before the assembled gods her attire was
rich and becoming, and her jewels chosen with much taste.

The Stolen Gold

Frigga's love of adornment once led her sadly astray, for, in her
longing to possess some new ornament, she secretly purloined a piece
of gold from a statue representing her husband, which had just been
placed in his temple. The stolen metal was entrusted to the dwarfs,
with instructions to fashion a marvellous necklace for her use. This,
when finished, was so resplendent that it greatly enhanced her charms,
and even increased Odin's love for her. But when he discovered the
theft of the gold he angrily summoned the dwarfs and bade them reveal
who had dared to touch his statue. Unwilling to betray