Róta

In Norse mythology, Róta is a valkyrie. Róta is attested in chapter 36 of the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, where she is mentioned alongside the valkyries Gunnr and Skuld, and the three are described as "always [riding] to choose who shall be slain and to govern the killings." Otherwise, Róta appears in two kennings, one by Egill Skallagrímsson and one by Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld. Theories have been proposed about the possible appearance of Róta in Gesta Danorum and the meaning of her name.

Theories

Name

According to Guðbrandur Vigfússon, the name Róta is connected to the Old Norse noun róta (meaning "sleet and storm") and Róta is "a goddess who sends storm and rain."

Gesta Danorum

In book two of Gesta Danorum, a female by the name of "Ruta" is mentioned:

Axel Olrik considered this as an isolated reference to Hrólfr Kraki's widow Hrut mourning on the battlefield with blond hair. Hilda Ellis Davidson says "it seems more probable that it is a reference to the deathly pale head of the valkyrie, the spirit brooding over the battlefield personifying slaughter, who is summoned at the outset of battle." Davidson points out that Róta is the name of a valkyrie, and that "it seems preferable to assume" this to Olrik's theory. Davidson says that while this is, however, complicated by an earlier mention in book two of Hrólfr Kraki's sister and Bödvar Bjarki's wife Hrut, yet this Hrut is not found elsewhere as a female name.

Ṛta

In the Vedic religion, Ṛta (Sanskrit ऋतं ṛtaṃ "that which is properly/excellently joined; order, rule; truth") is the principle of natural order which regulates and coordinates the operation of the universe and everything within it. In the hymns of the Vedas, Ṛta is described as that which is ultimately responsible for the proper functioning of the natural, moral and sacrificial orders. Conceptually, it is closely allied to the injunctions and ordinances thought to uphold it, collectively referred to as Dharma, and the action of the individual in relation to those ordinances, referred to as Karma – two terms which eventually eclipsed Ṛta in importance as signifying natural, religious and moral order in later Hinduism. Sanskrit scholar Maurice Bloomfield referred to Ṛta as "one of the most important religious conceptions of the Rig Veda", going on to note that, "from the point of view of the history of religious ideas we may, in fact we must, begin the history of Hindu religion at least with the history of this conception".