𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐣𝐚

In Norse mythology Herja (Old Norse) is a valkyrie attested in the longer of the two Nafnaþulur lists found in the Prose Edda.[1]


Rudolf Simek says the name is etymologically related to the Old Norse herja and Old High German herjón (meaning "devastate"), and derives from Proto-Germanic word *Herjaza. Simek notes that the Continental Germanic goddess name Hariasa (attested from a now lost 2nd century stone found in Cologne, Germany) also derives from *Herjaza, but says that "it is almost impossible to say whether Herja was an original name of a goddess including among the North Germanic peoples," and that "an independent development is equally likely in the case of a 'goddess of war'.