Annar
Norse deity
In Norse mythology, according to the Gylfaginning, Annar (Old Norse Annarr 'second, another') is the father of Jörð (Mother Earth) by Nótt (the Night). The form Ónar (Old Norse Ónarr 'gaping') is found as a variant.
Annar/Ónar is also the name of a dwarf in the catalogue of dwarfs in the Völuspá that is repeated in the Gylfaginning.
Attestations
In the pseudo-historical genealogy of Odin's ancestors in the introduction to Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, a certain Athra is said to be he "whom we call Annar". What this refers to is unknown. (See Sceafa for discussion of the section of this genealogy in which Annar appears.)
In the Gylfaginning Snorri writes of Nótt:
She was given to the man named Naglfari; their son was Aud. Afterward she was wedded to him that was called Annar; Jörð ['Earth'] was their daughter.
Snorri might have been using a source in which annar 'second, another' was intended to mean Odin, for he himself had just previously written of Odin: "The earth was his daughter and his wife...".
But in the Skáldskaparmál Snorri uses the form Ónar instead, giving "daughter of Ónar" as one of the kennings for Jörð. Snorri also cites from Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld:
In council it was determined
That the King's friend, wise in counsel,
Should wed the Land, sole daughter
Of Ónar, greenly wooded.
The public source identifies “Annar” as norse deity. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Annar, Norse and deity.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Annar”, the useful work is to connect “norse deity” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 28, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2573198.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Annar” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.