Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr and Irpa
divine figures in Norse mythology
Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr (Thorgerdr Holgabrudr) and Irpa are divine figures in Norse mythology. They appear together in Jómsvíkinga saga, Njáls saga, and Þorleifs þáttr jarlsskálds. Irpa's name does not appear outside of these four attestations, but Þorgerðr also appears in the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, Færeyinga saga, and Harðar saga ok Hólmverja and is mentioned in Ketils saga hœngs.
Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr is particularly associated with Haakon Sigurdsson (d. 995), and, in Jómsvíkinga saga and Þorleifs þáttr jarlsskálds, Þorgerðr and Irpa are described as sisters. The roles of the Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr and Irpa in these sources and the implications of their names has been the topic of some scholarly discourse and conjecture.
Etymology
The name Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr (or Hǫlgabrúðr) is Old Norse and literally means "Þorgerðr, Hölgi's bride". According to Skáldskaparmál chapter 42, Hölgi (a traditional eponym of the northernmost Norwegian province Hålogaland) is also Þorgerðr's father. The first name Þorgerðr is a compound of two names: the god name Þor (Thor) and gerðr – the latter name meaning "fenced in".
The figure's second name sometimes appears in sources featuring -brúðr replaced with -troll, and, in place of Hölg-, the prefixes Hörða-, Hörga-, and Hölda- also appear.
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