Andy Orchard and
Rudolf Simek state that, as Snotra is unattested beyond the
Prose Edda, Snotra may be an invention of Snorri's. Orchard theorizes that, otherwise, Snorri may have had access to a lost source, and that the little information Snorri presents may be derived from the meaning of her name. 's author used word "snotra," for 'wise,' 'prudent' Simek says that Snorri may have invented Snotra from the Old Norse word
snotr ("clever") and "placed [her] next to other insignificant goddesses." However, Simek also writes that the goddesses Snotra,
Sága,
Hlín,
Sjöfn,
Vár, and
Vör should be considered vaguely defined figures who "should be seen as female protective goddesses" that are all responsible for "specific areas of the private sphere, and yet clear differences were made between them so that they are in many ways similar to
matrons." ==Notes==