In
Proto-Norse, the three brothers' names were
alliterating, *
Wōdinaz, Wiljô, Wīhaz, so that they can be taken as forming a triad of *
wōdaz, wiljô, wīhą, approximately
inspiration (transcendent, mantic or prophetic knowledge),
cognition (will, desire, internal thought that leads to action) and
numen (spiritual power residing in the external world, in sacred objects). Compare to this alliteration in a verse found in the
Exeter Book,
Wôden worhte weos "Woden wrought the
sanctuaries"when compared to the "triad" above, just the middle
will etymon has been replaced by the
work etymon. The name of such sanctuaries to Woden,
Wôdenes weohas (
Old Saxon Wôdanes wih,
Old Norse Óðins vé) survives in
toponymy as
Odinsvi,
Wodeneswegs. Vili and Vé, together with Óðinn, are portrayed as the three brothers who slew
Ymir — ending the primeval rule of the race of
giants — and are the first of the
Æsir. Of the three, Óðinn is the eldest, Vili the middle, and Vé the youngest. To the first human couple,
Ask and Embla, Óðinn gave soul and life; Vili (
Hœnir) gave wit (intelligence) and sense of touch; and Vé (
Lóðurr) gave countenance (appearance, facial expression),
speech, hearing, and sight. While Vili and Vé are of little prominence in Norse mythology as attested; their brother Óðinn has a more celebrated role as the chief of the Norse pantheon. Óðinn remains at the head of a triad of the mightiest gods: Óðinn,
Þórr, and
Freyr. In the
Gylfaginning, first book of the
prose Edda, Óðinn is also styled
Þriði "the third", in which case he appears by the side of
Hárr and
Jafnhárr (the "high" and the "even-high" or "co-equal"), as the "Third High". At other times, he is Tveggi "the second". In relation to the Óðinn-Vili-Vé triad, Grimm compares Old High German
willa, which not only expressed
voluntas, but also
votum, impetus, spiritus, and the personification of Will, to
Wela in Old English sources. Keyser interprets the triad as "Spirit, Will and Holiness", postulating a kind of Germanic
Trinity in Vili and Vé to be "blended together again in the all-embracing World-spiritin Odin. [...] he alone is Al-father, from whom all the other superior, world-directing beings, the Æsir, are descended." According to
Loki, in
Lokasenna, Vili and Vé had an affair with Óðinn's wife,
Frigg. This is taken by Grimm as reflecting the fundamental identity of the three brothers, so that Frigg might be considered the wife of either. According to this story Óðinn was abroad for a long time, and in his absence his brothers acted for him. It is worthy of note that
Saxo Grammaticus also makes Óðinn (Latin:
Othinus) travel to foreign lands and Mitoðinn (Latin:
Mithothyn) fill his place, and therefore Mitoðinn's position throws light on that of Vili and Vé. But Saxo represents Óðinn as once more an exile, and puts
Ullr (Latin:
Ollerus) in his place. Chapter 3 of says that Odin had two brothers, Vili and Vé. While Odin was gone, his brothers governed his realm. Once Odin was gone for so long that the believed that he would not return, his brothers began to divvy up Odin's inheritance, "but his wife they shared between them. However, afterwards, [Odin] returned and took possession of his wife again". ==See also==