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RE: Idunn is a Norse deity: Keeper of the Apples and provider of Eternal Youth (Blooming Series: Apple Orchard)
England is apple country. I love apples :)
I quite enjoyed the etymology of the name 'apple'. I was aware that apple simply meant 'fruit' back in the day. I didn't realise 'melon' also just meant 'fruit' in Greek. That's interesting.
I'm going to have an apple now :)
yes first it meant "fruit" (generic) like Oranges would be "chinese apples", cucumbers (earth apples) and so on, it was in the Middle Ages when the fruits really took their name as we know them today, still all the symbolism of apples have been often interpreted as maligned femininity quite unfairly. Good for you, apples are healthy? also good for the heart :) among other things.
I'm also really interested in the topic of how the apple became known as the forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden. All I know is that the Mystery Plays of The Passion often describe it as an apple.
So what happened after new words for other fruits became known? How did they determine the fruit from the Eden myth was actually an apple? I'm of the opinion that the entire tale is a poetic parable, and was never meant to be taken literally. Yet, I'm super curious how any religious scholar decided the apple must be THE fruit from the cursed tree.
In my lifetime modern scholars I have studied from have said nothing but criticism of Medieval leaders who described the fruit from the tale was an apple, and then present their own outlandish theory of what sort of fruit it might have been. Maybe it's the modern scholars who are ignorant.
Any idea as to whether the Norse may have borrowed Idunn from the Eden tale, or the other way around? Perhaps it is anyone's guess how old these stories are.
I can usually recognize the early Roman interpretation of the Biblical tales, because the women characters are almost always depicted as falling from grace and leading others astray. Clearly to me, there was a massive attempt by the state religion of the time to wipe out all forms of goddess worship, to unify all believers in-line with the One God approved by the state. All of the One God religions appeared to recognize the power and unification they could have when they conquered a land through war. The stories do no describe killing off nations of pacifist goddess worshipers and raping the virgin priestesses, but I am sure it happened.
Thank you for sharing an excellent article. I thoroughly enjoyed the photos of the trees in bloom with your wonderful nature spirit inspired clothing. You always do such a great job with styling the hair, make-up, and accessories to match the setting for a gripping image.
A couple of my dwarf apple trees are looking super healthy this year and putting on more growth than ever before. I grow these in pots in the front of the house where they get lots of sun, and some cool shade from a sumac tree above.
One has gravenstein, a great cidar apple or for eating and pie, and the other is called sweet 16, a sweet one with a slight tangy licorice flavor. Still waiting for Idunn to share her first fruits with me.
Goddess/femininity is linke in many prechristian myths as the fruit apple. In the bible the world fruit was generic, and through time "apples" mean fruit while other fruits got other name. But seriously before Middle ages all was fruit/apple thus cucumbers are earth apples, oranges chinese apples and so on, but being linked to Malus name (fruit generic but also evil in latin) and related to femininity (apples always used to arouse women due to irs chemicals) and round (referring to pregnancy) poor apples were doom to become definitely maligned as women have been throughout history.
Pd. Thanks gor such long and insightful comment, wow