According to Peter H. Salus and Paul B. Taylor, the Old Norse Шаблон:Lang ('Edge-Servant') is a descriptive agnomen derived from his function as the arouser of the jötnar and wolves to battle during Ragnarök. They argue that there is a "remote similarity" with Ecgþéow, since the latter was also known for the feuds he have brought about by his fighting. Both names could embody, in their respective tradition, the role of arousers of great battles and feuds.Шаблон:SfnAndy Orchard and John Lindow contend however that a mythological parallel between the two figures is most likely a "red herring".Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
Attestation
Eggþér is mentioned in the poem Völuspá (Prophecy of the Völva) as the herder of the jötunn living in Járnviðr (Ironwood) and raising "the kinfolk of Fenrir" (wolves).Шаблон:Sfn While the red rooster Fjalarr is heralding the onset of Ragnarök, Eggþér is portrayed as joyfully striking his harp.Шаблон:Sfn
Scholar Andy Orchard notes that the scene of Ragnarök has a "curious echo" in the Icelandic Njáls saga, where the hero Gunnar is portrayed as singing joyfully within his own burial mound.Шаблон:Sfn
The identity of the Шаблон:Lang mentioned in the poem is unclear. According to scholars, she is probably the one described in stanza 40 of the same poem, a figure possibly identified with the jötunnAngrboða. She is said to dwell in the forest of Járnviðr (Ironwood), where she raises the offspring of the wolf Fenrir.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Salus and Taylor contend that the herdsman Eggþér is not a shepherd, but rather a wolf-herder. In this view, Eggþér is portrayed as 'joyful' or 'cheerful' in Völuspá because the "rearing of the wolves will bring about the downfall of the gods", and he is striking his harp to "arouse his charge to ferocious deeds".Шаблон:Sfn
