In
Norse mythology,
Brísingamen (or
Brísinga men) is the
torc or
necklace of the goddess
Freyja. The name is an
Old Norse compound
brísinga-men whose second element is
men "(ornamental) neck-ring (of precious metal), torc". The etymology of the first element is uncertain. It has been derived from Old Norse
brísingr, a poetic term for "fire" or "amber" mentioned in the anonymous versified word-lists (
þulur) appended to many manuscripts of the
Prose Edda, making Brísingamen "gleaming torc", "sunny torc", or the like. However,
Brísingr can also be an
ethnonym, in which case
Brísinga men is "torque of the Brísings"; the
Old English parallel in
Beowulf supports this derivation, though who the Brísings (Old Norse
Brísingar) may have been remains unknown.