In Norse mythology, Rán is a goddess and a personification of the sea. Rán and her husband Ægir, a jötunn who also personifies the sea, have nine daughters, who personify waves. The goddess is frequently associated with a net, which she uses to capture sea-goers. According to the prose introduction to a poem in the Poetic Edda and in Völsunga saga, Rán once loaned her net to the god Loki.
Rán uses her net to pull a seafarer into the depths in an illustration by Johannes Gehrts, 1901
Rán pulls her net beside her husband Ægir as depicted by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (1845–1921) after an original by Friedrich Wilhelm Engelhard (1813–1902)
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The northernmost extension of Germanic mythology and stemming from Proto-Germanic folklore, Norse mythology consists of tales of various deities, beings, and heroes derived from numerous sources from both before and after the pagan period, including medieval manuscripts, archaeological representations, and folk tradition. The source texts mention numerous gods such as the thunder-god Thor, the raven-flanked god Odin, the goddess Freyja, and numerous other deities.
The Tjängvide image stone with illustrations from Norse mythology
The god Loki, son of Fárbauti and Laufey
The Rök runestone (Ög 136), located in Rök, Sweden, features a Younger Futhark runic inscription that makes various references to Norse mythology.
Title page of a late manuscript of the Prose Edda written by Snorri Sturluson (13th century), showing the Ancient Norse Gods Odin, Heimdallr, Sleipnir, and other figures from Norse mythology