 The creature is solely attested in the "Prose Edda", composed in the 13th century by Icelander Snorri Sturluson.Scholars identify her as stemming from a very early stratum of Germanic mythology, and ultimately belonging to larger complex of primordial bovines or cow-associated goddesses.The cow's name variously appears in "Prose Edda" manuscripts as "Auðumbla", "Auðhumla", and "Auðumla", and is generally accepted as meaning 'hornless cow rich in milk' (from Old Norse "auðr" 'riches' and *"humala" 'hornless').