Jotun

In Norse mythology, the giants were a mythological race with superhuman strength, described as standing in opposition to the gods, although they frequently mingled with or were even married to these, both Æsir and Vanir. Their stronghold is known as Utgard, and is situated in Jotunheim, one of the nine worlds of Norse cosmology, separated from Midgard, the world of men, by high mountains and dense forests. When living in other worlds than their own, they seem to prefer caves and dark places.

In Old Norse, they were called jotnar (sing. jotun), or risi (sing. and pl.), in particular bergrisi, or þursar (sing. þurs), in particular hrímþursar. A giantess could also be known as a gýgr.

Jotun probably derives from the same root as "eat," and accordingly had the original meaning of "glutton" or "man-eater." Risi is probably akin to "rise," and so means "towering person." The word Jotun first appeared in Old English as Yotun, and eventually spawned the variants such as Geottin, Eottan, and Eontann, whence we get Yettin, Ettin, and Ent, respectively. Yettin is a false cognate with Yeti.

Origins

The first living being formed in the primeval chaos known as Ginnungagap was a giant of monumental size, called Ymir. In his first ever sleep, a giant son and a giantess daughter grew from his armpits, his two feet copulated and gave birth to a monster with six heads. Supposedly, these three beings gave rise to the race of hrímþursar (rime giants or frost giants), who populated Niflheim, the world of mist, chill and ice. The gods instead claim their origin from a certain Buri. When the giant Ymir subsequently was slain by Odin, Vili and Ve – the grandsons of Buri – his blood (i.e. water) deluged Niflheim and killed all of the giants, apart from one known as Bergelmir and his spouse, who then repopulated their kind.

Character of the giants

The giants represent the forces of the primeval chaos and of the untamed, destructive nature. Their drawbacks by the hands of the gods represent the triumph of culture over nature, albeit by the cost of eternal vigilance. Heimdall perpetually watches the Bifrost Bridge from Ásgard to Jotunheim, and Thor often makes a visit in the world of the giants, to slay as many of their kind as he is able to.

As a collective, giants are often attributed a hideous appearance – claws, fangs, black skin and deformed features, apart from a generally hideous size. Some of them may even have many heads or an overall non-humanoid shape; so was Jormungand and Fenrir, two of the children of Loki, viewed as giants. With bad looks comes also a weak intellect, the Eddas more than once liken their temper to that of children.

Yet when giants are named and more closely described, they may just as well be attributed rather the opposite characteristics. Unbelievably old, they carry the wisdom from times gone by. It is the giants Mimir and Vafthruthnir that Odin seeks out to gain this pro-cosmic knowledge. Many of the gods' spouses are giants. Njord is married to Skadi, Gerd becomes the consort of Frey, Odin gains the love of Gunnlod, and even Thor, the great slayer of their kind, loves Jarnsaxa, mother of Magni. As such, they appear as minor gods themselves, which can also be said about the sea giant Ægir, far more connected to the gods than to the scum occupying Jotunheim. None of these fear light, and in comfort their homes does not differ greatly from the gods'.

The rune Þ

The thorn-rune ᚦ is called thurs "giant" in the Icelandic and Norwegian rune poems:

In Anglo-Saxon England, the same rune was called thorn and it survives as the letter Þ.

Giants in Scandinavian folklore

In later times, giants were more commonly known as trolls in Scandinavia. They can't stand the sound of church bells, and therefore must live far from civilization, in the mountains or the most remote forests. When they sometimes travel to human society, their main objective seems to be the silencing of this clamor by throwing large boulders at churches.

In the early 20th century, Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf tells the story in her book about Nils Holgersson, of how a giant in elder times pulled up two huge chunks of land, forming lake Vänern and Vättern, and threw them out into the Baltic Sea, where they became the islands Gotland and Öland, respectively.

List of giants and giantesses in Norse mythology

1. Aegir
2. Baugi
3. Bergelmir
4. Bestla
5. Bolthorn
6. Geirrod
7. Gerd
8. Gilling
9. Gjalp
10. Greip
11. Gunnlod
12. Gymir
13. Hrod
14. Hrungnir
15. Hymir
16. Ivaldi
17. Jarnsaxa
18. Kari
19. Loki
20. Olvaldi
21. Saxa
22. Skadi
23. Surtur
24. Suttung
25. Thiazi
26. Thrudgelmir
27. Thrym
28. Utgardaloki
29. Vafthruthnir
30. Ymir

 This article contains content from the Owl Edition of Nordisk familjebok, a Swedish encyclopedia published between 1904–1926 now in Public Domain.