The Giants A-B

Hail!

So this post begins the weekly talk about the gods that I'll be doing. I'm doing this so that people can better understand these forces that take the shape of ice giants and the gods. So today I'm going to be talking about the Giants. The giants, depending on what they were in the stories, are either good or bad. The ice giants that Thor battles are bad. The giants that end up marrying the gods are good. So lets go over some of the most notable giants that are found in Norse myth. I get my information from Wikipedia, which I don't really recommend but this page had some good information.

Aegir

In Norse mythology, Ægir (Old Norse "sea")^[1] is a sea jötunn associated with the ocean. He is also known for hosting elaborate parties for the gods.
Ægir's servants are Fimafeng (killed by Loki) and Eldir.

 


 The Nafnaþulur attached to the Prose Edda list Ægir as a giant.^[2] Richard Cleasby and Guðbrandur Vigfússon saw his name as pre-Norse, derived from an ancient Indo-European root.^[3]


Both Hversu Noregr byggðist and Snorri Sturluson in Skáldskaparmál state that Ægir is the same as the sea-giant Hlér, who lives on the Hlésey ("Hlér island", modern Danish Læsø), and this is borne out by kennings.^[4][5] Snorri uses his visiting the Æsir as the frame of that section of the Prose Edda.
In Lokasenna, Ægir hosts a party for the gods where he provides the ale brewed in an enormous pot or cauldron provided by Thor and Týr. The story of their obtaining the pot from the giant Hymir is told in Hymiskviða.
The prose introduction to Lokasenna and Snorri's list of kennings state that Ægir is also known as Gymir, who is Gerðr's father, but this is evidently an erroneous interpretation of kennings in which different giant-names are used interchangeably.



According to Fundinn Noregr, Ægir is a son of the giant Fornjótr, the king of "Gotlandi, Kænlandi and Finnlandi", and brother of Logi ("fire") and Kári ("wind").^[7]
Ægir's wife is Rán. She is mother of the Nine Daughters of Ægir:

• Bára (or Dröfn, "wave")
• Blóðughadda ("the one with blood-red hair – the color of the waves after a naval battle")
• Bylgja ("to billow" or "big wave")
• Dúfa ("the pitching wave")
• Hefring ("the surging wave")
• Himinglæva ("the wave that reflects the light of the sky")
• Hrönn ("the grasping wave")
• Kólga ("the chilling wave")
• Unnr (or Uðr, "wave") 

Angeyja

One of the nine mothers of Hemdallr.

Angrboda

In Norse mythology, Angrboða (Old Norse "the one who brings grief"^[1] or "she-who-offers-sorrow"^[2]) is a female jötunn (giantess). In the Poetic Edda, Angrboða is mentioned only in Völuspá hin skamma (found in Hyndluljóð) as the mother of Fenrir by Loki. However, in the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, she is referred to as a "giantess in Jötunheimr" and said also to be the mother of Fenrir's siblings Jörmungandr (the Midgard Serpent) and Hel. She may be identical with Iárnvidia, 'She of Iron-wood', mentioned in the list of troll-wives in the Prose Edda list nafnaþulur.

The poem Völuspá (stanzas 40–41 in most editions) speaks of a giantess dwelling in Járnvid ('Iron-wood') whom commentators usually identify with Angrboða (and the Iárnvidia of the list of troll-wives):

The giantess old       in Ironwood sat,
In the east, and bore       the brood of Fenrir;
Among these one       in monster's guise
Was soon to steal       the sun from the sky.

There feeds he full       on the flesh of the dead,
And the home of the gods       he reddens with gore;
Dark grows the sun,       and in summer soon
Come mighty storms:       would you know yet more?

Snorri's Gylfaginning gives a prose explanation and a variant form of these stanzas. Brodeur's translation renders:

A witch dwells to the east of Midgard, in the forest called Ironwood: in that wood dwell the troll-women, who are known as Ironwood-Women [Iárnvidjur]. The old witch bears many giants for sons, and all in the shape of wolves; and from this source are these wolves sprung. The saying runs thus: from this race shall come one that shall be mightiest of all, he that is named Moon-Hound [Mánagarm]; he shall be filled with the flesh of all those men that die, and he shall swallow the moon, and sprinkle with blood the heavens and all the lair; thereof-shall the sun lose her shining, and the winds in that day shall be unquiet and roar on every side. So it says in Völuspá:

Eastward dwells the Old One       in Ironwood,
And there gives birth       to Fenrir's brethren;
There shall spring of them all       a certain one,
The moon's taker       in troll's likeness.
He is filled with flesh       of fey men.
Reddens the gods' seats       with ruddy blood-gouts;
Swart becomes sunshine       in summers after,
The weather all shifty.       Wit ye yet, or what?

Perhaps "moon's taker" and "moon hound" or alternately as "the one to steal the sun from the sky" as earlier mentioned was in reference to Hati or Sköll, Fenrir's own children, since similar poems read that Sköll and Hati were birthed by "the witch of the Ironwood".
In stanza 13 of the eddic poem Baldrs draumar Odin says to the prophesying seeress whom he has brought up from the dead:

No wise-woman art thou,       nor wisdom hast;
Of giants three       the mother art thou.

This might refer to Angrboda as mother of the three monsters. The seeress states that she will never be charmed from the dead again until Loki is loosed from his bonds.

Atla

One of the nine mothers of Hemdallr


Aurvandil


The names Aurvandil or Earendel (Old Norse: Aurvandil; Old English: Ēarendel; Lombardic: Auriwandalo; Gothic: Auzandil; Old High German: Orentil, Erentil ; Medieval Latin: Horuuendillus) are cognate Germanic personal names, continuing a Proto-Germanic reconstructed compound *auzi-wandilaz "luminous wanderer", in origin probably the name of a star or planet, potentially the morning star (Eosphoros).
As a Germanic name, Auriwandalo is attested as a historical Lombardic prince. A Latinized version, Horvandillus, is given as the name of the father of Amleth in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum. German Orentil (Erentil) is the hero of a medieval poem of the same name. He is son of a certain Eigel of Trier and has numerous adventures in the Holy Land.
The Old Norse variant appears in purely mythological context, linking the name to a star. The only known attestation of the Old English Earendel refers to a star exclusively.

Aurvandil is mentioned once in Norse mythology, in Skáldskaparmál, a book of Snorri Sturluson's 13th century Prose Edda:

Thor went home to Thrúdvangar, and the hone remained sticking in his head. Then came the wise woman who was called Gróa, wife of Aurvandill the Valiant: she sang her spells over Thor until the hone was loosened. But when Thor knew that, and thought that there was hope that the hone might be removed, he desired to reward Gróa for her leech-craft and make her glad, and told her these things: that he had waded from the north over Icy Stream and had borne Aurvandill in a basket on his back from the north out of Jötunheim. And he added for a token, that one of Aurvandill's toes had stuck out of the basket, and became frozen; wherefore Thor broke it off and cast it up into the heavens, and made thereof the star called Aurvandill's Toe. Thor said that it would not be long ere Aurvandill came home: but Gróa was so rejoiced that she forgot her incantations, and the hone was not loosened, and stands yet in Thor's head. Therefore it is forbidden to cast a hone across the floor, for then the hone is stirred in Thor's head.

Guesses as to the identity of this star have included the polestar, the planet Venus, Sirius and the star Rigel which forms the toe of the constellation Orion, though if Aurvandil is to be identified with the constellation Orion one would expect to find Aurvandil himself being translated into the sky, not just his toe.

Bara

One of the nine daughters of Agir

Baugi

In Norse mythology, Baugi is a giant. He is the son of Gilling, brother of Suttungr and paternal uncle of Gunnlöð.
Baugi is attested to in Skáldskaparmál in Snorri's Prose Edda, and does not appear in other texts.^[1] Due to his absence in other relevant mythological texts, numerous scholars have argued that Baugi either comes from a source that is not extant today or was an invention of Snorri's, accidental or intentional.^[1]





In Skáldskaparmál, Odin worked for Baugi while in disguise in an effort to obtain the mead of poetry, which was possessed by Suttungr at the time.^[1] Odin arranged for the death of nine of Baugi's slaves unbeknownst to Baugi, and then offered to do their labor in exchange for a single drink of the mead of poetry.^[1]
Odin then spent the night at Baugi's place. Baugi complained that business did not go well since his slaves had killed each other and he could not get anybody to stand in for them. Odin, who said his name was Bölverk, proposed to do their work in exchange for a draught of Suttung's mead. Baugi agreed, saying that he would try to persuade his brother. During summer, Bölverk did the work as agreed and, in winter, asked Baugi for his owing. They both went to Suttungr's, who refused to give a single drop of the beverage.
Bölverk then suggested Baugi to use a trick. He gave him the drill Rati and asked him to dig into Hnitbjörg mountain. After Baugi tried to deceive him, a hole was actually dug and Bölverk slipped into it, having taken the form of a snake. Baugi tried in vain to hit him with the drill.
He arrived by Gunnlöd, with whom he spent three nights. Thus he could have three draughts of mead. But each emptied a container. He then transformed into an eagle and flew away. When Suttungr discovered the theft, he took the shape of an eagle and pursued Odin. When the Æsir saw him, they displaced containers in which he spat his loot out. But Suttungr was so close to him that he let some drop backwards. Anybody could drink this part, which is known as the "rhymester's share" (skáldfífla hlutr).
But the mead of poetry was given by Odin to the gods and to the men gifted in poetry.

Beli


In Norse mythology Beli is probably a giant. He was killed by Freyr.
In scaldic and Eddic poetry, Freyr is sometimes called "Beli's enemy" (Belja dólgr, in Eyvindr skáldaspillir's Háleygjatal, 3) or "Beli's slayer" (bani Belja in Völuspá, 53). How Freyr killed Beli is told by Snorri Sturluson in Gylfaginning (37) during the recounting of the wooing of Gerðr. The circumstances surrounding the event are not given but it is stated that since Freyr had given his sword to his servant Skírnir before sending him to court Gerðr, he was weaponless and therefore used the antler of a hart to kill the giant. When Gylfi expressed wonder that Freyr would give up his sword, Hárr dismissed his concern by saying that Freyr could have killed Beli with just his bare hands if he so wished, but then added that he would indeed regret his decision during the upcoming time of Ragnarök when Freyr would have to fight the sons of Muspell.
The only textual evidence of Beli being a giant is found in Þjóðólfr of Hvinir's, Haustlöng (18). Þjóðólfr indeed uses the kenning "Beli's bale-troop"^[1] (bölverðung Belja) to refer to the giants.
It is sometimes assumed that Beli was Gerðr's brother, based on stanza 16 of Skírnismál where Gerðr expresses her fear that the unknown man who has come to visit is her "brother's slayer".

Bergelmir


In Norse mythology, Bergelmir (/bɛərˈɡɛlmɪər/ bair-GHEL-meer; Old Norse "Mountain Yeller" or "Bear Yeller")^[1] is a frost giant, the son of giant Þrúðgelmir and the grandson of Ymir (who was called Aurgelmir among giants), the first frost giant, according to stanza 29 of the poem Vafthrudnismal from the Poetic Edda:

"Uncountable winters before the earth was made,

then Bergelmir was born,

Thrudgelmir was his father,

and Aurgelmir his grandfather."

— Larrington trans.

According to the Gylfaginning section of the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson, Bergelmir and his wife alone among the giants were the only survivors of the enormous deluge of blood which flowed from Ymir's wounds when he was killed by Odin and his brothers Vili and Vé. They escaped the sanguinary flood by climbing onto an object and subsequently became the progenitors of a new race of frost giants.

Bestla

In Norse mythology, Bestla (/ˈbɛstlə/ BEST-lə) is the mother of the gods Odin, Vili and Vé by way of Borr, the sister of an unnamed being who assisted Odin, and the daughter or, depending on source, granddaughter of the jötunn Bölþorn. Bestla is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and in the poetry of skalds.
Some scholars have theorized that Bestla’s unnamed brother is Mímir.


In the Poetic Edda, Bestla receives a single mention. This sole attestation appears in the poem Hávamál 140, where Odin recounts his gaining of nine magical songs from Bestla’s unnamed brother—in other words, Odin’s maternal uncle:

Benjamin Thorpe translation: Potent songs nine from the famed son I learned of Bolthorn, Bestla’s sire, and a draught obtained of the precious mead, drawn from Odhrærir.[1]

Henry Adams Bellows translation: Nine mighty songs I got from the son Of Bolthorn, Bestla's father; And a drink I got of the goodly mead Poured out from Othrorir.[2]

In his translation of the Poetic Edda, Henry Adams Bellows comments that the placement of the stanza at the point in which it appears in Hávamál appears to be the result of manuscript interpolation and that its meaning is obscure.^[2]
In the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, the enthroned figure of High tells Gangleri (described as king Gylfi in disguise) of the genealogy of the god Odin. High recounts that Odin, Vili, and Vé are the children of Borr and Bestla, and that Bestla is the daughter of Bölþorn, who High says is a jötunn.^[3] Bestla receives a second mention in the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, where a work by the skald Einarr refers to Odin as "Bestla's son".

Billingr


In Norse mythology, Billingr (or Billing) is the father of a maiden (whose name is not provided) desired by Odin. According to stanzas 96-102 of the poem Hávamál from the Poetic Edda, Odin was told by the maiden to meet her after nightfall when it would be safest and she would give herself to him, but when Odin returned he found the path blocked by warriors with swords and burning torches. When he came back at daybreak he discovered that the maiden was gone and had left a bitch tied to the bed in her place. In this way Odin was thwarted in his attempts to possess the girl. The episode is narrated in the first person by Odin himself and used by him as an example of the supposed fickleness and deception of women, and he laments the folly of longing for that which is unobtainable.
Billingr was presumably either a giant or a dwarf, and John Lindow in Norse Mythology (2001) presents arguments for both possibilities. For example, Billing is listed as a dwarf name in the Hauksbók manuscript version of Völuspá and is found in a kenning for poetry: "cup of the son of Billing." Since the dwarves and giants both possessed the Mead of Poetry before Odin obtained it, this kenning applies whether Billing is a dwarf or a giant. On the other hand, if Billing is a dwarf then his daughter would be one of the very few female dwarves in the mythology, while Odin's relations with giantesses are well attested throughout the Eddas.

 Blódughadda

One of the nine daughters of Aegir.

Bölþorn

Bölþorn (Old Norse "evil thorn") is a frost giant in Norse mythology. His parentage is unknown. He is best known as the maternal grandfather of the god Odin.
In English, his name is also written as Bolthorn or Boelthor.

Brimir


In Norse mythology, Brimir is another name for the giant Ymir and also the name of a hall for the souls of the virtuous following the endtime conflict of Ragnarok.
In the Gylfaginning section of the Prose Edda Brimir refers to a hall in the heavens for good souls following Ragnarok where "plenty of good drink" will be available for those who take pleasure in it.
In stanza 9 of Völuspá, the first poem of the Poetic Edda, Brimir and Blain are both mentioned as alternate names for Ymir:

"Then all the Powers went to the thrones of fate,

the sacrosanct gods, and considered this:

who should form the lord of the dwarfs

out of Brimir's blood and from Blain's limbs?"

— Larrington trans.

Quoted by Snorri in Gylfaginning, he expands upon this and tells us that the dwarves were created from the dead flesh of Ymir whose body was used by Odin and his brothers to form the earth ("Brimir's blood" referring to the sea and "Blain's limbs" referring to the mountains that were made from his bones).
Stanza 37 of the same poem mentions Brimir as the name of a giant who may or may not be Ymir as the owner of a beer hall:

"To the north there stood on Dark-of-moon Plains

a hall of gold of the lineage of Sindri

and another stood on Never-cooled Plain,

the beer-hall of the giant who is called Brimir."

— Larrington trans.

Snorri used this stanza as his basis for Brimir as a hall in the afterlife in Gylfaginning but whether or not the two residences are identical is uncertain.

Býleistr

Býleistr ('calming-lightning', sometimes anglicised Byleist)^[1] is the brother of Loki in Norse mythology.
Nothing is known about him apart from this kinship. Snorri Sturluson states in his Gylfaginning (34) that "[Loki]'s brothers are Býleistr and Helblindi", and several Eddic texts use the Loki-kenning "brother of Býleistr" (bróðir Býleists) (Völuspá, 51; Hyndluljóð, 40; Skáldskaparmál, 16).
Though not directly attested in any original source, scholars have considered Býleistr to be a son of Fárbauti and his consort Laufey, because they are mentioned as Loki's brothers.^[2] However, their exact role in the ancient mythic complex surrounding Loki's family remains unclear.

 Bylgja

One of the nine daughters of Aegir