Norse mythology 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 per ...

, Þrúðgelmir (;

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

"Strength Yeller") is a frost giant, the son of the primordial giant

Aurgelmir In Norse mythology, Ymir (, ), also called Aurgelmir, Brimir, or Bláinn, is the ancestor of all jötnar. Ymir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional material, in the ''Prose Edda'', writt ...

(who

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...

in ''

Gylfaginning ''Gylfaginning'' (Old Norse: 'The Beguiling of Gylfi' or 'The Deluding of Gylfi'; c. 20,000 words; 13th century Old Norse pronunciation ) is the first part of the 13th century ''Prose Edda'' after the Prologue. The ''Gylfaginning'' deals with t ...

'' identifies with

Ymir In Norse mythology, Ymir (, ), also called Aurgelmir, Brimir, or Bláinn, is the ancestor of all jötnar. Ymir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional material, in the ''Prose Edda'', writ ...

), and the father of

Bergelmir Bergelmir ( ; Old Norse: ) is a jötunn in Norse mythology. Name The Old Norse name ''Bergelmir'' has been variously translated as 'bear-yeller', 'mountain-yeller', or 'bare-yeller'. According to linguist Jan de Vries, the name should be read ...

. Þrúðgelmir had one brother and one sister, who were elder than he was. Þrúðgelmir's name is sometimes anglicized as Thrudgelmir. He may have been the giant born from Ymir's legs.

Attestations

Þrúðgelmir appears in the poem ''

Vafþrúðnismál ''Vafþrúðnismál'' ( Old Norse: "The Lay of Vafþrúðnir") is the third poem in the '' Poetic Edda''. It is a conversation in verse form conducted initially between the Æsir Odin and Frigg, and subsequently between Odin and the jötunn Vaf ...

'' from the ''

Poetic Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the ''Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic med ...

''. When

Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory, ...

(speaking under the assumed name Gagnrad) asks who was the eldest of the

Æsir The Æsir (Old Norse: ) are the gods of the principal pantheon in Norse religion. They include Odin, Frigg, Höðr, Thor, and Baldr. The second Norse pantheon is the Vanir. In Norse mythology, the two pantheons wage war against each other, ...

or of the giants in bygone days,

Vafþrúðnir Vafþrúðnir ( Old Norse: ; "mighty weaver"Orchard (1997:170).) is a wise jötunn in Norse mythology. His name comes from ''Vaf'', which means weave or entangle, and ''thrudnir'', which means strong or mighty. Some interpret it to mean "mighty i ...

answers: :"Uncountable winters before the earth was made, :then

was born, :Thrudgelmir was his father, :and Aurgelmir his grandfather." : ::—''Vafþrúðnismál'' (29)Larrington (1999). According to Rudolf Simek, Þrúðgelmir is identical to the six-headed son that was begotten by Aurgelmir's feet (''Vafþrúðnismál'', 33), but the fact that (apart from the '' þulur'') he is mentioned in only one source led John Lindow to suggest that he might have been invented by the poet.Lindow (2002). Additionally, the identification of one with the other cannot be established with certainty since, according to stanza 33, Aurgelmir had more than one direct male offspring: :"They said that under the frost-giant's arms :a

girl A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...

and

boy A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is ...

grew together; :one foot with the other, of the wise giant, :begot a six-headed son." Þrúðgelmir was drowned in his father's blood.

Notes

References

* Larrington, Carolyne (trans.) (1999). ''The Poetic Edda'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. . * Lindow, John (2002).
Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs
'. New York:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

. . * Simek, Rudolf (1996). ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. Translated by Angela Hall. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Thrudgelmir Jötnar