Hrímgrímnir (
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 settlemen ...
: , 'frost-masked') is a jötunn in
Norse mythology. He is invoked by
Freyr
Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord'), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested god in Norse mythology, associated with kingship, fertility, peace, and weather. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden an ...
's servant
Skírnir
In Norse mythology, Skírnir (Old Norse" ; "bright one"Orchard (1997:149).) is the god Freyr's messenger and vassal. In the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''Skírnismál'', Skírnir is sent as a messenger to Jötunheimr to conduct lovesick Freyr's wooing o ...
as he tries to coerce the beautiful jötunn
Gerðr
In Norse mythology, Gerðr (Old Norse: ; "fenced-in"Orchard (1997:54).) is a jötunn, goddess, and the wife of the god Freyr. Gerðr is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; the ''Prose Ed ...
on his master's behalf.
Name
The
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 settlemen ...
name ''Hrímgrímnir'' has been translated as 'frost-masked'.
Attestations
In ''
Skírnismál'' (The Lay of
Skírnir
In Norse mythology, Skírnir (Old Norse" ; "bright one"Orchard (1997:149).) is the god Freyr's messenger and vassal. In the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''Skírnismál'', Skírnir is sent as a messenger to Jötunheimr to conduct lovesick Freyr's wooing o ...
), after
Gerðr
In Norse mythology, Gerðr (Old Norse: ; "fenced-in"Orchard (1997:54).) is a jötunn, goddess, and the wife of the god Freyr. Gerðr is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; the ''Prose Ed ...
refuses to marry
Freyr
Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord'), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested god in Norse mythology, associated with kingship, fertility, peace, and weather. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden an ...
, his messenger
Skírnir
In Norse mythology, Skírnir (Old Norse" ; "bright one"Orchard (1997:149).) is the god Freyr's messenger and vassal. In the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''Skírnismál'', Skírnir is sent as a messenger to Jötunheimr to conduct lovesick Freyr's wooing o ...
threatens her with a curse involving her marriage to Hrímgrímnir in
Hel:
Hrímgrímnir is also mentioned in the ''
þulur'' among fellow jötnar but is not otherwise found elsewhere.
Theories
Scholar
John Lindow
John Frederick Lindow (born July 23, 1946) is an American philologist who is Professor Emeritus of Old Norse and Folklore at University of California, Berkeley. He is a well known authority on Old Norse religion and literature.
Biography
John Lin ...
comments that Hrímgrímnir is evidently a "part of something bigger"; if Gerðr refuses Skírnir's offer, she will "be denied all ordinary sexual congress", resulting in social consequences—even though she would be married, she would live in social exile.
Notes
References
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Jötnar
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