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 as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

, Þrymr (''Thrymr'', ''Thrym''; "noise"

Rudolf Simek Rudolf Simek (born 21 February 1954) is an Austrian philologist and religious studies scholar who is Professor and Chair of Ancient German and Nordic Studies at the University of Bonn. Simek specializes in Germanic studies, and is the author ...

, trans. Angela Hall, ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology'', Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1993, repr. 2000, p. 330.John McKinnell, "Myth as Therapy: The Usefulness of ''Þrymskviða''", ''Medium Ævum'' 69.1 (2000) 1–20, p. 19, note 62.) was a

jötunn A (also jotun; plural ; in the normalised scholarly spelling of Old Norse, ; or, in Old English, , plural ) is a type of being in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, are often contrasted with gods (the Æsir and Vanir) and with other no ...

. He is the namesake of the Eddic poem ''

Þrymskviða ''Þrymskviða'' (Þrym's Poem; the name can be Old Norse orthography, anglicised as ''Thrymskviða'', ''Thrymskvitha'', ''Thrymskvidha'' or ''Thrymskvida'') is one of the best known poems from the ''Poetic Edda''. The Norse mythology, Norse my ...

'', in which he stole

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

's hammer Mjǫlnir, and the same tale is told in '' Þrymlur''. Another mention of Þrymr is in the '' þulur'' appended to the ''

Prose Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' () or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often considered to have been to some exten ...

'', probably deriving from ''Þrymskviða''. Three figures named Þrymr, including a king and a jötunn, are mentioned in '' Hversu Noregr byggðist''.

''Þrymskviða''

Through

Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...

, Þrymr conveys his demand for the goddess

Freyja In Norse mythology, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a char ...

's hand in marriage as the price for returning Mjǫlnir, which he has buried eight leagues under the ground. When Loki flies to Jǫtunheimar using Freyja's feather cloak, he finds Þrymr sitting on a mound, twisting gold leashes for his dogs and primping his horses' manes. He is repeatedly described as ("lord of thurses"). To recover his hammer, Thor travels to Jǫtunheimar disguised as Freyja, in bridal drag; when Þrymr peeps under "her" veil, seeking a kiss from his bride, Thor's glare sends him reeling the length of the hall. Nonetheless, Þrymr is stupid enough to believe the explanations of "Freyja's handmaiden", Loki. Thor regains his weapon when Þrymr has it brought out and laid in Thor's lap to bless their union, and strikes Þrymr dead first, followed by all his assembled kin and following.

''Hversu Noregr byggðist''

Three figures named Þrymr are mentioned in '' Hversu Noregr byggðist'', which recounts the story of the early settlement of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. These figures are:Frá Fornjóti ok hans Ættmönnum
with original text from Flateyjarbók and English translation by George L. Hardman] *Þrymr, son of Gard Agdi and ruler of

Agder Agder is a counties of Norway, county () and districts of Norway, traditional region in the southern part of Norway and is coextensive with the Southern Norway region. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Au ...

. This Þrymr had sons named Agði and Agnarr. *Ketill Þrymr, grandson of the first Þrymr through his son Agnarr. Ketill Þrymr lived in Þrum. (Ketill Þrymr also appears in '' Gunnars þáttr Þiðrandabana''.) *Þrymr, the jötunn of Verma. This Þrymr is the father of Bergfinn and Bergdísa. Bergdísa had three children by King Raum the Old, who each inherited land from their father and had further offspring.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thrymr Jötnar

''Þrymskviða''

''Hversu Noregr byggðist''

See also

References