In
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 peri ...
, Egil is the name of a
farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...
in the poem ''
Hymiskvida'' who looked after
Thor
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing ...
's goats while the
god
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
was visiting the
giant
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...
Hymir
Hymir (Old Norse: ) is a jötunn in Norse mythology, and the owner of a brewing-cauldron fetched by the thunder god Thor for Ægir, who wants to hold a feast for the Æsir (gods). In ''Hymiskviða'', Hymir is portrayed as the father of Týr, but ...
. Egil is possibly the father of Thor's servants
Þjálfi and
Röskva due to certain similarities found in
Snorri's ''
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 wi ...
''. In both poems the gods embark on a journey to visit giants, on the way they stop at the home of a farmer or peasant, and at one point one of Thor's goats becomes lame. ''Hymiskvida'' states that
Loki
Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi ...
was the cause of the laming, but Egil was held responsible since in the next stanza his two children (who are not named) are taken by Thor into his service just before the end of the poem.
Characters in Norse mythology
Thor
Fictional farmers
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