Gríðr (

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

: ) often anglicized as Gríd, is 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 ...

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 ...

. She is the mother of

Víðarr In Norse mythology, Víðarr (Old Norse: , possibly "wide ruler",Orchard (1997:174—175). sometimes Anglicisation, anglicized as Vidar , Vithar, Vidarr, and Vitharr) is a Æsir, god among the Æsir associated with vengeance. Víðarr is describe ...

the silent and the consort of

Odin Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...

. Saturn's moon Gridr was named after her.

Name

The poetic

name ''Gríðr'' has been translated as "vehemence, violence, or impetuosity". Its etymology is unclear.

Attestations

Prose Edda

In ''

Skáldskaparmál ''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'Poetic Diction' or 'The Language of Poetry'; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda'', compiled by Snorri Sturluson. It consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bra ...

'' (The Language of Poetry), Gríðr is portrayed as equipping the thunder god

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 ...

with her belt of strength, her iron glove, and her staff ''Gríðarvöl'' (Gríðr's-staff) on Thor's journey to the abode of

Geirröðr Geirröðr (also Geirröd) is a jötunn in Norse mythology. He is the father of the Gjálp and Greip, who are killed by the thunder-god Thor. Geirröðr is mentioned in the skaldic poem '' Þórsdrápa'', written by Eilíf Godrúnarson ( ...

. Gríðr is also mentioned in a list of troll-wives ("I shall list the names of troll-wives. Grid and Gnissa, Gryla...").

Skaldic poetry

''Gríðarvöl'' (Gríðr's staff) is also mentioned in the poem ''

Þórsdrápa ''Þórsdrápa'' (also ''Thorsdrapa''; Old Norse: 'The Lay of Thor') is a skaldic poetry, skaldic poem by Eilífr Goðrúnarson, a poet in the service of Jarl Hákon Sigurðarson. The poem is noted for its creative use of kennings and other meta ...

'' by the late-10th-century skald

Eilífr Goðrúnarson Eilífr Goðrúnarson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) was a late 10th-century skald, considered to be the author of the poem ''Þórsdrápa''. He is also credited with ''Hákonar drápa jarls'' and a fragment remains of a poem with Christian al ...

. Gríðr appears in 10th-century

kenning A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech, a figuratively-phrased compound term that is used in place of a simple single-word noun. For instance, the Old English kenning () means , as does (). A kenning has two parts: a base-word (a ...

s for 'wolf' (the steed of troll-wife) and for 'axe' (that which is dangerous to the life-protector, i.e. shield or helmet).

Other texts

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. He is the author ...

refers to her as ''Grytha'', the wife of the legendary king Dan I of Denmark, "a lady whom the Teutons accorded the highest honour". A witch of the same name appears in '' Illuga saga Gríðarfóstra''.

Theory

Her role as the donor of information and necessary items to the hero has been analyzed by

folklorists Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...

Name

Attestations

Prose Edda

Skaldic poetry

Other texts

Theory

Notes

References

Bibliography