Hrímgrímnir (
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 ...
: , 'frost-masked') is a jötunn 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 as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...
. He is invoked by
Freyr
Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord'), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested Æsir, god in Norse mythology, associated with kingship, fertility, peace, prosperity, fair weather, and good harvest. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was ...
's servant
Skírnir
In Norse mythology, Skírnir (Old Norse" ; "bright one") is the god Freyr's messenger and vassal. He appears in both the Poetic and Prose Eddas.
Attestations
''Poetic Edda''
In the Eddic poem '' Skírnismál'', Skírnir is sent as a mes ...
as he tries to coerce the beautiful jötunn
Gerðr
In Norse mythology, Gerðr (Old Norse: ; "fenced-in"Orchard (1997:54).) is a jötunn, Æsir, 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 ''P ...
on his master's behalf.
Name
The
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 ...
name ''Hrímgrímnir'' has been translated as 'frost-masked'.
Attestations
In ''
Skírnismál
''Skírnismál'' (Old Norse: 'The Lay of Skírnir', but in the Codex Regius known as ''Fǫr Skírnis'' ‘Skírnir’s journey’) is one of the poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. It is preserved in the 13th-century manuscripts Codex Regius and AM ...
'' (The Lay of
Skírnir
In Norse mythology, Skírnir (Old Norse" ; "bright one") is the god Freyr's messenger and vassal. He appears in both the Poetic and Prose Eddas.
Attestations
''Poetic Edda''
In the Eddic poem '' Skírnismál'', Skírnir is sent as a mes ...
), after
Gerðr
In Norse mythology, Gerðr (Old Norse: ; "fenced-in"Orchard (1997:54).) is a jötunn, Æsir, 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 ''P ...
refuses to marry
Freyr
Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord'), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested Æsir, god in Norse mythology, associated with kingship, fertility, peace, prosperity, fair weather, and good harvest. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was ...
, his messenger
Skírnir
In Norse mythology, Skírnir (Old Norse" ; "bright one") is the god Freyr's messenger and vassal. He appears in both the Poetic and Prose Eddas.
Attestations
''Poetic Edda''
In the Eddic poem '' Skírnismál'', Skírnir is sent as a mes ...
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
*
*
Jötnar
{{norse-myth-stub