Gullfaxi

Gullfaxi (Old Norse: [ˈɡulːˌfɑkse]) is a horse in Norse mythology. Its name means "Golden mane".

It was originally owned by Hrungnir, and was later given to Magni by Thor as a reward for lifting off the leg of Hrungnir, which lay over the unconscious Thor and strangled him:

'And I will give thee,' he said, 'the horse Gold-Mane, which Hrungnir possessed.'

Then Odin spake and said that Thor did wrong to give the good horse to the son of a giantess, and not to his father.

—Skáldskaparmál (17)^[1]

Gullfaxi is equally fast on land, in the air and on the water, but not quite as fast as Sleipnir, Odin's horse.

Folk tale

Gullfaxi is also the name of a horse in the modern Icelandic folk-tale The Horse Gullfaxi and the Sword Gunnfoder collected by Jón Árnason, translated into German by Josef Poestion [de], then rendered into English and included in the Crimson Fairy Book (1903) compiled by Andrew Lang.

See also

• Guldfaxe (glacier)
• List of horses in mythology and folklore

References

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This page was last edited on 19 August 2023, at 04:08