Hrímnir (Old Norse: [ˈhriːmnez̠]) is a jǫtunn in Norse mythology. He is the father of Hljód.[1]
Name
The Old Norse name Hrímnir has been translated as 'frosty',[1] 'the one covered with hoarfrost', or 'the sooty one.' Probably intended to evoke the frost giants or hrímþursar (jǫtunn).[2][3]
Attestations
In the Völsunga saga, Hrímnir is mentioned as the father of Hljóð, who is sent by Frigg as a "wish-maid" to Rerir with the apple of fertility that will provide his wife offspring.[4] Hrímnir himself sends his daughter Hljóð to be the wife of one of the children, Völsung.[3]
Hrímnir is listed among the jǫtnar in the þulur section of the Prose Edda.[5][6]
In Hyndluljóð (32), Hrímnir is the father of Heiðr and Hrossþjófr,[5] but that may be just for the purpose of alliteration.[2] He is also mentioned in Skírnismál (28),[2] probably as a typical jötunn.[7]
In Gríms saga loðinkinna, Hrímnir is the father of the giantesses Feima and Kleima; his wife's name is Hyrja.[8]
Theories
Scholars have argued that the story of Hrímnir in the Völsunga saga resembles that of Peredur in the Matter of Britain, and the modern folktale "The Sea-Maiden."[9]
References
- ^ a b Orchard 1997, p. 90.
- ^ a b c Simek 1996, p. 159.
- ^ a b Quinn, p. 134.
- ^ Quinn, p. 131.
- ^ a b Siân Duke, "Kristni saga and its Sources: Some Revaluations," Saga-Book 25 (2001) 345–450, p. 396 (pdf).
- ^ Giants I, verse 6: online parallel edition at voluspa.org; and also among the names for a hog, verse 97, parallel edition.
- ^ Judy Quinn, "The Realisation of Mythological Design: The Early Generations of the Völsung Dynasty," in Ney, Agneta; Jakobsson, Ármann; Lassen, Annette (2009). Fornaldarsagaerne. Museum Tusculanum Press. pp. 134, note 11. ISBN 978-87-635-2579-4.
- ^ Heusler, Andreas; Ranisch, Wilhelm (1903). Eddica minora: Dichtungen eddischer Art aus den Fornaldarsögur und nderen Prosawerken (in German). W. Ruhfus. pp. lxxv. interprets this episode as an imitation of one in the Örvar-Oddr saga.
- ^ Paton, Lucy Allen (1903). Studies in the Fairy Mythology of Arthurian Romance. Ginn. pp. 174–75, note 2.
Bibliography
- Orchard, Andy (1997). Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. Cassell. ISBN 978-0-304-34520-5.
- Simek, Rudolf (1996). Dictionary of Northern Mythology. D.S. Brewer. ISBN 978-0-85991-513-7.
This page was last edited on 6 February 2023, at 01:28