Hrímnir
Hrímnir is a jǫtunn ("giant") frequently mentioned in Norse mythology. His name may mean either "the one covered with hoarfrost" or "the sooty one." It is not clear whether the name is intended to evoke the frost giants or hrímþursar (jǫtunn).[1][2]
In the sagas
In Hyndluljóð verse 32 he is the father of Heiðr and Hrossþjófr,[3] but that may be just for alliteration's sake.[1] He is mentioned in Skírnismál verse 28,[1] probably as a typical giant.[4]
He is listed among the jǫtnar in the "Nafnaþulur" section of the Prose Edda.[3][5]
In Völsunga saga he is the father of Hljóð who Frigg sends to Rerir as a "wish-maid" with the apple that enables his wife to conceive Völsung[6]—and subsequently Hrímnir himself sends Hljóð to Völsung to be his wife.[2] This resembles the story of Peredur in the Matter of Britain, and the modern folktale "The Sea-Maiden."[7]
In Gríms saga loðinkinna, he is the father of the giantesses Feima and Kleima; his wife's name is Hyrja.[8]
References
- ^ a b c Rudolf Simek tr. Angela Hall, Dictionary of Northern Mythology, Cambridge: Brewer, 1993, repr. 2000, ISBN 0-85991-513-1, p. 159.
- ^ a b Quinn, p. 134.
- ^ a b Siân Duke, "Kristni saga and its Sources: Some Revaluations," Saga-Book 25 (2001) 345–450, p. 396 (pdf).
- ^ 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.
- ^ Giants I, verse 6: online parallel edition at voluspa.org; and also among the names for a hog, verse 97, parallel edition.
- ^ Quinn, p. 131.
- ^ Paton, Lucy Allen (1903). Studies in the Fairy Mythology of Arthurian Romance. Ginn. pp. 174–75, note 2.
- ^ Heusler, Andreas; Ranisch, Wilhelm (1903). Eddica minora: Dichtungen eddischer Art aus den Fornaldarsögur und nderen Prosawerken. W. Ruhfus. pp. lxxv.Template:De icon interprets this episode as an imitation of one in the Örvar-Oddr saga.