Giants, Beasts, and Gods: Tales from the North

Chapter 5: The Jotnar

The Battle of the Riddles
Vafthrudnir was a wise giant who traveled Jotunheim, trying in vain to spread wisdom amongst his kind. The only one who respected his words was the all-seeing Odin. To prove his mettle, he challenged Vafthrudnir to a battle of riddles. The giant sage agree, and he met the All-Father in Valaskjalf, where the oral duel of the ages began. The two quizzed each other on the jotnar, the gods, and events that were to come. In the end, it all came down to a tie. Neither knew more than the other. Odin had found his equal.

Rungnir's Duel
There once was a vain giant named Rungnir, who was very proud of his steed Gullfaxi, a mare with a golden mane. One day, he challenged Thor to a duel. If the giant won, he would get Mjolnir and and Sif, while the god would get Gullfaxi if he won. Thor agreed to these terms and promised to meet Rungnir near a glacier the next morning. Then he headed back to Asgard to train, while Rungnir returned to Jotunheim, boasting loudly about he was going to dispose of the jotnar's worst enemy. Although every jotun wanted to get rid of Thor, they weren't feeling brave enough to be the brave giant's second. Instead, they sculpted a clay colossus dubbed Mokkurkalfi. The next morning, the two giants met with Thor. With a throw of his hammer, he put an end to both of them. All that was left of Mokkurkalfi was a hill of pure clay. However, Thor got a chip of Rungnir's flint skull lodged in his forehead and was pinned down by one of the giant's legs as well. He was stuck there until one of his sons, Magni, who was only three years old at the time, lifted the leg off his father. Thor was so proud and grateful of his son he gave him Gullfaxi. He never got the fragment out of his head, though, so he had to leave it in there. Whenever someone absentmindedly flicked a piece of flint around, Thor's splinter moved. Then he moaned and groaned, making the sky thunder. Like most men, he didn't suffer silently.

The Bride of Thrym
As he reached for his hammer one morning, Thor discovered it was gone! Sparks flew from his beard as he raged about it. The gods were terrified, as the jotnar would overrun Asgard and Midgard if they found out Thor lost his weapon. Quick as a flash, Loki flew off to Jotunheim in search of the culprit. The guilty party was in fact the frost giant Thrym. To make matters worse, he said he only give the hammer back if Freya promised to marry him. When Loki brought the news, she was so horrified and enraged she wept her amber tears and huffed and puffed until her necklace burst off her chest. On Heimdall's suggestion, Thor grudgingly disguised himself as the lovely goddess, covering his head with a veil. Along with Loki, who would be the best man, he set off for Jotunheim in his goat-wagon. At the wedding feast, he nearly gave himself due to his enormous appetite and red eyes. Fortunately, Loki said the "bride" had neither eaten nor slept for nine nights. As the couple were about to make their vows over Mjolnir, Thor snatched up the hammer, tore off his disguise, and brought an end to Thrym and his entire clan. Seeing the storm rolling in Jotunheim, the gods sighed with relief, knowing they were safe once more from the jotnar.

Geirrod and the Staff of Grid
Loki felt bored one day, so he changed into a hawk and flew off to see his family in Jotunheim. On the way, he was captured by the giant Geirrod, who told the trickster to bring him an unarmed Thor. Promising to do so, Loki rushed back to Asgard and told the great glutton about the giant's "magnificent feasts" and "lovely daughters". Intrigued, Thor decided to meet Geirrod, leaving his hammer at home to appear peaceful to the jotuns. However, he first paid a visit to Grid, a giantess who bore Odin's son Vidar. Upon hearing of his journey, she warned her stepson about Geirrod and gave him her staff, Gridarvol. Then Thor continued on his way. As he waded through the river Vimur, the water level suddenly rose. Planting the staff firmly into the riverbed, Thor looked to see a giantess straddling the river with her legs. She was one of Geirrod's daughters, whom her father had sent to kill him. With a well-aimed boulder, Thor killed the giantess and grabbed onto an overhanging rowan tree. He finally arrived at Geirrod's hall and upon entering, sat down on a stool to catch his breath. Gjalp and Greip, two of the giant's daughters, tried to kill Thor by raising the stool to the ceiling so as to squash him. He merely pushed on the rafters with Gridarvol until the stool came down, crushing the giantesses. Entering the main chamber, Thor confronted Geirrod. In a flash the giant scooped up a red-hot coal and threw it at the god. By swinging the staff, Thor sent the coal flying right through Geirrod, killing him. Then he headed back to Asgard with an enormous appetite and no grudge against the trickster Loki.