Geirröðr (also Geirröd) is a

jötunn A (also jotun; in the normalised scholarly spelling of Old Norse, ; ; plural / ) or, in Old English, (plural ) is a type of supernatural being in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, they are often contrasted with gods (Æsir and Vanir) ...

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, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...

. He is the father of the

Gjálp and Greip Gjálp (Old Norse: ; or Gialp) and Greipa (O.N.: ; or Greip) are two jötnar in Norse mythology, and the daughters of the giant Geirröðr. They are killed by the thunder-god Thor. Names The Old Norse name ''Gjálp'' has been variously transl ...

, who are killed by the thunder-god

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...

. Geirröðr is mentioned in the

skaldic A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditionally ...

poem ''

Þórsdrápa ''Þórsdrápa'' (also ''Thorsdrapa''; Old Norse: 'The Lay of Thor') is a skaldic poem by Eilífr Goðrúnarson, a poet in the service of Jarl Hákon Sigurðarson. The poem is noted for its creative use of kennings and other metaphorical devices ...

'', written by Eilíf Godrúnarson (late 10th c. AD), itself cited in ''

Skáldskaparmál ''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'The Language of Poetry'; c. 50,000 words; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda''. The section consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bragi, the god of poetry, in ...

'' (early 13th c.) where it is preceded by

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...

's account of the myth, and in ''

Gesta Danorum ''Gesta Danorum'' ("Deeds of the Danes") is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark an ...

'' by

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150 – c. 1220), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. ...

(early 13th c.). Saturn's moon Geirrod is named after him.

Name

The

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is 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 of Scandinavia and t ...

name ''Geirröðr'' has been translated as 'spear-reddener'. It stems from the Old Norse masculine noun ''geirr'' ('spear'), ultimately from the

Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...

''*gaizaz'' ('spear, tip'). An unrelated figure also bears the name ''Geirröðr'' in the eddic poem ''

Grímnismál ''Grímnismál'' (Old Norse: ; 'The Lay of Grímnir') is one of the mythological poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. It is preserved in the Codex Regius manuscript and the AM 748 I 4to fragment. It is spoken through the voice of ''Grímnir'', one of ...

''.

Attestations

Prose Edda

In ''

'' (The Language of Poetry; early 13th c.), Loki is flying in

Frigg Frigg (; Old Norse: ) is a goddess, one of the Æsir, in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about her, she is associated with marriage, prophecy, clairvoyance and motherhood, and dwells in the wet ...

’s hawk coat to Geirrödargardar, the abode of the giant Geirröðr, when he is captured by the latter and locked in a chest for three months. To redeem his life, Loki agrees to bring Thor to Geirröðr's place without his power belt and

hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...

. On their way to Geirrödargardar, Thor and Loki (or Thjálfi in '' Thórsdrápa'') stop at the home of the giantess

Gríðr Gríðr (Old Norse: ; or Gríd) is a jötunn in Norse mythology. She is the mother of Víðarr the silent and the consort of Odin. Saturn's moon Gridr was named after her. Name The poetic Old Norse name ''Gríðr'' has been translated as "veh ...

. She warns Thor about Geirröðr's plan and equips him with a belt of strength, an iron glove, and a staff named ''Grídarvöl'' (Gríd’s-staff). Arriving at Geirrödargardar, Thor is eventually challenged to a game by Geirröðr. The giant throws a piece of red-hot iron at him, but Thor is able to catch it with the iron glove. As Geirröðr tries to hide behind a pillar, Thor throws the piece of iron through the column and kills him.

Viking Age

The story is mentioned in ''

'' (late 10th c. AD), cited in the later ''Skáldskaparmál''.

Other texts

In ''

'' (early 13th c.), Thorkillus and his companions notice the pierced body of an old man and three dead women with their backs broken as they visit the vile hall of the dead Geruthus (Geirrøth). Thorkillus tells them that Thor had driven a hot

ingot An ingot is a piece of relatively pure material, usually metal, that is cast into a shape suitable for further processing. In steelmaking, it is the first step among semi-finished casting products. Ingots usually require a second procedure of sh ...

through Geruthus and killed his daughters with thunderbolts. In ''Thorsteins þáttr baejarmagns'', Thor's deeds have been reworked and transferred to a hero named Thorstein, involved in a sporting event at the hall of the giant-king Geirröd where a heavy red-hot seal’s head is thrown between the contestants.

Theories

According to 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 ...

, the myth of Geirröðr "shows several characteristics of Thor stories—the dangerous journey to the

otherworld The concept of an otherworld in historical Indo-European religion is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other Earth/world"), a term used by Lucan in his description of the Celtic Otherworld ...

, the special enmity of female giantesses, and the killing of a male giant—and it also introduces notions of

smithing A metalsmith or simply smith is a craftsperson fashioning useful items (for example, tools, kitchenware, tableware, jewelry, armor and weapons) out of various metals. Smithing is one of the oldest metalworking occupations. Shaping metal with a h ...

that sometimes seem to lurk behind Thor."

References

Bibliography

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