Gillingr (
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...
: ; also Gilling) 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 Vani ...
in
Norse mythology, and the father of
Suttungr. Gillingr and, later, his wife are murdered by the dwarfs
Fjalar and Galar
In Nordic mythology, Fjalar ( non, Fjalarr ) and his brother Galar ( non, Galarr ), were wicked dwarfs who killed Kvasir and turned his blood into the mead of poetry, which inspired poets. They appear in ''Skáldskaparmál''.
Myth
Fjalar and ...
. In revenge, his son Suttungr tortures the dwarfs into giving him the
mead of poetry
In Norse mythology, the Poetic Mead or Mead of Poetry, also known as Mead of Suttungr, is a mythical beverage that whoever "drinks becomes a skald or scholar" able to recite any information and solve any question. This myth was reported by Snorri ...
.
Name
The
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...
name ''Gillingr'' has been translated as 'screamer'. It is a related to the Old Norse verb ''gjalla'' ('to scream, yell'; compare with
Icelandic ''gjalla'',
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
''gjella'', or
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
''gälla'').
Attestations
Prose Edda
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, ...
'' (The Language of Poetry), the dwarfs
Fjalar and Galar
In Nordic mythology, Fjalar ( non, Fjalarr ) and his brother Galar ( non, Galarr ), were wicked dwarfs who killed Kvasir and turned his blood into the mead of poetry, which inspired poets. They appear in ''Skáldskaparmál''.
Myth
Fjalar and ...
kill Gillingr by overturning his boat. When his wife hears of the news, she is "greatly distressed" and "weeps loudly" and the dwarf Galar, "weary of her howling", eventually kills her by dropping a millstone on her head.
Viking Age
Gillingr is mentioned in a skaldic verse by
Eyvindr skáldaspillir (10th c. AD), who portrays the mead of poetry as "Gilling’s recompense".
Legacy
Gillingr is also a surname, although not very common.
References
Bibliography
*
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{{Norse mythology
Jötnar