Þjazi
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In
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 as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...
, Þjazi (
Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was 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 ...
: ; anglicized as Thiazi, Thiazzi, Thjazi, Tjasse or Thiassi) was a
jötunn A (also jotun; plural ; in the normalised scholarly spelling of Old Norse, ; or, in Old English, , plural ) is a type of being in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, are often contrasted with gods (the Æsir and Vanir) and with other no ...
. He was a son of the jötunn Ölvaldi, brother of Iði and Gangr, and the father of
Skaði In Norse mythology, Skaði (; Old Norse: ; sometimes anglicized as Skadi, Skade, or Skathi) is a jötunn and Æsir, goddess associated with bowhunting, skiing, winter, and mountains. Skaði is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 1 ...
. His most notable misdeed was the kidnapping of the
goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...
Iðunn, which is related in both the ''
Prose Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' () or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often considered to have been to some exten ...
'' and the
skaldic poem A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry in alliterative verse, the other being Eddic poetry. Skaldic poems were traditionally compo ...
''
Haustlöng ''Haustlǫng'' (Old Norse: 'Autumn-long'; anglicized as ''Haustlöng'') is a skaldic poem composed around the beginning of the 10th century by the Norwegian skald Þjóðólfr of Hvinir. The poem has been preserved in the 13th-century '' Prose ...
''. Saturn's moon Thiazzi was named after him.


''Skáldskaparmál''

According to ''
Skáldskaparmál ''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'Poetic Diction' or 'The Language of Poetry'; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda'', compiled by Snorri Sturluson. It consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bra ...
'', the gods
Odin Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...
,
Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...
and
Hœnir In Norse mythology, Hœnir (also Hǿnir; modern Icelandic , modern Swedish ) is one of the Æsir. He is mentioned in Vǫluspá as one of the three gods (along with Odin and Lóðurr) that created the first humans. Attestations In ''Völuspá'', ...
set out one day on a journey, traveling through mountains and wilderness until they were in need of food. In a valley they saw a herd of oxen, and they took one of the oxen and set it in an
earth oven An earth oven, ground oven or cooking pit is one of the simplest and most ancient cooking structures. The earliest known earth oven was discovered in Central Europe and dated to 29,000 BC. At its most basic, an earth oven is a pit in the ground ...
, but after a while they found that it would not cook. As they were trying to determine the reason for this, they heard someone talking in the oak tree above them, saying that he himself was the one responsible for the oven not cooking. They looked up and saw that it was Þjazi in the form of a great eagle, and he told them that if they would let him eat from the ox, then he would make the oven cook. To this they agreed, so he came down from the tree and began devouring a large portion of the meal. He ate so much of it that Loki became angry, grabbed his long staff and attempted to strike him, but the weapon stuck fast to Þjazi's body and he took flight, carrying Loki up with him. As they flew across the land Loki shouted and begged to be let down as his legs banged against trees and stones, but Þjazi would only do so on the condition that Loki must lure Iðunn out of
Asgard In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr''; "Garden of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in several Old Norse sagas and mythological texts, including the Eddas, however it has also been suggested to be refe ...
with her apples of youth, which he solemnly promised to do. Later, at the agreed time, Loki lured Iðunn out of Asgard into a forest, telling her he had found some apples that she might think worth having, and that she should bring her own apples with her to compare them. Þjazi then appeared in his eagle shape, grabbed Iðunn and flew away with her to his realm of Þrymheimr, located in
Jötunheimr The terms Jötunheimr (in Old Norse orthography: Jǫtunheimr ; often Old Norse orthography#Anglicized spelling, anglicised as Jotunheim) or Jötunheimar refer to either a land or multiple lands respectively in Nordic mythology inhabited by the j ...
. The gods, deprived of Iðunn's apples, began growing old and grey. When they learned that Iðunn was last seen going out of Asgard with Loki, they threatened him with torture and death until he agreed to rescue her. Loki borrowed a magical coat from
Freyja In Norse mythology, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a char ...
that would allow him to take the shape of a falcon, then flew to Jotunheim until he reached the hall of Þjazi. Finding Iðunn alone while Þjazi was out to sea on a boat, Loki transformed her into a nut and carried her back, flying as fast as he could. When Þjazi returned home and discovered she was gone he assumed his eagle form and flew after Loki. When the gods saw Loki flying toward them with Þjazi right behind they lit a fire which burned Þjazi's feathers, causing him to fall to the ground where he was set upon and killed. Þjazi's daughter Skadi then put on her war gear and went to Asgard to seek vengeance, but the gods offered her atonement and compensation until she was placated. She was also given the hand of Njord in marriage, and as a further reparation Odin took Þjazi's eyes and placed them in the night sky as stars. Also according to ''Skáldskaparmál'', Þjazi and his brothers Gangr and Idi had a father named Olvaldi. Olvaldi was very rich in gold, and when he died his three sons divided their inheritance between them by each in turn taking a mouthful. For this reason the expressions "speech of Þjazi, Gangr or Idi" and "Idi's shining talk" are
kennings A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech, a figuratively-phrased compound term that is used in place of a simple single-word noun. For instance, the Old English kenning () means , as does (). A kenning has two parts: a base-word (a ...
for gold, and twice in the same book a kenning is given for Þjazi as "lady wolf", a reference to his abduction of Iðunn. Another is "snowshoe deity's fosterer", or the father of the goddess who goes about on skis.


''Grímnismál''

In ''
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 ...
'', during Odin's visions of the various dwelling places of gods and jötunn he mentions that of Þjazi in stanza 11: :"Thrymheim the sixth is called :where Þjazi lived, the terrible giant, :but now Skadi, shining bride of the gods, :lives in her father's ancient courts"


''Hárbarðsljóð''

According to ''
Hárbarðsljóð ''Hárbarðsljóð'' (Old Norse: 'The Lay of Hárbarðr') is one of the poems of the ''Poetic Edda'', found in the Codex Regius and AM 748 I 4to manuscripts. It is a flyting poem with figures from Norse Paganism. ''Hárbarðsljóð'' was first wri ...
'', it was not Odin but
Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, 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 g ...
who claimed to have made Þjazi's eyes into stars in stanza 19: Thor said: :"I killed Þjazi, the powerful minded giant. :I threw up the eyes of Olvaldi's son :into the bright heavens. :They are the greatest sign of my deeds, :those which all men can see afterwards. :What were you doing meanwhile, Harbard?"


''Lokasenna''

In ''
Lokasenna ''Lokasenna'' (Old Norse: 'The Flyting of Loki', or 'Loki's Verbal Duel') is one of the poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. The poem presents flyting between the gods and Loki. It is written in the ljóðaháttr metre, typical for wisdom verse. ''L ...
'', it was neither Odin nor Thor but Loki himself who during his verbal sparring with Skadi lays claim to the death of her father in stanza 50: Loki said: :"You know, if on a sharp rock, with my ice cold son's guts :the gods shall bind me, :first and foremost I was at the killing :when we attacked Þjazi"


''Hyndluljóð''

According to the interpolated group of stanzas known as the ''Short Völuspá'' in ''
Hyndluljóð ''Hyndluljóð'' (Old Norse: 'The Lay of Hyndla') is an Old Norse poem often considered a part of the ''Poetic Edda''. It is preserved in its entirety only in ''Flateyjarbók'', but some stanzas are also quoted in the ''Prose Edda'', where they ...
'', Þjazi is further described as "the giant who loved to shoot".


Familiar forms

* Þjazi, anglicized as :* Thiazi :* Thjazi :* Thiassi * Tjatse (mainland Scandinavian) * Tjasse (Norse) Scholars have debated whether Þjazi can be identified with the
Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...
god
Tvashtr Tvashtr (, ) or Tvashta (, ) is a Vedic Hindu artisan god or fashioner. He is mentioned as an Aditya (sons of goddess Aditi) in later Hindu scriptures like the ''Mahabharata'' and ''Puranas'', though his significance gets reduced. Tvashtr is som ...
.


Gallery

Image:Manuscript_boiling.jpg, Þjazi stops the Æsir from boiling food in this illustration from an 18th-century
Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
ic manuscript. Image:Treated NKS haustlong.jpg, Another depiction of Þjazi as an eagle, carrying away Loki.


See also

* Tjasse Glacier


Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thjazi Jötnar Mythological birds of prey Shapeshifting Fictional kidnappers Eagles