Geirröðr (also Geirröd) is a jötunn 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 ...

. He is the father of the Gjálp and Greip, who are killed by the thunder-god Thor. Geirröðr is mentioned in the skaldic poem '' Þórsdrápa'', written by Eilíf Godrúnarson (late 10th c. AD), itself cited in '' Skáldskaparmál'' (early 13th c.) where it is preceded by Snorri Sturluson's account of the myth, and in '' Gesta Danorum'' by Saxo Grammaticus (early 13th c.). Saturn's moon Geirrod is named after him.

Name

The

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 ...

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 linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic languages, Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from ...

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

Attestations

Prose Edda

In '' Skáldskaparmál'' (The Language of Poetry; early 13th c.),

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 ...

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 wetl ...

’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 belt of strength 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 nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...

. On their way to Geirrödargardar, Thor and Loki (or Thjálfi in '' Thórsdrápa'') stop at the home of the giantess Gríðr. She warns Thor about Geirröðr's plan and equips him with a new belt of strength, a pair of iron gloves, 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 gloves. 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 '' Þórsdrápa'' (late 10th c. AD), cited in the later ''Skáldskaparmál''.

Other texts

In '' Gesta Danorum'' (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 Casting, 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 procedu ...

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, the myth of Geirröðr "shows several characteristics of Thor stories—the dangerous journey to the otherworld, the special enmity of female giantesses, and the killing of a male giant—and it also introduces notions of smithing that sometimes seem to lurk behind Thor."

References

Bibliography

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