Jötunn
A jötunn (also jotun; in the normalised scholarly spelling of Old Norse, jǫtunn /ˈjɔːtʊn/;[2] or, in Old English, eoten, plural eotenas) is a type of being in Germanic mythology.
In Norse mythology, they are often contrasted with gods (the Æsir and Vanir) and other non-human figures, such as dwarfs and elves, although the groupings are not always mutually exclusive.
Although the term "giant" is sometimes used to gloss the word "jötunn" and its apparent synonyms in some translations and academic texts, this is seen as problematic by some scholars as jötnar are not necessarily notably large.
[20] As the influence of Christianity grew, jötnar became demonised and typically portrayed as less intelligent, easier to outwit and more monstrous, as is common with giants in later Germanic folklore.
[15] Troll has a much wider semantic scope in Old Norse literature than solely jötnar, also including individuals with unusual or supernatural traits such as witches, abnormally strong, large or ugly people, ghosts and berserkers.
[23] Due to this issue, some scholars such as Terry Gunnell, Jeramy Dodds and Benjamin Thorpe either anglicise or leave untranslated terms for jötnar in translations and academic work.
[36] Gylfaginning elaborates on this, describing that the primordial jötunn Ymir formed in the warm waters that arose in Ginnungagap when the rime of Niflheim was melted by the heat of Muspelheim.
[35][37] Later, he was killed by the first gods, resulting in a flood of Ymir's blood, in which all jötnar drowned except Bergelmir and his family, who survive this event by way of sailing upon a luðr.
[38] This has been linked to a runic inscription on a sword hilt in Beowulf which describes the eotenas being killed in an ancient flood and has been proposed to derive from Germanic and wider Indo-European mythology.
[18][37] Most stories in Old Norse mythology show a clear division between "This World", pertaining to that of gods and men, and "The Other", which is inhabited by jötnar and beings associated with them.
In the Eddic poem Hyndluljóð, Freyja travels to the gýgr Hyndla to obtain understanding of the lineage of Ottar, and the "ale of remembrance" (Old Norse: minnisǫl) so that he does not forget it.
[52] Nonetheless, Thor also has a positive relationship with some gýgjar, such as Gríðr and the unnamed wife of Hymir, who provide magical items and council that enable him to overcome other jötnar.
[54] A common motif that often forms the core storyline of Eddic narratives is the unsuccessful attempts of jötnar to marry one of the goddesses, be it through either trickery or force.
Consistent with this, reference to Skaði's vés in Lokasenna and toponyms such as Skedevi in Sweden suggests that despite being a jötunn, she was worshipped in Old Norse religion.
[32] This tröllkona has been suggested to be Angrboða, the gýgr who begat with Loki the monstrous wolf Fenrir and venomous worm Jörmungandr who become enemies of the gods.
[70] The post-Christian association between jötnar and pre-Christian practices is also seen in Beowulf, in which the man-eating eoten Grendel is described as having a "heathen soul" and "heathenish hand-spurs".
[53] Giants with names cognate to terms for jötnar are found in later Northern European folklore, such as the English ettin or yotun, thurse and hobthrust, Danish jætte, Swedish jätte and Finnish jätti.
Grýla is a female creature described in Sturlunga saga as having fifteen tails, and listed as a tröllkona in the Nafnaþulur section of the Prose Edda who features in folklore throughout the North Atlantic islands settled by Scandinavians.
