[1] It is a compound formed with the adjective harðr ('hard, strong') attached to the root greip- ('hand [with spread thumbs], handle').
[1] In Gesta Danorum (Deed of Danes), Harthgrepa (Harðgreipr) becomes the wet-nurse, lover and road companion of the Danish hero Hadingus (Hadding),[4] who his seeking revenge after the murder of his father the king Gram.
[7][4][2] The corpse, forced to speak "in a voice terrible to ear" by the magical item, curses the one who summoned him, then predicts the death of Harthgrepa, "weighted down by her own offence".
The author of Gesta Danorum, Saxo Grammaticus, adds that "neither her special nature nor her bodily size helped her to escape the savage nails of her assailants".
[citation needed] Before their integration into the Æsir, the Vanir used to have incestuous relationships (Freyr and Freyja are for instance Njörðr and his sister's children).
Even if Harthgrepa's magic (compelling a dead man to speak) does not come within the seid practices, both are described as shameful and liable to a punishment.