Jötunn


A jötunn is a type of being in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, jötnar are often contrasted with gods and with other non-human figures, such as dwarfs and elves, although the groupings are not always mutually exclusive. The entities included in the jötunn category are referred to by several other terms, including risi, þurs and troll if male and gýgr or tröllkona if female. The jötnar typically dwell across boundaries from the gods and humans in lands such as Jötunheimr.
The jötnar are frequently attested throughout the Old Norse records, with eotenas also featuring in the Old English epic poem Beowulf. The usage of the terms is dynamic, with an overall trend that the beings become portrayed as less impressive and more negative as Christianity becomes more influential over time. 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.
The terms for the beings also have cognates in later folklore such as the English yotun, Danish jætte and Finnish jätti which can share some common features, such as being turned to stone in the day and living on the periphery of society.

Origin, appearance and terminology

Terms and etymology

jötunn and Old English eoten developed from the Proto-Germanic masculine noun *etunaz. Philologist Vladimir Orel says that semantic connections between *etunaz and Proto-Germanic *etanan make a relation between the two words likely. The words are cognate with and Modern English:, an archaic word for a type of being. Old Norse risi and Old High German riso derive from the Proto-Germanic masculine noun *wrisjon. Orel observes that the Old Saxon adjective wrisi-līk 'enormous' is likely also connected. Old Norse þurs, Old English þyrs, and Old High German duris 'devil, evil spirit' derive from the Proto-Germanic masculine noun *þursaz, itself derived from Proto-Germanic *þurēnan, which is etymologically connected to Sanskrit turá- 'strong, powerful, rich'. Several terms are used specifically to refer to female entities that fall into this wider category, including íviðja, gýgr and tröllkona.
Terms for jötnar are also found in Old Norse compound words such as bergrisi, and hrímþurs.
The cognates jötunn and eoten, and þurs and þyrs have been equated by scholars such as J. R. R. Tolkien and Rudolf Simek, with the words being used to describe the being in either Old Norse or Old English respectively.

Appearance, connotations and distinctions

In the Eddas, jötnar are beings typically with similar power to the gods and may also be referred to by the negative terms troll and þurs. The harmful nature of þursar is also described in the Icelandic and Norwegian rune poems, where they are identified for causing strife to women. Descriptions of the appearance of jötnar are uncommon; however, the progenitor of the jötnar is described as having the form of a man. Some female jötnar are described as being beautiful, such as Gerðr and Hymir's partner, while others are described as monstrous and having many heads. Some dwarfs are described as jötnar such as Regin and Fáfnir, while in Alvíssmál, the eponymous dwarf is noted for having the likeness of a þurs.
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. In some later sagas, such as Bárðar saga Snæfellsáss, risar are clearly distinct from jötnar however in others the terms are used interchangeably, albeit with an overall trend that jötnar have begun to be seen negatively relative to risar.
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.

Glossing as "giant"

Terms for jötnar are often translated into Modern English as "giant" or "giantess". John Lindow uses the glosses to contrast them with the gods but notes that they are not giant, being similar in size to the gods, and are best conceived of as a kin or family group, separated by relation rather than physical appearance. 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.

Notable

In a stanza of Völuspá hin skamma, all jötnar descend from Ymir. 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. He lay there asleep, fed by milk from Auðumbla, whereupon from his left armpit he sweated a male and a female, and his legs begat a son with one another. Together, these children became the ancestors of all other jötnar.
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 Bergelmir#Theories. 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.
According to Gylfaginning, after Ymir was killed, his body was wrought into the world and a sea surrounded it. The gods then gave the surviving families jötnar lands along the shore to settle, placing them in the periphery. Ymir's brows were then used to build Midgard and protect it from the jötnar due to their known aggression.

Attributes and themes

Position as the "Other"

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.
A common motif is the journeying to obtain secret knowledge from the jötnar. In the Eddic poem Hyndluljóð, Freyja travels to the gýgr Hyndla to obtain understanding of the lineage of Ottar, and the "ale of remembrance" so that he does not forget it. In the Eddic poem Vafþrúðnismál, Óðinn travels to the jötunn Vafþrúðnir whereupon they engage in a wisdom contest. He also travels to the jötnar to obtain from Suttungr the Mead of poetry, which imparts skill in poetry to any who drink it. The völva who tells the Völuspá prophecy to Óðinn, while not explicitly described as a jötunn but was raised by them.
Cosmology in Germanic mythology, as with other oral cultures, has many apparent contradictions when viewed from a naturalistic standpoint. Despite this, a system of motifs repeat when travelling to the jötnar.
In the Prose Edda that the jötnar dwell in Jötunheimr which is at points located in the North or East and in Þrymskviða can only be reached by air, however jötnar are also found South and across water. Jötnar such as Suttungr and Skaði live in mountains, which is further reflected in the terms and , a kenning for jötunn. Their lands of inhabitation are not restricted to this, also including forests, underground, and the shore. Sometimes they are referred to as living in specific geographical locations such as Ægir on Læsø. These motifs are also seen in the section of Beowulf concerning the fight with mother of the eoten Grendel which has been noted by scholars to closely resemble the fight between a trollkona and Grettir in his eponymous saga, wherein the female beings may only be reached by crossing through water. The seemingly ununified location of the jötnar has been suggested to be an outcome of their intrinsically chaotic nature. Even within the same story, what seem like contradictions have been noted by scholars, prompting the proposal of a model that the otherworld where the jötnar dwell can be reached from a number of passages or boundaries that cannot be traversed under normal conditions, such as the mountains, darkness and "flickering flame" crossed by Skírnir in Skírnismál.
In Eddic sources, jötnar present a constant threat to gods and humans, often leading them to confrontation with Thor. Hárbarðsljóð and Þrymskviða tell that if it was not for Thor and Mjöllnir, jötnar would soon overrun Midgard and Asgard respectively. 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.

Ancestors of gods and humans

The distinction between gods and jötnar is not clearly defined and they should be seen as different culturally rather than biologically, with some gods, such as Odin, Thor and Loki being the descendants of jötnar. 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. In contrast, the female jötunn Skaði chooses the male Vanr Njörðr as a husband. According to the Ynglinga saga, she later had children with Odin, from whom kings such as Earl Hakon were descended. The Vanr Freyr also marries Gerðr, who are the claimed ancestors of the Ynglings.
Odin also seduces the jötnar Gunnlöð and Rindr and marries Jörð. In the cases when gods marry jötnar, they appear to be fully incorporated into the gods and are referred to as Ásynjur in Nafnaþulur. 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.