Þrúðgelmir (Thrudgelmir)

In Norse mythology, Þrúðgelmir (Old Norse pronunciation: [ˈθruːð.ɟɛlmɪr]; "Strength Yeller") is a frost giant, the son of the primordial giant Aurgelmir (who Snorri Sturluson in Gylfaginning identifies with Ymir), and the father of Bergelmir. Þrúðgelmir had one brother and one sister, who were elder than he was. Þrúðgelmir's name is sometimes anglicized as Thrudgelmir.

Attestations

Þrúðgelmir appears in the poem Vafþrúðnismál from the Poetic Edda. When Óðinn (speaking under the assumed name Gagnráðr) asks who was the eldest of the Æsir or of the giants in bygone days, Vafþrúðnir answers:

"Uncountable winters before the earth was made,

then Bergelmir was born,

Thrudgelmir was his father,

and Aurgelmir his grandfather."

—Vafþrúðnismál (29)

According to Rudolf Simek, Þrúðgelmir is identical to the six-headed son that was begotten by Aurgelmir's feet (Vafþrúðnismál, 33), but the fact that (apart from the þulur) he is mentioned in only one source led John Lindow to suggest that he might have been invented by the poet. Additionally, the identification of one with the other cannot be established with certainty since, according to stanza 33, Aurgelmir had more than one direct male offspring:

"They said that under the frost-giant's arms

a girl and boy grew together;

one foot with the other, of the wise giant,

begot a six-headed son."

Þrúðgelmir was drowned in his father's blood.

Family

Jǫtunn genealogy in Norse mythology

Names in Bold are Jǫtnar/Gýgr

Names in Italics are Gods/Goddesses

Ymir                                                   Þrúðgelmir                                                   Bergelmir                                                                                                                                         Bǫlþorn   Naglfari     Narfi   Dellingr       Aurgelmir       Fornjótr   Alvaldi                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Mímir                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Iði   Gangr   Þjazi                                                                     Bestla   Borr         Nótt           Dagr   Fárbauti   Laufey   Kári   Logi   Rán   Ægir   Gymir   Aurboða                                                                                                                                                                   Sister of Njǫrðr   Njǫrðr   Skaði                             Vili         Auðr             Annarr   Helblindi   Býleistr           Glǫð     Eisa and Eimyrja   Nine Maidens                                                                                                                                             Gerðr   Freyr             Vé                                     Sigyn           Loki         Angrboða   Heimdallr                                                                                                                                                                               Óðinn   Jǫrð                     Narfi   Váli         Jǫrmungandr   Hel   Fenrir   Hyrrokkin                                                                                                                 Þórr   Sif                     Svaðilfari                                                                                                                               Sleipnir                 Skǫll   Hati Hróðvitnisson               Þrúðr Frigg

Gallery

Bairns born of Ýmir's sweat including Þrúðgelmir.

Notes

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Thrudgelmir (view authors). As with Myth and Folklore Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported).