Hrímgrímnir (Old Norse:[ˈhriːmˌɡriːmnez̠], 'frost-masked') is a jötunn inNorse mythology. He is invoked byFreyr's servantSkírnir as he tries to coerce the beautiful jötunnGerðr on his master's behalf.[1][2]
TheOld Norse nameHrímgrímnir has been translated as 'frost-masked'.[1][2]
InSkírnismál (The Lay ofSkírnir), afterGerðr refuses to marryFreyr, his messengerSkírnir threatens her with a curse involving her marriage to Hrímgrímnir inHel:[1][2]
[Skírnir:]
Hrímgrímnir is the name of the giant who shall possess you [Gerðr],
Down below Nágrind [the gate to Hel’s realm].
There let wretches on the roots of the tree
Give you goat piss.
A better drink you will never get,
Maiden, from your mouth,
Maiden, to your mouth.
— Skírnismál, 35, trans.J. Lindow, 2002.
Hrímgrímnir is also mentioned in theþulur among fellow jötnar but is not otherwise found elsewhere.[1][2]
ScholarJohn Lindow comments that Hrímgrímnir is evidently a "part of something bigger"; if Gerðr refuses Skírnir's offer, she will "be denied all ordinary sexual congress", resulting in social consequences—even though she would be married, she would live in social exile.[2]
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