Bölþorn (alsoBölþor;Old Norse:Bǫlþorn[ˈbɔlˌθorn], "Evil-thorn") is ajötunn inNorse mythology, and the father (or grandfather) ofBestla, herself the mother ofOdin,Vili and Vé.[1]
The figure receives mention in thePoetic Edda, composed in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and theProse Edda, compiled by IcelanderSnorri Sturluson in the 13th century. Scholars have noted that thePoetic Edda mention may mean that he is the father of the wise beingMímir.
The name is attested under two variants.Bölþorn is used inGylfaginning (The Beguiling ofGylfi), whereasBölþor occurs inHávamál (Sayings of the High One).[1]
TheOld Norse nameBölþorn has been translated 'Evil-thorn'.[2][1] The variant formBölþor would have had no clear meaning to medieval Scandinavians.[1]
InHávamál (Sayings of the High One), Bölþor receives his only mention of thePoetic Edda.[3]
Nine magic songs I got[learned?] from the famous son
Of Bölthor, Bestla’s father,
And I got a drink of the precious mead,
Poured from[by? to?] Ódrerir.
Gylfaginning (The Beguiling ofGylfi) mentions in theProse Edda that Bölþorn is ajötunn, and Bestla's father.[3]
He married that woman who was called Bestla, the daughter of the giant Bölthorn. They had three sons; the first was called Odin, the second Vili, the third Vé.
— Snorri Sturluson,Gylfaginning, trans.J. Lindow, 2002.
It is often argued that the figure of Bölþorn embodies a traditional relationship with the maternal uncle, a pattern found in Germanic myths and legends alike.[2][3] According toOrchard, the Roman historianTacitus (1st c. AD) "had already noted the importance of that particular family tie in Germanic society, and there are numerous examples of the closeness of male figures with their maternal uncles in the literary sources."[2] For instance, a medieval Icelandic proverb goes by saying: "Men turn out most like their maternal uncles."Lindow comments : "Certainly Odin, of all the gods, turned out most like a giant."[3]
Various scholars have also noted that the unnamed man (Bölþorn's son andBestla's brother) inHávamál may be the wise beingMímir.[4][5]