Hræsvelgr (Old Norse)^{[needs IPA]} is ajötunn inNorse mythology. He is portrayed as theeagle-shaped originator of the wind.^[1]

TheOld Norse nameHræsvelgr has been translated as 'corpse-swallower',^[2][3] or as 'shipwreck-current'.^[3]

Hræsvelgr's name is sometimesanglicised asHraesvelgr,Hresvelgr,Hraesveglur, orHraesvelg. The commonDanish form isHræsvælg and the commonSwedish form isRäsvelg.^{[citation needed]}

InVafþrúðnismál (The Lay ofVafþrúðnir), Odin questions the wisejötunn Vafþrúðnir about the origin of the wind, and the jötunn answers:^[1]

He is called Hræsvelg,
who sits at heaven’s end,
a giant, in the shape of an eagle;
from his wings
they say the wind comes over all people.

This stanza is paraphrased bySnorri Sturluson inGylfaginning (The Beguiling ofGylfi), whenHárr answers the same question, that time asked by Gangleri (Gylfi in disguise).^[3] Snorri adds that Hræsvelgr sits at the north end of heaven, and that winds originate from under his gigantic eagle’s wings when he spreads them for flight.^[3]

• Faulkes, Anthony, trans. (1987).Edda (1995 ed.). Everyman.ISBN 0-460-87616-3.
• Lindow, John (2002).Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-983969-8.
• Orchard, Andy (1997).Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. Cassell.ISBN 978-0-304-34520-5.

• Jón Hnefill Aðalsteinsson (1998). "Hræsvelgr, the Wind-Giant, Reinterpreted" inA Piece of Horse Liver: Myth, Ritual and Folklore in Old Icelandic Sources.ISBN 978-9979-54-264-3.

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