Gjálp and Greip
Gjálp (Old Norse: non; or Gialp) and Greip (Old Norse: Greip) are two jötnar in Norse mythology and the daughters of the jötunn Geirröðr. They are killed by the thunder god Thor for trying to kill him.[1]
Names
The Old Norse name Gjálp has been variously translated as 'screamer', 'yelper'.[1][2] It is related to the Icelandic gjálp ('roar; sea, wave'), and to the Old Norse gjalpa ('to brag').[3]
Greip is translated as ('gripper, grasper').[2] It derives from the Old Norse greip ('hand [with spread thumbs], handle').[4]
Attestations
Prose Edda
In Skáldskaparmál (The Language of Poetry), Thor meets Gjálp as he is trying to wade across the Vimur River; she is causing the river to swell with what appears to be her urine or menstrual fluids as she is standing "astride the river".[2][5] Template:Poem quote
Thor eventually reaches Geirrödargardar, the abode of the jötunn Geirröðr. He sits on a chair that is lifted up against the roof by Gjálp and Greip as they are trying to kill him.[6][7] Template:Poem quote
Viking Age
The same myth is told in Þórsdrápa by Eilífr Goðrúnarson (late 10th c. AD), which is cited by Snorri Sturluson in Skáldskaparmál, although the gýgjar are not named in the poem.[5] Template:Poem quote
Gesta Danorum
Gesta Danorum (Deeds of the Danes) relates a similar story as Thorkillus (Thokil) and his companions are visiting the hall of the dead Geruthus (Geirröðr) when they notice the pierced body of an old man and three dead women with their backs broken. Thokil tells them that the god Thor "has driven a burning ingot though the vitals of Geirrœth" and that the "women have been struck by the force of Thor’s thunderbolt and have paid the penalty for attacking his divinity by having their bodies broken".[7][8] Template:Poem quote
Other texts
In Völuspá hin skamma (37), Gjálp and Greip are listed among the Nine Mothers of Heimdallr.[9] Gjálp is also mentioned in the þulur and in kennings of skaldic poetry.[1] Greip on her side is not mentioned in Nafnaþulur and found only once in the skaldic kenning.[10]
In Haustlöng, Þjazi is called "the son of the suitor of Greip". Greip may be used there as a generic gýgr name and the kenning may mean simply "jötunn".[citation needed]
In a lausavísa composed by Vetrliði Sumarliðason and quoted in Skáldskaparmál, Gjálp is mentioned as being killed by Thor.[citation needed]
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lindow 2002, p. 144.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Orchard 1997, p. 57.
- ↑ de Vries 1962, p. 70.
- ↑ de Vries 1962, p. 186.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lindow 2002, p. 137.
- ↑ Faulkes 1987, p. 82.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lindow 2002, p. 138.
- ↑ Fisher 2015, p. 609.
- ↑ Lindow 2002, pp. 144, 149.
- ↑ Lindow 2002, p. 149.
Bibliography
- de Vries, Jan (1962). Altnordisches Etymologisches Worterbuch (1977 ed.). Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-05436-3.
- Faulkes, Anthony, trans. (1987). Edda (1995 ed.). Everyman. ISBN 0-460-87616-3.
- Fisher, Peter, trans. (2015). Gesta Danorum. 1. Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-19-820523-4.
- 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.