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Jötunheimr

The land of the giants, at the edge of the world beyond rivers and sea, usually to the east of the gods and men. Thor goes there to fight, and gods go there to court and steal.

Jötunheimr is the land of the giants (The giants (jötnar)). The poems and Snorri use it constantly but never describe it as a whole. It is wherever the giants live, beyond the edge of the human world. Snorri's creation story explains the arrangement. After the gods made the earth from Ymir, they gave the giants lands "along the strand" of the ocean that rings the world, and built Midgard inside as a fortress against them Gylfaginning 8.

Getting there

It is reached across a border. In Vafþrúðnismál the river Ifing "'twixt the realms of the gods and the giants goes", and it never freezes Vafþrúðnismál 16. Hymir lives "to the east of Elivagar … at the end of heaven" Hymiskviða 5. Thor's way to Útgarðr leads "eastward toward Jötunheim and clear to the sea", then over the sea and through a forest Gylfaginning 45. Hrungnir's duel is fought at Grjótúnagarðr, "on the border" Skáldskaparmál 17. Most of Thor's journeys run east, but Snorri also puts the giants in the north, where Freyr sees Gerðr Gylfaginning 37.

What happens there

Most visits by the gods to Jötunheimr are raids, courtships or both. Thor goes east to fight trolls Gylfaginning 42 and drives to Jötunheimr to recover his hammer Þrymskviða 21. Freyr's servant Skírnir rides there to win Gerðr from Gymir's house Skírnismál, prose 2. The gods send there for Loki's monstrous children, who "were nourished in Jötunheim" Gylfaginning 34. Odin rides there to see Hrungnir Skáldskaparmál 17. The giants' land is also wealthy: Þrymr's herds have golden horns Þrymskviða 23, and Gymir's daughter boasts that "in Gymir's home is no lack of gold" Skírnismál 22.

How fare the gods? how fare the elves?All Jotunheim groans, the gods are at council;Völuspá 48

At Ragnarök the land itself reacts: "All Jotunheim groans" Völuspá 48.

The modern Jotunheimen mountains in Norway were named after the myth in the 19th century.

In the sources

Quoted from the hosted translations; each line is checked against the text when the site is built. Select a reference to read it in context.

along the strand of that sea they gave lands to the races of giants for habitation
Gylfaginning 8 Snorri places the giants on the outer shore of the world-ocean.
Till thither came up giant-maids three. Huge of might, out of Jotunheim.
Völuspá 8 The arrival of three giant women from Jötunheimr ends the gods' golden age.
The mountains burst, earth burned with fire, And Othin's son sought Jotunheim.
Þrymskviða 21 Thor drives to the giants' land to recover his hammer.
Ifing is the river that 'twixt the realms Of the gods and the giants goes
Vafþrúðnismál 16 A river that never freezes divides gods from giants.
How fare the gods? how fare the elves? All Jotunheim groans, the gods are at council
Völuspá 48 At Ragnarök the whole land of the giants groans.

Where the sources disagree or fall silent

  • The sources place it in different directions: east in most of Thor's journeys (gylfaginning 45, harbardsljod 23), north when Freyr sees Gerðr (Gylfaginning 37) and when Thor carries Aurvandill 'from the north out of Jötunheim' (Skáldskaparmál 17).
  • No source says whether Jötunheimr is one of the 'nine worlds' of Völuspá. Modern lists include it, but the poems never give such a list.

Myths with Jötunheimr

Freyr and Gerðr Freyr sits in Odin's high seat, glimpses the giant's daughter Gerðr and is sick with love. His servant Skírnir rides through fire to woo her, and when gifts fail he wins her with threats and a curse. The price is Freyr's sword. The theft of Iðunn and her apples Caught by a giant in eagle's shape, Loki buys his freedom by luring Iðunn and her apples out of Asgard. The gods grow old, and Loki must steal her back as a falcon, with Þjazi beating after him. Thor in the hall of Geirröðr To save his own life Loki promises to bring Thor, unarmed, to the giant Geirröðr. A friendly giantess lends Thor a belt, gloves and staff; he survives a flooding river, a rising chair and a red-hot iron bar, and kills Geirröðr and his daughters. Thor's duel with Hrungnir A horse race with Odin brings the stone-headed giant Hrungnir drunk and boasting into Asgard. Thor challenges him to the first single combat of his life, kills him with Mjölnir, and carries a piece of the giant's whetstone in his skull for ever after. Thor's journey to Útgarða-Loki Thor travels east with Loki, Þjálfi and Röskva, sleeps in a giant's glove, and loses every contest in the hall of Útgarða-Loki: to fire, to thought, to the sea, to the World Serpent and to old age. Only at parting does he learn he was tricked. Thrym steals Thor's hammer Thor wakes to find Mjölnir gone. The giant Þrymr will return it only for Freyja as his bride, so Thor goes to the wedding himself, in a veil, with Loki as his bridesmaid.

Related

The giants (jötnar) jötnar The giants of Norse myth: the oldest race in the world, descended from Ymir, wise and often wealthy, enemies of the gods yet their kin, their wives and their mothers. Útgarðr The castle of the giant Útgarða-Loki, far to the east beyond the sea, so huge that Thor's party must crane their necks to see over it. It vanishes when Thor tries to smash it. Midgard Miðgarðr The world of humans, made by Odin and his brothers from the body of the giant Ymir and fenced with his eyebrows against the giants who live around the ocean's edge. Asgard Ásgarðr The stronghold of the Æsir, walled against the giants, full of halls such as Valhall and Bilskirnir; Snorri also identifies it, confusingly, with Troy. Élivágar The icy, venomous rivers of the earliest world: the first giant grew from the venom that dripped from them, and later they mark the far border of the giants' land. Thor Þórr The thunder god, strongest of the Æsir: son of Odin and Earth, husband of Sif, and with his hammer Mjöllnir the gods' defender against the giants, until he dies killing the World Serpent. The nine worlds níu heimar The Eddas say there are nine worlds but never list them; the familiar list of nine realms is a modern reconstruction built mostly from Snorri's place-names. Þrymr The giant king who steals Thor's hammer and demands Freyja as his bride, and is killed at his own wedding feast when the 'bride' turns out to be Thor. Gymir A rich giant of Jötunheim, father of Gerðr, whose guarded house Skírnir rode to when he came to woo Gerðr for Freyr.