Norsery Rhymes from A to Z Billingr’s Daughter, The Maiden Well here we are another Thor’s Day and another 20 min sketch of a Norse (and Germanic, sometimes Celtic) mythological characters. This week it’s Billingr’s (Billing’s / Billinger’s ) Daughter. Giantess of the Jotnar (Jotun/Giant). Her giant father:
V1 - https://jeffreystewart.tumblr.com/post/182086029259/norsery-rhymes-from-a-to-z-billingr-the-maidens
V2 - https://jeffreystewart.tumblr.com/post/182219251234/norsery-rhymes-from-a-to-z-billingr-the-maidens
Could alternately be one of the twin dwarfs (dwarven, dverg, dvergr) Billingr and Billinger:
https://jeffreystewart.tumblr.com/post/181679887849/norsery-rhymes-from-a-to-z-happy-thorsday
This second option would make her the only female Dwarf mentioned in the sagas.
Odin at one point narrates a story meant to speak to the fickleness of women. He encounters while traveling in disguise, a beautiful maiden, Billingr’s daughter who after some wooing from Odin, invites him to her bed later that night. But come that evening Odin finds it guarded by great warriors, that deters him from his visit. When he returns in the morning he finds it unguarded and goes in. But when he gets to her bedroom, instead of the maiden, he finds a female dog tied to the bedpost, lying in Bed, in her place. He’s described as more frustrated and maybe even amused than anything and doesn’t take any action against the Maiden, Billing, or the Warriors.
Not a lot is know of who all the players are or their personalities. The Warriors who guard her that night are never identified. Maybe they were some or all her family who when overhearing them, decide to guard her and and spirit her away. Or maybe the Maiden is as Odin says and leads him on, or she changes her mind. Odin strangely never assumes it was the father or Warriors and instead blames the maiden. Odin does have some special wisdom and knowledge, so it’s possible he used some runes to tell it was her. Or maybe she was able to identify Odin in his guise, or is told it’s him after agreeing to meet him and rethinks her invite.
Finding out the person you’ve agreed to rendezvous with is the very married All-Father might be cause for second thoughts. And I can’t blame her for ghosting him, whether it was her ideas or her families.
