#thjassi

[mythical-art]

Thjassi, the giant in his eagle plumage, flew down and caught up Iduna, illustration from 'The Book of Sagas' by Alice S. Hoffman, published in 1926 by Gordon Frederick Browne

[gotojobin]

#Thrymr #Thjassi #Thrym A Giant from Norse myth whose name means ‘Frost’ and he is the leader of the Hrimthursar, the Frost Giants. He is the son of Kari and a brother to Skadi, Thiassi and Bel. His children are Frosti, Johul and Snoer. In the epic saga of Thrymskvida (900 AD), Thrymr stole the sacred Miolnir the war hammer of Thor. The gods agreed that the goddess Freya should be given as a wife to Thrymr. Thrymr agreed to this but Freya argued with the gods and refused to be married. Loki persuaded Thor to dress up as Freya and go instead. At the wedding feast, Thrymr was surprised to see that his newly wedded wife could consume so much food. He ate a whole ox, several salmon and three casks of ale. When Thrymr presented the hammer to his wife, Thor took the hammer and killed the Frost Giant. He then slew all the Giants at the feast who got in his way as he travelled back to the gods in Asgard.

[halvmorkt]

[loki-in-myth]

Loki: Appeasing Skaði

Thjassi, the Jotunn who had kidnapped Idunn, was killed by the Aesir while he was pursuing Loki, who had retrieved Idunn from his home.  Hearing news of this, Thjassi’s daughter Skadi journeyed to Asgard.  She demanded retribution for the death of her father, and threatened destruction if they did not appease her.  Thjassi’s two brothers were just as mighty as he, and Skadi assured them that they would be happy to attack Asgard if the Aesir did not pay for Thjassi’s death.

The Aesir desired for peace, so they offered Skadi any amount of their gold.  Skadi flatly refused, since she had more gold than all of Asgard could even comprehend.  She demanded that the gods offer a more suitable gift, and because of her issue with the first offer, Skadi also demanded that they make her laugh.  The gods were at a loss, when finally Loki came forward with an idea.  They would give Skadi a husband from among them, and the results would be twofold; Skadi would be appeased, and she would also become an ally to Asgard.  It was a brilliant plan, and the gods immediately offered Skadi a husband.

Skadi agreed readily, and announced that she chose Baldr, most handsome of all the Aesir and son of Odin.  The gods quickly stipulated that this was not how her husband would be chosen.  Each of the male gods was to stand behind a screen, and Skadi would choose her husband by his feet.  If she chose Baldr’s feet, then the god would indeed be hers.

Skadi located the most beautiful feet among those assembled, assuming they belonged to Baldr, and declared that this was to be her husband.  It was revealed that the feet belonged to the Vanir hostage Njordr, father of Freya and Freyr.  Njordr was a god of the sea, and spent most of his time by the ocean.  As a result, his feet were smooth and beautiful.

A wedding ceremony was held, and during the subsequent feast, Loki had a goat brought into the hall, along with a rope.  One end of the rope was tied to the goat’s beard.  Then Loki removed his clothes and tied the other end of the rope to his testicles.  The goat proceeded to leap about, yanking Loki around the room howling in pain.  Loki fell into Skadi’s lap, and Skadi laughed at his antics.  Thus Loki had fulfilled the agreement to make Skadi laugh.

Odin also thrust Thjassi’s eyes into the sky, where they became two stars.  Skadi was satisfied, because this was an honour to her father.  Skadi gained status as one of the gods, and she was appealed to by those in Midgard as goddess of the hunt, for her skill with bow and arrow.  She was also appealed to for help in winter with skis, sleighs, and snow shoes, and also with mountains.

The success in appeasing Skadi and gaining her as an ally was due mostly to Loki’s craftiness, and also his willingness to endure great pain for the benefit of Asgard.