jötnar

Jötnar, the plural of jötunn, are a race of beings in Norse mythology commonly translated as giants. They are not simply oversized humans but a distinct group with varied nature and cultures. They inhabit Jötunheimr, a realm separate from Asgard and Midgard, and they frequently intersect with the gods of the Æsir and the Vanir.

Jötnar range from primordial and frost-associated beings to giants of earth, sea, and winter. In creation myths, the frost giant Ymir is slain and his body is used to form the world, with his skull becoming the sky. The relationship between jötnar and the gods is complex: they are often opponents, yet kinship, intermarriage, and alliances occur. Loki, a trickster figure who is born of a frost giantess, is closely linked to the gods despite his giant ancestry. Giants also intermarry with gods, as when the earth goddess Jord becomes the mother of Thor.

Notable jötnar include Angrboða, mother of Fenrir the wolf, Jörmungandr the world-serpent, and Hel; Skadi, a winter giantess who marries Njord; and Thrym, the giant who steals Thor’s hammer Mjölnir. Frost giants or hrímþursar are a prominent subgroup often depicted as adversaries of the Æsir, though not all jötnar are uniformly hostile.

In Norse eschatology, jötnar play central roles in Ragnarok, the prophesied end times, fighting the gods alongside their kin. Overall, jötnar encompass a broad and shifting category within Norse myth, embodying raw natural powers, ancient cosmological forces, and a spectrum of relations with the divine world.