Mythological posters - Ægir
The Nafnaþulur attached to the Prose Edda lists Ægir as a giant. Richard Cleasby and Guðbrandur V...
The Nafnaþulur attached to the Prose Edda lists Ægir as a giant. Richard Cleasby and Guðbrandur Vigfússon saw his name as pre-Norse, derived from an ancient Indo-European root. Both Hversu Noregr byggðist and Snorri Sturluson in Skáldskaparmál state that Ægir is the same as the sea-giant Hlér, whi live on the Hlésey ("Hlér island", modern Danish Læsø), and this is borne out by kennings. Snorri Sturluson uses his visiting the Æsir as the frame of that section of the Prose Edda. In Lókasenna, Ægir hosts a party for the gods where he provides the ale brewed in an enormous pot or cauldron provided by Thor and Týr. The story of their obtaining the pot from the giant Hymir is told in Hymiskvíða. The prose introduction to Lokasenna and Snorri's list of kennings state that Ægir is also known as Gymir, who is Gerðr's father, but this is evidently an erroneous interpretation of kennings in which different giant-names are used interchangeably. According to Fundinn Noregr, Ægir is a son of the giant Fornjótr, the king of "Gotlandi, Kænlandi and Finnlandi", and brother of Logi ("fire") and Kári ("wind"). Ægir's wife is Rán. She is the mother of the Nine Daughter's of Ægir: Bára or Dröfn (wave); Blóðughadda (the blood-red-haired); Bylgja (to billow); Dúfa (pitching wave); Hrönn (grasping wave); Kólga (chilling wave); Unnr or Uðr (wave); Hefring (surging wave); Himinglæva (the light-reflecting wave). Original print by Icelandic artist, Haukur Halldorsson. Size: 40 x 50cm
