Hyrrokkin
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In Norse mythology, Hyrrokkin (meaning "smoky-fire", "utter darkness" or "smoke") is a giantess. She appears to be depicted on one of the surviving stones from the Hunnestad Monument near Marsvinsholm, Sweden called DR 284.
It is told in Snorri Sturluson's Gylfaginning, that at Baldr's funeral, Nanna collapsed in grief and died at his pyre, thus joining her husband in Hel. Hringhorni, Baldr's ship, was the largest ship in the entire world, and that very ship was the one that Baldr was to receive a boat burial on. No one, however, could seem to launch the boat to sea.
Hyrrokkin was called to help, and came from Jötunheimr. She arrived on a giant wolf with vipers as the reins. With her seismic strength, the giantess rolled the boat into the water. This caused the rollers to set on fire, which angered Thor. He was about to kill Hyrrokkin with his Mjöllnir, but the other gods insisted that he spare her.
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En æsirnir tóku lík Baldrs ok fluttu til sævar. Hringhorni hét skip Baldrs. Hann var allra skipa mestr. Hann vildu goðin fram setja ok gera þar á bálför Baldrs, en skipit gekk hvergi fram. Þá var sent í Jötunheima eftir gýgi þeiri, er Hyrrokkin hét. En er hon kom ok reið vargi ok hafði höggorm at taumum, þá hljóp hon af hestinum, en Óðinn kallaði til berserki fjóra at gæta hestsins, ok fengu þeir eigi haldit, nema þeir felldi hann. Þá gekk Hyrrokkin á framstafn nökkvans ok hratt fram í fyrsta viðbragði, svá at eldr hraut ór hlunnunum ok lönd öll skulfu. Þá varð Þórr reiðr ok greip hamarinn ok myndi þá brjóta höfuð hennar, áðr en goðin öll báðu henni friðar.Guðni Jónsson's edition |
The Æsir then took the dead body and bore it to the seashore, where stood Baldur's ship Hringhorn, which passed for the largest in the world. But when they wanted to launch it in order to make Baldur's funeral pile on it, they were unable to make it stir. In this conjuncture they sent to Jotunheim for a certain giantess named Hyrrokin, who came mounted on a wolf, having twisted serpents for a bridle. As soon as she alighted, Odin ordered four Berserkir to hold her steed fast, who were, however, obliged to throw the animal on the ground ere they could effect their purpose. Hyrrokin then went to the ship, and with a single push set it afloat, but the motion was so violent that the fire sparkled from the rollers, and the earth shook all around. Thor, enraged at the sight, grasped his mallet, and but for the interference of the Æsir would have broken the woman's skull. Blackwell's translation, available at Project Gutenberg., |
Eventually, Thor killed her as told by Þorbjörn dísarskáld in Skáldskaparmál, stanza 58. The stanza consists of a list of giants and giantesses killed by the god:
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She is also mentioned in a list of troll women by an anonymous skald:
- Gjölp, Hyrrokkin,
- Hengikepta,
- Gneip ok Gnepja,
- Geysa, Hála,
- Hörn ok Hrúga,
- Harðgreip, Forað,
- Hryðja, Hveðra
- ok Hölgabrúðr.[1]
