Loki and Thor Travel to Gerroedsgard

Thor Travels to Gerrödsgard

Loki, the sly one, often brought his comrades into unpleasant predicaments.

Once he stole Frouwa’s feather dress out of boredom and flew through the world as brilliantly-plumed falcon. From the air he saw thick clouds of smoke rising out of an enormous tree. Filled with curiosity he flew closer and saw that the tree was part of the stronghold of the giant Geirröd. “Perhaps I shall find a tasty meal here,” Loki thought and alighted on the windowsill so he could catch a glimpse inside. When the giant discovered the beautiful falcon, he immediately commanded the capture of the rare bird. Before he knew what was happening, Loki was captured by the giant king.

The giant king looked deep into the eyes of the bird and knew immediately that this was no ordinary falcon but a higher being. Because Loki did not say a word about his origins, the giant king locked him in a cage and let him starve. It took three months before Loki admitted where he came from. The king was very happy that he finally had a surety over the gods of Asen and decided not to let this opportunity slip by. When Loki asked to be released, the king replied that he could return to Asgard if he promised to bring Thor back to Gerrödsgard without his hammer or any other weapons.

Loki promised everything so desperate was he to regain his freedom. He was also so crafty that he was able to lure the good-natured Thor back to Gerrödsgard without his weapons. On the way Thor met the giantess Grid, who saw through Gerröd’s intentions and gave Thor three weapons: a belt that bestowed strength on the wearer, a pair of iron gloves and a staff.

Both Thor and Loki soon detected how treacherous Gerröd’s plans were. First they came to the wide and turbulent Wimur River and had to wade through the rushing floods. Thor fastened his strength-giving belt, took the staff of the giantess against the waves and stepped confidently into the stream. When they had both reached the middle of the stream, the water surged up dangerously around them. The god thundered into the crashing waves: “Do not surge, Wimur. I am wading to the giant’s house! If you surge, my godly strength shall surge to the heavens!”

Thor saw how Gerröd’s daughter Gialp stood on the river bank and caused the turbulence of the river. Quickly he seized a granite block from the river bed and drove away the malicious maiden. He grasped the branches of a rowan (bird-berry) tree standing on shore and pulled himself onto land. The old adage reminds us of this feat: “The rowan tree is Thor’s salvation.”

After wandering a short time, Thor and Loki now entered the fortress of the giants. Fatigued, Thor sank onto the only chair in the great hall. He had hardly taken his seat when he noticed that he was being lifted higher and higher. Finally he was only a small distance from the ceiling and would soon be crushed. He didn’t wait long. Pushing against the ceiling he pressed the chair down to the floor again. A loud crashing sound and loud screams revealed that something was caught under the chair. He looked down and found both of the giant’s daughters lying lifelessly underneath with broken necks.

Thor was now summoned by a servant of Gerröd himself. When he entered the hall he saw flames rising up the walls and chambers. Before he could look around, a burning iron wedge came flying at him, catapulted by Gerröd’s own hand. Any other would have been destroyed. Thor caught the burning iron in his iron-gloved hand and threw it back with such force, that the wedge not only bore through the pillar, which the giant quickly fled behind, but also hit the giant in the middle of his heart, continuing on with such force that it penetrated the wall behind the giant and became embedded in the earth beyond.

The giant lay dead on the ground. Thor propped up the giant who now became petrified into stone. The giant stood for centuries in this position and Germanic tribes believed  the site was a testament to the violent power of the thunder god.

According to Uhland, Gerröd the giant represents the unbearable heat of high summer that burns like fire. The giant’s two daughters are the flooding of mountain streams after the heavy storms of midsummer. The harmful manifestations of weather are not caused by Thor, but by evil giants. That is why the thunder god fights and neutralizes them.


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A Latvian Fairy Tale about How Best to Handle a Witch

A Fairy Tale from Latvia: The Old Hag is Coming:

Five Days of Fairy Tales: Day 2

Once a harp player met the devil on one of his sojourns. The devil asked him: “Where are you going?” –

“I myself do not know,” was the reply. “They chased me away because my fingers became stiff!”

And so they walked together. They walked and walked until they met a bear. The bear asked: “Where are you two going?”

“We don’t know ourselves,” was the reply. We were chased away!”

“Dear brothers! Let us walk a while together. We all have the same fate. The other bears have also chased me away!”

They walked and walked and then they decided to build a house. So good, they built a house and drank a beer and then an entire barrel of beer. Suddenly they noticed that the beer in the barrel was receding. Now what? They decided to guard the barrel. The bear took over the first watch and crouched next to the barrel. Yes, it was only a matter of minutes before he saw an old woman approaching with a broad hatchet in her hand.

Now the bear broke off a tree and flung it at the old woman. But unfortunately only branches hit her: the old woman shook herself a bit and then raised the hatchet and struck the bear in its back. She hit him so miserably that the poor animal could only return home with the greatest effort. The next evening the devil stood watch. Again the old woman took aim. The devil threw stones into the woman’s face rather haphazardly. But the old woman aimed her hatchet at the devil, and he, too, only escaped under enormous effort.

Now the harp player went out in the middle of the night to guard the barrel. He sat down next to the barrel and played his harp. The old woman came and slithered up close to the player and listened intently with both ears, but the harp player continued playing. Finally the old woman was so pleased with the music that the hatchet fell from her hand. The harp player quickly seized the hatchet, took aim at the old woman and quickly chopped into the woman’s back. Then he buried her under the threshold of a house and lay down to sleep. When he awoke in the morning, he saw the blood of the old woman running into the house, and a young maid sat before it. The maiden spoke: “Why are you approaching? Don’t you know that an enormous robber lives here? But if you can raise this ball and this sword, you will be able to overcome the robbers.”

The harp player pulled and pulled, but could not lift up the ball or sword. “Don’t worry!” the maid said. “Here in the corner is a potion to give you strength. Take a sip!” The harp player drank and now he could lift the ball like a marble and the sword in his hands wasn’t much heavier than a shingle wood chip. He immediately lifted up the ball and flung it against the house door: the door now collapsed. Then he took the sword, killed the robber and led the maid back to the devil and bear, who was looking out the window and called out: “Friend, the old woman is coming, the old woman is coming!”  Both the devil and bear thought to themselves: “That terrible old woman, now she is coming to kill us both!” And they fled immediately. But the harp player lived alone in the house with his young bride.

Five Days of Fairy Tales: The Wandering Hunter

Grimm’s Saga No. 258: The Wandering Hunter

Now it happened that a forest-keeper was responsible for an enormous amount of timber and had to manage his forest.  This forest-keeper was later found shot dead. The nobleman who owned the forest assigned the work to another. But the same thing happened to him, and then to all his successors, one after another. Finally no one could be found who wanted to take over the dangerous forest. As soon as the new forester entered the brush, a shot could be heard in the distance. At the same time a bullet struck the man in the middle of the forehead and he fell to the ground. No trace could be found of the where or who the shot came from.

Nevertheless an itinerant huntsman volunteered for service. The nobleman did not conceal what had happened  and he explicitly stated that however much he desired the forest to be under supervision once again, he could not advise the huntsman to take up the service. The huntsman replied confidently, that he would know what to do against the invisible marksman, and would manage the forest. The next day he was first led into the wood accompanied by several others. In that moment a shot could be heard in the distance. The huntsman threw his hat up in the air and it was immediately struck by a bullet. “Now,” he said, “it’s my turn.” He loaded his gun and took aim saying “My bullet is bringing the response!” Then he asked his companions to go with him and find the marksman. After looking for a long time, they found the miller lying dead at the opposite end of the forest. A bullet had pierced his forehead.

This wandering hunter remained for some time in the service of the nobleman, but because he captured all the game, while the field hens flew from his pockets, because his shot was certain even from unbelievable distances and because he performed other unbelievable acts, the nobleman felt a kind of horror in his presence and soon dismissed him from his service under false pretext.