Gríðr#Prose Edda

The poetic Old Norse name Gríðr has been translated as "vehemence, violence, or impetuosity".{{Sfn|de Vries|1962|p=188}}{{Sfn|Simek|1996|p=117}}{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=61}} Its etymology is unclear.{{Sfn|de Vries|1962|p=188}}

In Skáldskaparmál (The Language of Poetry), Gríðr is portrayed as equipping the thunder god Thor with her belt of strength, her iron glove, and her staff Gríðarvöl (Gríðr's-staff) on Thor's journey to the abode of Geirröðr.{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=149}}

{{Poem quote|text=Thor lodged for the night with a giantess called Grid. She was Víðarr the silent's mother. She told Thor the truth about Geirrod, that he was a cunning giant and awkward to deal with. She lent him a girdle of might and some iron gauntlets of hers, and her staff, called Grid's pole.|char=|sign=Snorri Sturluson|title=Skáldskaparmál|source=18, trans. A. Faulkes, 1987.}} Gríðr is also mentioned in a list of troll-wives ("I shall list the names of troll-wives. Grid and Gnissa, Gryla...").{{Sfn|Faulkes|1987|p=156}}

Gríðarvöl (Gríðr's staff) is also mentioned in the poem Þórsdrápa by the late-10th-century skald Eilífr Goðrúnarson.{{Sfn|Faulkes|1987|p=84}}

{{Poem quote|text=The feller of the dolphins of the steeps [giants] advanced with violent temper with Grid's pole.|char=|sign=Eilífr Goðrúnarson|title=Þórsdrápa|source=trans. A. Faulkes, 1987.}}

Gríðr appears in 10th-century kennings for 'wolf' (the steed of troll-wife) and for 'axe' (that which is dangerous to the life-protector, i.e. shield or helmet).{{Sfn|Faulkes|1987|pp=121, 238}}

{{Poem quote|text=Battle raged when the feeder of Grid's steed [wolf], he who waged war, advanced with ringing Gaut's [Odin's] fire. Weird rose from the well.|char=|sign=Kormákr Ögmundarson|title=|source=Skáldskaparmál 49, trans. A. Faulkes, 1987.}}

{{Poem quote|text=Riders [seafarers] of Ræfil's land's [sea's] horses [ships] can see how beautifully engraved dragons lie just by the brow of the Grid of the life-protector.|char=|sign=Einarr Skúlason|title=|source=Skáldskaparmál 49, trans. A. Faulkes, 1987.}}

Saxo Grammaticus refers to her as Grytha, the wife of the legendary king Dan I of Denmark, "a lady whom the Teutons accorded the highest honour".{{sfn|Fisher|1999|pages=1:14, 2:26}} A witch of the same name appears in Illuga saga Gríðarfóstra.{{sfn|Lavender|2015|page=v}}

{{Kings of Gesta Danorum family tree}}

Her role as the donor of information and necessary items to the hero has been analyzed by folklorists as a commonplace of folk narrative.{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=149}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Cite book|last=de Vries|first=Jan|title=Altnordisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch|date=1962|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-05436-3|edition=1977|language=de|author-link=Jan de Vries (linguist)}}
• {{Cite book|last=Faulkes|first=Anthony|title=Edda|publisher=Everyman|year=1987|isbn=0-460-87616-3|edition=1995|author-mask=Faulkes, Anthony, trans.}}
• {{cite book |editor-last=Davidson |editor-first=Hilda Ellis |editor-link=Hilda Ellis Davidson |title=Saxo Grammaticus: The History of the Danes |author-first=Peter |author-last=Fisher |author-mask=Fisher, Peter, trans. |orig-year=1979, 1980 |edition=1999 |publisher=D.S. Brewer |isbn=085991-502-6 |ref={{sfnref|Fisher|1999}}}}
• {{cite book |first=Philip |last=Lavender |author-mask=Lavender, Philip, ed. and trans. |title=Illuga Saga Gríðarfóstra: The Saga of Illugi, Gríður's Foster-Son |url=http://www.vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/Illuga%20saga.pdf |year=2015 |publisher=Viking Society for Northern Research, University College, London |isbn=978-0-903521-91-8 }}
• {{Cite book|last=Lindow|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KlT7tv3eMSwC|title=Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs|date=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-983969-8|author-link=John Lindow}}
• {{Cite book|last=Orchard|first=Andy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uIujQgAACAAJ|title=Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend|date=1997|publisher=Cassell|isbn=978-0-304-34520-5|author-link=Andy Orchard}}
• {{Cite book|last=Simek|first=Rudolf|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MZ24QgAACAAJ|title=Dictionary of Northern Mythology|date=1996|publisher=D.S. Brewer|isbn=978-0-85991-513-7|author-link=Rudolf Simek}}

{{Norse mythology}}

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Category:Gýgjar

Category:Odin