In Norse mythology

Norse mythology

Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...

, Þrúðgelmir (ˈθruːð.ɟɛlmɪr; Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 "Strength Yeller") is a frost giant, the son of the primordial giant Aurgelmir (who Snorri Sturluson

Snorri Sturluson

Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...

 in Gylfaginning

Gylfaginning

Gylfaginning, or the Tricking of Gylfi , is the first part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda after Prologue. The Gylfaginning deals with the creation and destruction of the world of the Norse gods, and many other aspects of Norse mythology...

identifies with Ymir

Ymir

In Norse mythology, Ymir, also called Aurgelmir among the giants themselves, was the founder of the race of frost giants and was later killed by the Borrs.-Etymology:...

), and the father of Bergelmir

Bergelmir

In Norse mythology, Bergelmir is a frost giant, the son of giant Þrúðgelmir and the grandson of Ymir , the first frost giant, according to stanza 29 of the poem Vafthrudnismal from the Poetic Edda:...

. Þrúðgelmir had one brother

Ymir's son

Ymir, a frost giant from Norse mythology, had three children: one nameless son, one nameless daughter and one son with six heads - Þrúðgelmir.Ymir's first son was a giant without name. He had a sister, giantess, and they became the parents of frost giants...

 and one sister

Ymir's daughter

Ymir, a frost giant from Norse mythology, had three children: one nameless son, one nameless daughter and one son with six heads - Þrúðgelmir.Ymir's daughter with her nameless brother became the parents of frost giants...

, who were elder then he was. Þrúðgelmir's name is sometimes anglicized as Thrudgelmir.

Attestations

Þrúðgelmir appears in the poem Vafþrúðnismál

Vafþrúðnismál

In Norse mythology, Vafþrúðnismál is the third poem in the Poetic Edda. It is a conversation in verse form conducted initially between the Æsir Odin and Frigg, and subsequently between Odin and the giant Vafþrúðnir...

from the Poetic Edda

Poetic Edda

The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends, and from the early 19th century...

. When Odin

Odin

Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....

 (speaking under the assumed name Gagnrad) asks who was the eldest of the Æsir

Æsir

In Old Norse, áss is the term denoting a member of the principal pantheon in Norse paganism. This pantheon includes Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Tyr. The second pantheon comprises the Vanir...

 or of the giants in bygone days, Vafþrúðnir

Vafþrúðnir

Vafþrúðnir is a wise jötunn in Norse mythology. In the Poetic Edda poem Vafþrúðnismál, Vafþrúðnir acts as both Odin's host and opponent in a deadly battle of wits, resulting in Vafþrúðnir's defeat....

 answers:

"Uncountable winters before the earth was made,

then Bergelmir

Bergelmir

In Norse mythology, Bergelmir is a frost giant, the son of giant Þrúðgelmir and the grandson of Ymir , the first frost giant, according to stanza 29 of the poem Vafthrudnismal from the Poetic Edda:...

 was born,

Thrudgelmir was his father,

and Aurgelmir his grandfather."

—Vafþrúðnismál (29)

According to Rudolf Simek, Þrúðgelmir is identical to the six-headed son that was begotten by Aurgelmir's feet (Vafþrúðnismál, 33), but the fact that (apart from the þulur) he is mentioned in only one source led John Lindow to suggest that he might have been invented by the poet. Additionally, the identification of one with the other cannot be established with certainty since, according to stanza 33, Aurgelmir had more than one direct male offspring:

"They said that under the frost-giant's arms

a girl

Ymir's daughter

Ymir, a frost giant from Norse mythology, had three children: one nameless son, one nameless daughter and one son with six heads - Þrúðgelmir.Ymir's daughter with her nameless brother became the parents of frost giants...

 and boy

Ymir's son

Ymir, a frost giant from Norse mythology, had three children: one nameless son, one nameless daughter and one son with six heads - Þrúðgelmir.Ymir's first son was a giant without name. He had a sister, giantess, and they became the parents of frost giants...

grew together;

one foot with the other, of the wise giant,

begot a six-headed son."

Þrúðgelmir was drowned in his father's blood.