86 rime-giants
rime-giants A common name for the first giants, also known as the proto-giants or frost giants. They preceded the Jotun in Norse mythology and represent a period of mythology even older than that of the Viking Age.
Some translators use the term rime-giant for the term Hrimthurssar, which means rime or frost giant. Both rime and frost refer to the ice crystals of venom that were formed by the spring Hvergelmir. That poisonous frost, when melted in Ginnungagap by the heat from Muspellheim, created Auglemir, the first of this earliest race of giants. According to Snorri Sturluson, Auglemer is the name the rimegiants themselves gave to Ymir, the father of their race and the proto-giant killed by the gods to create the universe.
Rinda( Rind) Daughter of Billing, king of the Ruthenians; mate of the god Odin; mother of Vali( 2). She appears only once in the existing Norse manuscripts, as the temporary wife of Odin. Rinda is a personification of the hard, frozen rind of the Earth. At first, she resists the wooing of Odin( the Sun) but finally succumbs to his warmth and gives birth to Vali, the light god of spring. See also Billing’ s daughter.
rivers Rivers in Norse mythology provided barriers between worlds, marked the boundaries of realms, and provided challenges to the gods.
The river Ifing separates the world of the gods from the world of the giants, while the river Gjoll( 2) divides the land of the living from the land of the dead.
From the middle of the river Vimur, Thor battles the giantess Gialp, who seeks to drown the mighty god by adding her own bodily fluids to the powerful flow of the water. Each day, Thor must wade across the mighty rivers Kormt and Ormt to arrive at the gathering of the Aesir.
In one ancient story, all of the rivers of the world flow from the spring Hvergelmir, which lies in the center of Niflheim, the lowest of the three levels of the underworld. In two places in Gylfaginning, Snorri Sturluson names the rivers that flow from Hvergelmir. According to Snorri, the spring itself is fed by water that drips from the horns of Eikthyrnir, the male deer that nibbles at the tree that grows next to Asgard.
Two mighty rivers, the Horn and Ruth, flow into Hel( 2) and seem to represent the dangers of rivers that overflow during the spring melt.
The poet who composed Grimnismal included a list of 48 rivers in his work. Scholars researching these names have worked to identify them with the many rivers of Scandinavia.
Roskva The farmer Egil’ s daughter, who becomes the god Thor’ s servant, along with her brother Thjalfi. Thor took the brother and sister to be his eternal servants after Thjalfi had disobeyed his command not to mutilate the bones of his goats. The story is told in Snorri Sturluson’ s Gylfaginning.
Rowan A mountain tree of the rose family, not related to the common ash tree. A sturdy tree, it has dense white blossoms and clusters of red fruit well loved by birds. Old superstitions say that the tree has protective qualities, especially against witches. In Norse mythology it is called“ Thor’ s Salvation” or“ Thor’ s Tree of Deliverance” because it saved Thor from drowning in the Vimur River.
Runes( That Which Is Secret) Ancient letters or symbols used in the earliest alphabets of the Germanic tribes of northern Europe, including the Norse, from the second to the 12th centuries. Runic inscriptions occur most commonly in Scandinavia and parts of Great Britain. The characters consisted of perpendicular, slanting, and curved lines, well adapted to being carved on wood, stone, and metal. Magical and mysterious powers were associated with runes.
According to Norse mythology, knowledge of runes was introduced by the god Odin, who hanged himself from the branches of the sacred tree, Yggdrasil, for nine days and nine nights until fallen twigs from the tree spelled out the secrets of the runes.
After the establishment of Christianity in the north, runes were looked down upon as pagan. Nonetheless, in Scandinavia their use continued after the Middle Ages in manuscripts as well as in inscriptions on stone, metal, and wood.
runestones( picture stones) Stones across much of Sweden, portions of Norway and Denmark, and the islands in the Baltic and North seas that contain carvings of tributes and verses in runes, some with illustrations of people, snakes, birds, ships, and more. Many runestones are huge boulders that stand in fields. While many are now in museums in