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F afnir
F aroe I slands (F aeroe I slands )
Son of the magician Hreidmar and
brother of Regin and Otr. Fafnir was a dwarf and
shape-shifter who turned himself into a dragon to
guard the hoard of gold he had stolen from Regin
after the brothers had killed their father.
The story of how Fafnir came by his gold was
recounted early in the 13th century by Icelandic poet
Snorri Sturluson in S kaldskaparmal . Regin’s hunt
for Fafnir is found in the Eddic poem R eginsmal
and forms a part of the V olsunga saga , a late 13th-
century prose epic that contains the heroic legend
of the Volsung family and the hero Sigurd. In this
work, Regin persuades Sigurd to hunt Fafnir, who
is still hiding as a dragon guarding his treasure. The
poem F afnismal , also part of the P oetic E dda , as well
as the Volsunga Saga, completes the tale of Sigurd,
Fafnir, and Regin. The story is depicted in a famous
runestone, or rock carving, found in Sodermanland,
Sweden.
An island
chain north of Scotland and about halfway between
Norway and Iceland.
Norwegians settled the Faroe Islands in the
middle of the ninth century, at the same time as they
settled Iceland. The Faroe Islands are considered part
of Scandinavia and their inhabitants share cultural
traits with the people of Iceland. Since the Viking
Age, they have been a stop on the regular shipping
route between Norway and Iceland. Archaeological
research in the Faroe Islands has revealed farms and
settlements similar to those found in Iceland and
Greenland.
A medieval history of the Faroe Islands written
between 1200 and 1215 by an Icelandic author is
known as Faereyinga Saga and is part of the manu-
script F lateyjarbok . The Faroe Islands also have
a few runestones similar to those found in Norway
and Sweden, which help tell the story of the islands’
connection with the Norse myths.
falcon A bird of prey that hunts during the day.
Like its relatives the hawk and the eagle, the falcon
has extraordinary eyesight and powers of flight. In
Norse mythology, the goddess Freya possessed a suit
of falcon feathers that enabled her to travel wherever
she wanted.
Freya lent her suit of feathers to Loki so he might
rescue Idunn and again so he might find Mjollnir,
the hammer (see “The Theft of Thor’s Hammer,”
under Thor). On another occasion, in “Thor and the
Giant Geirrod,” Loki borrowed a falcon suit from
Frigg, the wife of Odin.
F enja
and M enja Two very strong giant-
esses, who were the daughters of the giant Hrugnir,
the strongest of giants, and granddaughters of
Thjazzi, a powerful storm giant. The two sisters
had the gift of being able to see into the future. The
legendary King Frodi of Denmark, who was said to
be the great-grandson of Odin, mistakenly bought
them as slaves.
Fenja and Menja turned the great millstone, named
Grotti, at the command of Frodi and produced gold,
peace, and goodwill for the nation. However, the king
never let the giantesses stop t o rest. In revenge, they
used a magical chant on the mill and ground out an
army to defeat Frodi.
A sea king led the army and, after destroying
Frodi, kept Fenja and Menja at work on the mill
F arbauti (Cruel
Striker) A giant, or Jotun, the
father of the trickster god Loki. Loki’s mother was
the giantess Laufey, according to Snorri Sturluson.
Some say Farbauti struck Laufey with a bolt of
lightning, after which she gave birth to Loki.
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