40 glasir
Scholars tend to disagree on which is more likely
the correct version of Gladsheim.
G lasir (G laser )
A grove of trees with red-gold
leaves that stood in front of Valhalla, Odin’s hall.
While Glasir is mentioned in the P oetic E dda , in
Helgakvida Hjorvardssonar (The Lay of Helgi the Son of
Hjorvarth), that poem does not explain its meaning.
In his work S kaldskaparmal , Snorri Sturluson
instructs skalds to use the phrase “the needles of
Gladsir” as a poetic substitute, or kenning, for gold.
According to him, Glasir was the fairest forest in
existence and the tree with the red-gold leaves was
the best among trees.
G leipner
The magical rope, as smooth as a
silken ribbon, made by the dwarfs to bind Fenrir,
the great wolf.
According to Snorri Sturluson in G ylfagin -
ning , the dwarfs made Gleipnir from the noise of a
cat’s footfall, a woman’s beard, the roots of a moun-
tain, the sinews of a bear, the breath of a fish, and a
bird’s spit. Though these items add up to nothing, for
none of these things exist, with their magic the dwarfs
made the rope strong enough to hold the mighty
wolf, son of Loki.
Gleipner was the third and final fetter the gods
used to try to bind the wolf, which they knew would
finally help to destroy them. The first and second
chains were Laeding and Dromi, respectively, but
Fenrir easily broke those. So the gods resorted to
magic, the only force strong enough to hold the
wolf.
Once Fenrir was ensnared in Gleipner, the gods
fastened the silken strand to a chain called Gelgja,
which they then fastened to the rock Gjoll (1).
There Fenrir remained until freed at the time of
Ragnarok, the final battle between the gods and
giants. (See also Tyr.)
G len
The obscure husband of Sol, a servant to
the Sun and daughter of Mundilfari. Glen is men-
tioned only in Snorri Sturluson’s G ylfaginning .
According to some scholars and a careful reading of
Gylfaginning, the marriage of Sol to Glen may have
been the act that angered the gods and caused them
to send Sol up to the heavens, where she drove the
horses that pulled the chariot of the Sun.
G litnir (Glittering, Shining)
In Asgard, the hall
of Forseti, about whom little is known. The hall
had pillars of gold and a roof of silver. According to
G rimnismal , a poem in the P oetic E dda , and Snorri
Sturluson in G ylfaginning , Forseti sat in judgment
in his hall, settling the disputes of all who came to
Glitner.
G na
One of the minor goddesses of the Aesir,
according to 13th-century writer Snorri Sturlu-
son. Gna ran errands for the goddess Frigg, Odin’s
wife. When she needed to deliver a message in
a hurry, Gna rode her horse, Hofvarpnir (Hoof-
Thrasher), through the air. Her Old Norse name
came to refer to very high things or something that
soars high.
G nipahellir (G nipa ;
Cliff Cave) The cave
that stands at the entrance to Hel (2), the land
of the dead. Garm, the fierce hound that guarded
the gates to Hel lived in Gnipahellir. The cave is
featured in a refrain in the V oluspa , a part of the
P oetic E dda .
goat A mammal related to the sheep family. In
Norse mythology the god Thor had a cart drawn by
two billy goats, Tanngniost and Tanngrisnir. These
goats could be killed and eaten and then revived again
the next day.
G oths A Germanic tribe that in the third and
fifth centuries invaded and settled in parts of the
Roman Empire.
In the story “Geirrod and Agnar” (see under
Geirrod [2]), H rauding was king of the Goths. His
son Geirrod succeeded him.
G otland An island in the Baltic Sea, part of
Sweden and southeast of that nation’s coast. Many
archaeological finds that are important to the study
of Norse mythology are located on this large island.
Most prominent are the rock carvings, runestones,
that appear to portray scenes from Norse myths.
They are similar to the rock carvings found through-
out much of Scandinavia and in Great Britain and
the Faroe Islands.
In some rocks on Gotland, the background was
carved away, leaving the images raised above the sur-
face. Archaeologists believe the images were carved
in the sixth century a.d. and were originally painted.
One famous raised picture stone from Alskog Tjang-
vide shows what appears to be Sleipnir, Odin’s
eight-legged horse. The carving has been dated to
the eighth century a.d.