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Runestones found on the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea and in Gosforth, Cumbria, in northwest England, tell stories of Norse mythology and demonstrate the influence of the settlers from Scandinavia. Scholars suggest that Viking culture directly influenced early English literature, particularly as seen in Beowulf, an Old English heroic poem set in Scandinavia that was composed sometime before the 11th century. Over time, many of the stories and beliefs of the Viking peoples came to be incorporated into the history of Great Britain and the British Isles.
Greip( Grip) A giantess. Greip was the daughter of the giant Geirrod( 1) and the sister of Gialp. When he visited the house of their father, the thunder god Thor killed Greip and Gialp by breaking their backs after they tried to kill him by hiding under his chair and lifting him hard against the ceiling.
This story is told by Snorri Sturluson in
Skaldsaparmal.
Gotland, Sweden, runestone depicting various mythological figures( Photo by Mats Halldin / Used under a Creative Commons license)
Great Britain Geographically, Great Britain is the largest of the islands in the British Isles, which are to the northwest of the main European continent. Politically, Great Britain is formed by the countries of England, Scotland, and Wales and forms a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The stories of Norse mythology came to Great Britain after 787 a. d., when Vikings from Denmark and Norway began attacking Scotland and the northern region of England. These Viking raids would continue over the next 200 years. Following successful attacks and conquests, settlers from Norway and Denmark began to resettle portions of Great Britain, bringing their culture and religion with them, including their pagan worship of the Norse gods.
Icelandic histories written in the 11th and 12th centuries tell of Norse settlements located in the northern British Isles, including the Orkney and Shetland islands, which lie to the northeast of Great Britain. Geographical names in northern England also reveal the influence of Viking Age culture.
Grerr One of the four dwarfs who made the golden necklace Brisinga men, which they traded in a bargain with the goddess Freya. The dwarfs lived beneath a rock and were experts in working with all kinds of metals. Grerr’ s brothers were Alfrigg, Berling, and Dvalin( 1). Their story is told in the
Sorla Thattr, which is found in the manuscript known as Flateyjarbok.
Grid The giantess who was one of the wives of the god Odin and the mother of their son, Vidar. Friendly to the gods, she helped Thor by lending him her magic gloves, girdle, and staff when Thor visited the giant Geirrod( 1). Some legends say that she also made the shoe that Vidar wore at Ragnarok to kill the wolf Fenrir.
Grimnir( Hooded One) One of the god Odin’ s many names. When he went to Midgard to visit his foster son, Geirrod( 2), Odin wore a sky-blue hooded cape. Odin chanted the Grimnismal( The Lay of Grimnir), while he was held captive at the hall of Geirrod.
Grimnismal( The Lay of Grimnir) Grimnir, who was the god Odin in disguise, was captured by Geirrod( 2) and tied between two fires. Geirrod’ s son, Agnar, quenched Grimnir’ s thirst with horns of ale, and Odin rewarded him by singing this lay.
Grimnir’ s song told of the halls of the gods in their realm, Asgard, including Ydalir, Gladsheim,