Spark [Kathleen_N._Daly]_Norse_Mythology_A_to_Z,_3rd_Edi | Page 73

J 8 J arl   (nobly born; earl)  Ragnarok. This story is according to the V oluspa , the first poem in the P oetic E dda . Some scholars argue that if the hag who lives in Jarnvid is a giantess, then her children by Fenrir are themselves giants. Jarnvid is also mentioned in G rimnismal , another poem in the Poetic Edda, as a place to which Skoll often runs. Jarl was the third and last son conceived by the god Heimdall on his journey through the land of humans. Heimdall travelled in the disguise of a man named Rig, according to the poem R igsthula . After having conceived Thrall and the race of slaves and Karl and the race of free men, Heimdall slept between the wealthy and gracious Fadir and Modir (father and mother). Nine months later, Modir gave birth to a blond, bright-eyed son she named Jarl. Jarl learned to use lances, shields, and the bow and arrow. He rode horses, brandished swords, and raised dogs. Rig claimed Jarl as his son and taught him the mysteries of the runes. Jarl married Erna the wise, the beautiful daughter of a distant lord, a girl of noble birth. Jarl and Erna gave birth to the race of the nobles, the rulers of the people sired by his brothers Karl and Thrall. J ord   (J Ör Ð ; J orth ; Earth)  A giantess and the mother of the thunder god Thor and wife of his father, Odin. Jord was the daughter of Nott and her second husband Annar. Snorri Sturluson says Jord was included among the Asynjur. Her name occurs most often in skaldic poetry and Eddic poetry in phrases that refer to Thor as “the son of Jord.” Some confusion exists, however, for in some places in the P oetic E dda , the word F jorgyn appears in phrases referring to Thor, such as in the poem V oluspa , where Thor is described as the “son of Fjorgyn.” Scholars explain the confusion by point- ing out that fjorgyn, as an Old Norse noun, means “Earth” when used in the feminine form and refers to Odin when used in the masculine form. J arnsaxa   (Iron Sword)  A giantess. Jarnsaxa was the mistress of the thunder god Thor and said by some scholars to be one of his two wives (the other being Sif). Jarnsaxa was the mother of Thor’s sons magni and modi. This relationship is mentioned in skaldic poetry and by Snorri Sturluson in S kaldskaparmal . Jarnsaxa is also named as one of the nine giant- ess mothers of the Aesir god Heimdall, according to H yndluljoth , a work in the P oetic E dda . As Heimdall’s mother, Jarnsaxa is a grandmother of the classes of humans. J ormungand   The giant serpent—also known as the Midgard Serpent, Midgard Snake, or Midgard Worm—offspring of Loki and the ogress Angrboda. Jormungand is the brother of the wolf Fenrir and Hel, the goddess of death. The huge serpent was cast into the sea by Odin and doomed to encircle the Earth, his tail in his mouth. Jormungand and Thor were mortal enemies. On one occasion, Thor caught the serpent using an ox head for bait, but the giant Hymir snipped the line and the serpent disappeared beneath the waves. The serpent appeared again at Ragnarok and made his way onto the land, spewing venom. Thor killed J arnvid   (J arnvi Ð ; Ironwood)  The home of a giantess, witch, crone, or old lady who raises her offspring, the wild, monstrous wolves that are the children of the great wolf Fenrir. One of these is the wolf Skoll, who eats the Sun from the sky at 58