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Submitted by: Luca Panaro

Citation: Jötunn

Description:

A jötunn (plural jötnar) is a kind of being in Old Norse mythology and folklore. It is often mistranslated as "giant," an error that has a long history and persists up to the present day, so in the popular understanding of Norse myth people talk about the clash of gods and giants. A jötunn is not necessarily large in size, even though some can be; rather, jötnar seem to come in all shapes and sizes, running a gamut from the monstrous to the beautiful. Both Æsir and Vanir deities commonly have children with or marry jötnar (although this is mostly male gods desiring female jötnar), such that some well known gods, such as Þórr, are half jötunn, casting a confounding light on his rampant murder of other jötnar

A host of competing theories for the symbolism, origin, meaning, and so forth of the jötnar in the broader frame of Norse myth have been put forth. 


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Jötnar (God of War)

The Jötnar (singular jötunn) are a group or trib...

Tribe Incomplete entry