11 - Seduced by the Giantess: the Odinic Hero

Summary

When the sexual partner of a giantess is a human being, he may sometimes be a transformation of Óðinn, as in Bárðar saga (compare the human equivalents of Þórr discussed in Chapter 9), but usually he is either a devotee of Óðinn or, by a simple Christian reversal, a conspicuously outspoken opponent to him.

1. Óðinn's protégés

Hadingum grandævus forte quidam, altero orbus oculo,

solitarium miseratus …

‘An aged man with only one eye happened to take pity on the

lonely Hading …’

Saxo I.vi.7

Five stories of this kind show a common pattern. They are those of:

a. Hadingus and Harthgrepa in Saxo I.vi.2–6;

b. Ǫrvar-Oddr and Hildigunnr in Ǫrvar-Odds saga (ǪOs) chs. 18, 21;

c. Ketill and Hrafnhildr in Ketils saga hoengs] chs. 3–4;

d. Búi and Fríðr in Kjalnesinga saga (Ks) chs. 12–14, 18;

e. Bárðr and Þórdís in Bárðar saga Snæfellsáss chs. 11–12, 21.

Although they differ in many respects, all show a shared sequence of motifs; none includes every feature of the pattern, but each major feature is shared by at least three texts. The main elements are:

The protagonist is associated with Óðinn. Hadingus is Óðinn's protégé and eventually hangs himself, presumably as a sacrifice to the god. Ǫrvar-Oddr and Ketill hoengr are grandson and grandfather; Oddr resembles the Odinic hero Starkaðr, and is fated to live for three hundred years (Starkaðr lives for three lifetimes), while Ketill, by Christian reversal, becomes a notable opponent of Óðinn. Búi also opposes heathenism, and is sent on his adventure because he has burned a heathen temple. Bárðar saga is more naturalistic, but Bárðr still appears demanding hospitality from his host's son Eiðr, wearing a grey cowl and calling himself Gestr (cf. Óðinn's alias Gestumblindi, and his disguise as Grímnir and patronage of the king's son in Grímnismál). Bárðr has himself been brought up by the giant-king Dofri and is worshipped as a god.