Evil Gods and Giants from Norse Mythology

Mythology

Norse mythology is full of all sorts of powerful deities and giants. Like in virtually all mythologies, some of them were nicer than others. Some were fearsome and very clearly malevolent. However, the way that Norse mythology has been presented in popular media has distorted some of the facts about which gods and giants really were evil, and which were good or simply benign. This article examines the facts.

Loki, an evil Norse god, taunts Bragi, by W. G. Collingwood, 1908

Loki

We will start with Loki, since he is undoubtedly the most well known ‘villain’ from Norse mythology due to the popularity of the Marvel franchise. Of course, there are a lot of differences between Marvel’s Loki and the Loki of Norse Mythology.

Loki was the god of mischief, usually called a trickster god. Some modern sources claim that he is not presented as clearly god or evil, on the basis that his real aim seems to be causing chaos. However, the idea that trying to create chaos is anything but evil is a difficult viewpoint to maintain.

In any case, what is true is that Loki sometimes assists the gods in achieving good. Clearly, he was not fully evil. Yet, despite some acts of goodness, he is overall a wicked being who causes suffering.

Loki’s Biography

Loki was the son of Fárbauti, a Jötunn (a type of giant in Norse mythology). His mother was Laufey, a goddess. Contrary to the modern conception, he was not the adopted brother of Thor. He was, however, the companion of Thor and Odin. He was considered one of the Aesir gods. He helped Thor and Odin on a number of occasions, but he would sometimes cause trouble for them through his desire to cause chaos.

Appropriately for a trickster god, Loki was a shape shifter. This allowed him to engage in all sorts of trickery and mischief. The myths portray him as disguising himself in various different forms. For example, one story tells of how he changed into a fish. Another tells of how he turns into a female horse.

Loki’s position as an enemy of the gods is solidified by his offspring and also one particular act. One of his children is Fenrir, a giant monstrous wolf who is thrown into the underworld. Another is the World Serpent, which encircles the whole earth and battles with Odin.

More significantly, Loki caused the death of Baldr, one of Odin’s sons. Baldr’s mother Frigg made every object vow to not harm Baldr, but the mistletoe plant was excluded. Loki made a spear or arrow from this plant and tricked one of Baldr’s brothers to throw it at him. This killed Baldr. In retaliation, a new son of Odin named Váli bound Loki to a rock with the entrails of one of Loki’s sons. It was prophesied that Loki would be released in the future and bring chaos to the world.

Hel

As already mentioned, Hel was the goddess of death and was the daughter of Loki. Even more than Loki, she was somewhat ambiguous in terms of moral character. She is not recorded as setting out to cause chaos on the world. Nonetheless, there are reasons to view her as an evil character.

Odin banished Hel and her two siblings from the earth due to prophecies that they would cause chaos and suffering. Although this never materialised in the case of Hel, it indicates that she was an evil figure. Upon this banishment, she became the goddess of the world of the dead, also named Hel.

Although Odin assigned Hel to ‘administer lodging’ to those who died of sickness or old age, there are references to great suffering and torment going on in her realm. The very fact that Norse warriors desired to go to Valhalla rather than Hel after death shows that it was not viewed as a pleasant place. Since Hel ruled over this realm, this adds more reason to conclude that she was a malevolent character.

Hel’s Biography

Hel was born from Loki and Angerboda, a female giant Jötunn. From this union of Loki and Angerboda were born Hel and two others, Fenrir and the World Serpent. As soon as the gods learned about these three children being raised in Jötunheim (the land of the giants), they grew concerned. The very nature of their mother, Angerboda, also gave the gods cause for concern.

Furthermore, the gods were aware of prophecies that these children would bring chaos, mischief, and disaster upon the world. For this reason, they wanted to expel them from their own realm. Odin cast Hela down to Niflhel, the lowest level of Hel, the underworld (her destination is sometimes called Niflheim, an icy world, but this appears to be a mistake for ‘Niflhel’).

She was granted authority over that entire realm and was assigned the responsibility of providing abode to those who died of sickness and old age. After Loki killed Odin’s son Baldr, Hel received him.

One of the gods, Hermodr, travelled to the underworld to try to bargain with Hel to allow Baldr to return. However, Hel would only permit this if everything in the world wept for Baldr. Since one giantess refused to weep for Baldr, Hel refused to allow Baldr to return, keeping him trapped in the underworld.

Rán

Rán was the personification of the ocean. She was a giantess, although it is unclear if she was a Jötunn. In any case, she was supremely powerful and ruled over her own realm of the dead, apparently separate from the realm of Hel. This was specifically for people who died in the sea.

Rán was known for being hot-headed and volatile, much like the sea literally is. Since the people of Scandinavia were closely associated with travel by sea, they had a particular fear of Rán. She was the wife of Aegir, a Jötunn who personified the sea in a different sense. He was a benevolent recipient of those who wished to travel over the seas. Rán was his contrast, representing the dangerous aspects of sea travel.

Norse mythology often portrays her as bringing people to their untimely deaths by pulling them into the depths of the water with her nets. Aside from this, very little is known about Rán. There does not appear to be any information about her life story.

Fenrir

Fenrir was one of Loki’s children. He was an enormous, monstrous wolf. Although not humanoid, Fenrir was certainly a giant. The gods feared him due to his strength and a prophecy that he would cause chaos. Due to this, they tried to bind him up, but in doing so, Fenrir bit off the hand of one of the gods.

The Aesir gods did eventually bind Fenrir, with the intention that he will remain bound until Ragnarok, the end of the world. According to prophecy within Norse mythology, Fenrir will break free of his bonds when this doomsday happens. He will fight against Odin and devour him. However, one of Odin’s sons, Vidar, will avenger him and kill Fenrir.

The binding of Fenrir, George Wright, 1908

Fenrir’s Biography

Loki had relations with the giantess Angerboda and fathered three children, one of whom was Fenrir. The other two were Hel and the World Serpent. For a number of reasons, such as the nature of their parents and a prophecy foretelling frightening things, the Aesir gods were very afraid of these children.

Two of them were banished, but Fenrir was brought up in the company of the gods at first. Yet, he was constantly growing bigger and stronger, adding to the gods concern about him. So, they devised a plan to deal with him. They created a strong chain, but the issue of how they would actually bind Fenrir with it was more complicated.

They convinced Fenrir to let himself be bound with the chain so that he could break out of it and show off his strength. Fenrir agreed, and did just that. They tried the same thing with a stronger chain, but he broke out of that one too. Finally, the gods got some dwarves to make one that was even stronger still, although softer.

This time, Fenrir was more cautious. He would only agree to let himself be bound if one of the gods would put his hand in Fenrir’s mouth as an act of good faith. The only god willing to do so was Tyr. As soon as the giant wolf realised that he was trapped, he bit off Tyr’s hand. The gods then tied Fenrir to a boulder and placed a sword in his mouth to keep his jaws open.

Hati Hróðvitnisson

Another evil giant who took the form of a wolf was Hati Hróðvitnisson. Not much is known about him, but he would constantly chase the moon through the sky. It was prophesied that he would finally catch up to it and devour it during Ragnarok.

Hati was the son of Fenrir, which we can discern from his patronymic ‘Hróðvitnisson’. This conclusion is based on the fact that ‘Hróðvitnir’ was an alternative name for Fenrir. However, there do not appear to be any stories about his birth or when this was supposed to have happened in relation to Fenrir’s life.

Regarding Hati’s mother, she is never named. However, she is identified as a troll who dwells in Jarnvidr, a forest whose name means ‘Iron Wood’. This is the land of the troll-women. Hati’s mother is one particular troll-woman who is singled out in Norse tradition as a witch.

This troll-witch gave birth to many giants, all of whom were in the form of wolves. However, Hati appears to have been the most fearsome of all her offspring. Under the alternative name ‘Mánagarmr’, which means ‘Moon Hound’, it was said that Hati would swallow the moon and that he would be ‘filled with the flesh of all those men that die’.

Thrymr

One more villainous giant from Norse mythology worth mentioning is Thrymr. He does not have a major role in Norse mythology, nor is he evil to the same extent as most of the other entries here. Nonetheless, he does attempt some wicked acts against the gods. He was a Jötunn, most of whom were enemies of the Aesir gods anyway.

Thrymr appears in a well-known tale called Thrymskvida. In this tale, Thrymr stole Thor’s famous hammer, Mjölnir. After Loki came across Thrymr and explained what he was looking for, Thrymr revealed that he had the hammer but that he would only give it back if Freyja, the goddess of love and beauty, agreed to marry him.

The gods devised a plan. Thor disguised himself as Freyja in bridal dress, while Loki disguised himself as her handmaid. Thrymr is shown to be very gullible during this, since both Thor’s actions and his appearance potentially gave away his disguise, yet Loki was able to convince Thrymr that Freyja was just not her normal self after having not slept or eaten for so long.

Then, when Mjölnir was finally brought out, Thor grabbed it and used it to kill Thrymr and the other giants.

Conclusion

In summary, there are a number of gods and giants in Norse mythology that take on roles that we would normally describe as ‘evil’. One example is Hel, the goddess of death. Despite being entrusted with providing lodging for the dead, she oversaw immense torment and suffering in her realm. An even clearer example is the giantess Rán, the goddess and personification of the sea. She cruelly takes whoever she can down into the depths of the water. On the other hand, there are also giants who are not so thoroughly evil, but who are antagonists to the Norse heroes. One famous example is Thrymr, who stole Mjölnir and tried to force Frejya to marry him.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Does Good and Evil Exist in Norse Mythology?

Despite some modern claims that good and evil figures do not really exist in Norse mythology, there are definitely some characters who attempt to cause chaos and suffering and others who attempt to maintain peace and order.

Are All Giants in Norse Mythology Evil?

As a general rule, the giants of Jötunheim were the enemies of the Aesir gods. However, there were also giants that had friendly relationships with the gods. For example, Aegir was a Jötunn and was said to hold feasts for the gods.

Is Loki Evil in Norse Mythology?

Loki is a mixture of good and evil in Norse Mythology. He does genuinely help the gods on various occasions. Nonetheless, he is ultimately a trickster god and strives to cause chaos, which culminates in him causing the death of one of Odin’s sons. He was bound as a punishment, but it was prophesied that he would be released in the future to cause more chaos, clearly identifying him as an evil god.