Gillingr

Template:Short description Gillingr (Old Norse: ; also Gilling) is a jötunn in Norse mythology, and the father of Suttungr.Template:Sfn Gillingr and, later, his wife are murdered by the dwarfs Fjalar and Galar. In revenge, his son Suttungr tortures the dwarfs into giving him the mead of poetry.Template:Sfn

Name

The Old Norse name Gillingr has been translated as 'screamer'.Template:Sfn It is a related to the Old Norse verb gjalla ('to scream, yell'; compare with Icelandic gjalla, Norwegian gjella, or Swedish gälla).Template:Sfn

Attestations

Prose Edda

In Skáldskaparmál (The Language of Poetry), the dwarfs Fjalar and Galar kill Gillingr by overturning his boat.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn When his wife hears of the news, she is "greatly distressed" and "weeps loudly" and the dwarf Galar, "weary of her howling", eventually kills her by dropping a millstone on her head.Template:Sfn

Viking Age

Gillingr is mentioned in a skaldic verse by Eyvindr skáldaspillir (10th c. AD), who portrays the mead of poetry as "Gilling’s compensation".Template:Sfn Template:Poem quote

Legacy

Gillingr is also a surname, although not very common.