User:Jmoore1099/sandbox
Background/Origin
[edit]Giants from the Pre-Christian mythology and religion of the Norse are a tribe of spiritual beings whose power equal that of the two tribes of gods, the Aesir and the Vanir. “Giants” is a misleading Anglicization of the name of these beings. In modern English, of course, a “giant” is first and foremost something of enormous size. The word is a rather ludicrous designation for beings who were genuinely dreaded in heathen times. Speakers of Old Norse called them jötnar (singular jötunn, pronounced roughly “YO-tun”) or þursar (singular þurs, pronounced “THURS” like the first element in “Thursday” but with a soft “s” at the end). Jötunn comes from the Proto-Germanic *etunaz and means “devourer.” However, when the Norman (French) William the Conqueror seized control of England in 1066 CE, the English language became filled with French words. Among these loanwords was the Old French geant, the ancestor of the modern English word “giant,” which replaced the Old English eóten. Geant referred to the Giants of Greek mythology, who were a group of spiritual beings who, like the jötnar of Germanic mythology, were the enemies of the gods. The Greek ancestor of geant, in turn, was once used to translate a Hebrew word that denoted beings of enormous size in the Bible, and over time this connotation of “giant” became the word’s dominant meaning.
The first living being formed in the primeval chaos known as Ginnungagap was a giant of monumental size, called Ymir. When he slept a giant son and a giantess daughter grew from his armpits, and his two feet procreated and gave birth to a monster with six heads. Supposedly, these three beings gave rise to the race of hrímþursar (rime giants or frost giants), who populated Niflheim, the world of mist, chill and ice. The gods instead claim their origin from a certain Búri. When the giant Ymir subsequently was slain by Odin, Vili and Vé (the grandsons of Búri), his blood (i.e. water) deluged Niflheim and killed all of the giants, apart from one known as Bergelmir and his spouse, who then repopulated their kind.
Character of Jötunn
[edit]The giants represent the forces of the primeval chaos and of the untamed, destructive nature. Their defeats by the hands of the gods represent the triumph of culture over nature, albeit at the cost of eternal vigilance. Collectively, giants are often attributed a hideous appearance – claws, fangs, and deformed features, apart from a generally hideous size. Along with bad, looks comes a weak intellect; the Eddas more than once liken their temper to that of children. Yet when giants are named and more closely described, they are often given the opposite characteristics. Unbelievably old, they carry wisdom from bygone times. As such, they appear as minor gods themselves, which can also be said about the sea giant Ægir, far more connected to the gods than to the other giants occupying Jotunheim. None of these fear light, and in comfort their homes do not differ greatly from those of the gods.
Various Roles of Jötunn
[edit]Ymir- The first of Jötunn, formed out of ice and fire at the beginning of time
Hymir- The giant of the sea
Hrumgnir- Strongest giant in Norse Mythology; Head was made out of stone
Eggther- Giants' watchmen Jötunheim
Vergelmir- Ymir grandson; him and his wife repopulated the entire Jotunheim population
- https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/giants/
- Orel, Vladimir. 2003. A Handbook of Germanic Etymology. p. 86.
- Ibid. p. 429-430. For the “thorn-like” connotation, consider the list of þur- words denoting “thorn” or “thorny,” as well as the Thurisaz rune, which is a pictograph of a thorn and was even called “thorn” in later Germanic alphabets.
- “Giant” in the Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/word/giant
- http://mythology.wikia.com/wiki/J%C3%B6tunn, Norse Mythology for Smart People
Plan:
Analyze how the "Jötunn" came about, understand who they are, what they are, and where they came from. Once that information is covered, we begin to break down the dynamics of the giants and the various roles in their world.
Review the article that we are editing and see what they are missing; we will then provide the missing information, hopefully we, as a group have already placed it in our sandbox.
Due to some information being added on the article page recently, we probably not add as many things as we thought we could when we chose this article.
- Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic?
- No, not really; some of the information in the chosen article are not correct
- Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
- Yes; it only refers to one topic and cannot contradict
- Are there viewpoints that are over-represented, or underrepresented?
- No it is well detailed in every viewpoint
- Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?
- Yes, the links work and are correct
- Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
- Yes the information is up to date