Jotunn

MONSTRI VOLUMEN

A Jǫtunn (Old Norse: [ˈjɔtonː]), sometimes anglicised as Jotunn (pronounced yōtən[1]), plural: jötnar/jǫtnar, Jotnar, or Jotuns is a creature in Norse mythology, a member of a tribe of nature spirits with superhuman strength and abilities, described as standing in opposition to the tribes of Æsir and Vanir, although they frequently mingled with or were even married to these. Their otherworldly homeland is Jǫtunheimr, one of the nine realms of Norse cosmology, separated from Miðgarðr, the world of humans, by high mountains or dense forests. Other place names are also associated with them, including Niflheimr, Útgarðr and Járnviðr. In some legends and myths they are described as having the same height as humans.

In later Scandinavian folklore, the nature spirit called Troll (deriving from the term for 'magic') takes over many of the functions of the more ancient concept of Jötunn.

Just as the Muspel giants (see pp. 272-273) serve as the intelligent ruling class of the fire giants, so do the jotuns serve as the rulers of the frost giants of Jotunheim. The jotuns are the most intelligent of all giants, with most having some levels of Epic Intelligence and virtually all having some levels of Epic Wits. Their undisputed leader is Utgard-Loki, who is not only a towering giant standing over 60 feet tall, but also among the most accomplished practitioners of magic and illusions in all of the Overworld. His fellow jotuns almost invariably possess high levels of the Magic Purview with a wide variety of spells.

Jotuns possess the typical characteristics of the elder giant template except as follows. First, jotuns are much bigger than most giants, standing (Legend x 10) feet tall, although they can choose to shrink themselves to any size smaller than that. Second, by spending a Legend point, a jotun can cause a large quantity of liquid to freeze solid with a touch, up to a maximum of (Legend x 10,000) gallons. A jotun can also heal himself of wounds by placing the injured body parts in water and then freezing the water back onto his body to repair the damage. The giant must spend one Legend point and roll his unmodified Legend rating, regaining one health level per success.

Finally, all jotuns are gifted sorcerers, typically with dots in the Magic Purview equal to (their Legend ratings – 1) and a wide variety of spells. Jotuns are also talented illusionists. Any jotun can create a sophisticated illusion capable of fooling all of the observer’s senses through the expenditure of a single Legend point. Roll the jotun’s (Manipulation + Occult), adding a number of automatic successes equal to his Legend (plus automatic successes from Epic Manipulation, if any). These successes are resisted by a (Perception + Awareness + Legend) roll made on behalf of any observers. Those who fail absolutely believe in the truth of the jotun’s illusion, despite any evidence to the contrary.

Origins

The first living being formed in the primeval chaos known as Ginnungagap was a giant of monumental size, called Ymir. When he slept a Jötunn son and a Jötunn 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 Jötnar or frost Jötnar), who populated Niflheimr, 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 Óðinn, Vili and Vé (the grandsons of Búri), his blood (i.e. water) deluged Niflheimr and killed all of the Jötnar, apart from one known as Bergelmir and his spouse, who then repopulated their kind. Character of the Jötnar

The Jötunn 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. Heimdallr perpetually watches the Bifröst from Ásgarðr to Miðgarðr, and Þórr being too heavy to cross the Bifröst often ventures into Jǫtunheimr to get to Miðgarðr, slaying as many of the Jötnar as he is able on the way.

As a collective, Jötnar are often attributed as beautiful in a hard, cold way. Their skins of blue, black, and red are blemish free. Their physiques are perfect, rippling with muscle, perfectly proportioned. The Jotunn are capable of changing into multi-headed, hideous monsters, they choose to rule in the angelic beauty of the Gods.

Yet when Jötnar are named and more closely described they are known to be unbelievably old, they carry wisdom from bygone times. It is the Jötnar Mímir and Vafþrúðnir Odin seeks out to gain this pro-cosmic knowledge. Many of the gods' spouses are Jötunn. Njǫrðr is married to Skaði, Gerðr becomes the consort of Freyr, Óðinn gains the love of Gunnlǫð, and even Thor, the great slayer of their kind, breeds with Járnsaxa, mother of Magni. As such, they appear as minor gods themselves, which can also be said about the sea Jötunn Ægir, far more connected to the gods than to the other Jötnar occupying Jotunheim. None of these fear light, and in comfort their homes do not differ greatly from those of the gods.

Etymology

In Old Norse, they were called jötnar (sing. jötunn), or risar (sing. risi), in particular bergrisar, or þursar (sing. þurs), in particular hrímþursar ('rime-giant'). A female Jötunn could also be known as a gýgr.

Jötunn (Proto-Germanic *etunaz) might have the same root as "eat" (Proto-Germanic *etan) and accordingly had the original meaning of "glutton" or "man-eater", probably in the sense of personifying chaos, the destructive forces of nature. Following the same logic, þurs[3] might be derivative of "thirst" or "blood-thirst." Risi is probably akin to "rise," and so means "towering person" (akin to German Riese, Dutch reus, archaic Swedish rese, giant). The word "jotun" survives in modern Norwegian as giant.