Fjalarr and Galarr Give up the Mead of Poetry

The dwarves Fjalar and Galar, spelled Fjalarr and Galarr in Old Norse, had murdered Kvasir and brewed his blood into the mead of poetry. Still, they were not finished making trouble. Next they invited a giant named Gilling and his wife to stay with them.

Fjalar and Galar Drown Gilling

The dwarves asked Gilling to row out to sea with them. Then, along the coast, they steered onto a rock and capsized the boat. Gilling couldn’t swim, so he drowned.

Gilling’s Wife Dies

Back home, Gilling’s wife wept and wailed. Fjalar asked if it would ease her grief to look out at the sea where her husband died. Then, saying he was tired of her howling, he told his brother Galar to climb above the doorway, and when she went out, Galar dropped a millstone on her head.

Suttung’s Revenge

Gilling’s son, Suttung, returned home to find the two dwarves jumping up and down and laughing. His dead mother lay on the ground at their feet. Then Suttung picked up Fjalar and Galar, one in each hand, and took them out to sea. There he placed them on a rock where they would be submerged and drowned when the tide came in.

The dwarves, fearing for their lives, screamed at Suttung. So they promised him anything he wanted if he would only save them.

Fjalar and Galar Strike a Deal

Finally, to save their lives, the dwarves offered Suttung the only thing they had worth giving: the precious mead brewed from Kvasir’s blood.

Though furious to part with their prize, the dwarves valued life over treasure. So they swore the mead to Suttung, who ferried them back to shore. True to their word, they delivered Óðrerir, the mead of poetry, into the giant’s hands, sealing the next chapter of its fateful journey. That chapter is The Mead of Poetry (Óðrerir) and Odin’s Labor, and the story ends with Odin Steals the Mead of Poetry.

Videos: Jackson Crawford on Kvasir and on Odrerir, the mead of poetry.