Thor and the Giant Geirrod: A Lesson on Grudges

The tale of Thor and the Giant Geirrod is part of Norse Mythology. Myths often have lessons to teach, and the Vikings also told them to entertain and explain the world. The first part of the tale seems to warn about grudges.

The story in brief: Loki flew to the giant Geirrod’s hall in Frigg’s falcon cloak, and Geirrod had him caught at the window. Geirrod starved him in a chest for three months, then let him go on one condition. Loki had to bring Thor to the hall without his hammer and his belt of strength. Thor came unarmed, but on the way the giantess Grid lent him her own belt, staff, and iron gloves. Ivar tells the whole tale in Loki, Thor, and the Giant Geirrod. This post looks at what its first part says about grudges.

Thor and the Giant Geirrod

Snorri gives Geirrod no particular reason to hate Thor beyond the old enmity between gods and giants; no medieval source links him to Thrym, the giant who stole Thor’s hammer. Geirrod does, however, want Thor badly enough to starve Loki in a chest for three months to get him, and his daughters, Gjalp and Greip, are just as eager to see Thor destroyed.

Thor had never heard of Geirrod or his daughters. They simply didn’t exist for Thor because he had no knowledge of them. If Thor had kept to his own devices, he likely would never have met them.

Why Did the Giant Geirrod Want Thor Unarmed?

Vikings took oaths and vengeance seriously; feuds drive many of the sagas. Geirrod’s plan is a grudge with the safety catch on. He’ll face Thor, but only if Thor comes without his hammer and belt of strength.

Modern Views of Myth

It is entirely possible that the Vikings missed this part of the story. We’re reading it with modern eyes and interpreting it through a modern lens. That’s okay because the most powerful stories point out the human condition and can be adapted to suit the needs of the listener. These are the stories that survive the millennia and remain pertinent to our lives.

What Do Thor and the Giant Geirrod Teach About Grudges?

Geirrod keeps Loki locked in a chest for three months, all for a chance at Thor. Imagine those months in that hall: the gnashing of teeth, the cursing, the railing at the universe. It’s the same rage many of us feel when someone cuts us off in traffic, and we aim it at a driver who’s already forgotten us. Who is really being hurt?

In the end, Geirrod and his daughters get their meeting with Thor, and it destroys them. The daughters die under a chair they meant to crush him with; Geirrod dies behind an iron pillar that was supposed to protect him. Thor, who had never heard of them, walks home. A grudge, it seems, mostly hurts the one who carries it.

Keep reading: the whole tale in Loki, Thor, and the Giant Geirrod, another giant who tests Thor in Thor and Loki Go to Utgard, pt 4: The Challenges, and the next story in the series, Thor Confronts Hrungnir in Asgard.

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