Exploring Norse Mythology: The Jotnar ("Frost Giants")

the yotan are although they might more commonly be known as giants and generally portrayed in popular culture as hulking creatures that are the enemies of the gods the yo nars actual role in Norse mythology is slightly more nuanced than that well it is true that most of the yotan are were opposed to the a seer gods living in Asgard and will ultimately battle them in a great war at Ragnarok pop culture has taken extensive liberties with the residents of Jotunheim this video will cover what exactly the yotan are are as well as certain individual yotan are within Norse mythology first to clear up a misunderstanding involving the term giant the Old Norse word guiltin used to describe the inhabitants of Jotunheim derives from an older Germanic word meaning consumer or devourer as languages developed over the years and English began borrowing words from other languages the term giant became the dominant word for describing the enemies of the gods and various mythologies including Greek mythology while you might often hear the yotan are referred to as giants or frost giants this is hardly an accurate description so what exactly are the yotan are in many ways rather than being a different type of entity than the gods of Asgard they can be seen as a different family of the same species yotan are can vary in their descriptions quite a bit as some are known for their great strengths while others such as Loki are more known for their intellect some did closer resemble what we imagine giants to look like while others were known for their incredible beauty many of the yotan are capable shapeshifters with Loki being renowned for his skill and are also capable of casting illusions and other tricks such as the yotan root card Loki as you can see there's no clear easy definition for the Odin are and their appearance and role in the story can vary wildly the yotan are often regarded as the enemies of the a seer gods continually making efforts to invade Asgard kill the gods or take the goddesses as their wives Thor god of thunder and son of Odin is usually the principal defender of Asgard and often goes on trips to hunt Jochen are many of the own our fear Thor and his mighty hammer and believe there is little they can do to stop him they are seemingly capable of stealth or other tactics as they managed to steal Thor's hammer while he was sleeping in Asgard only one yota never challenged Thor to a duel and he was easily dispatched there are many examples however of the a seer gods and the yotan are coexisting in some fashion both the ass here and the yotan are come from the same place the mixture of Ice and Fire in the great void at the beginning of time Ahmir the first giant created the yotan ark and the great cow brought about the first ass here god Odin was born from the relations of a god and a yotan and many of the ass here throughout Norse mythology would end up marrying and having children with yotan are including Thor himself loki is the yotan that formed a blood bond with odin allowing him to walk among the ass here in Asgard and often appear in tails with Thor and others a gear and his wife rowan are two yotan are that live in a majestic hall underneath the ocean and often hosts great feasts for the gods on one occasion Thor spent the night at the home of a yotan and went fishing with him the next day although he did end up slaughtering him along with many other yo dinar Mamere is another of the more notable yo gnar if he is actually meant to be a yotan practically no existing sources explain what Mamere is but as he apparently dwells in Jotunheim some believe him to be an exceptionally why yotan Mamere is the master of a well located in Jotunheim underneath one of the roots of the world tree egg Drusilla this well contains wisdom and intelligence and bestows these qualities upon those who would drink its waters this is the source of members wisdom and Odin sought to drink from this well himself asking Mamere for a single drink from the well Minear agreed were required one of the all seen eyes of Onan as a pledge first Odin plucked one of his eyes from his head placed it in the well and then drank deeply becoming even wiser later after the war between the a seer gods and the Vanier gods the two sides traded hostages to live among the other tribe as was the custom the a seer sent high near to vanaheim as the Vanier gods believed him worthy to be a chieftain along with Mamere they immediately made high near a chieftain and found that he provided incredibly wise advice for any issue presented to him but failed to notice that there was actually Minear counseling him when Minear wasn't with him and they asked hi near a question he could only respond with let others decide after enough occasions of heine are only responding with that unhelpful advice the Vanier believed that they had been cheated in the treaty and so they went to Mamere beheaded him and sent the head back to Asgard Odin took the head of Mamere embalmed it with herbs and chanted magical phrases over it this gave me Mears head the power to speak and Odin would often bring it to his ear for counsel at the time of Ragnarok the yotan R will launch their great attack against Asgard led by Loki at the helm of the ship of the Dead with the assistance of the fire gods cert and the yotan R of MU Spillane it will ravage Asgard and lead to the destruction of the cosmos well it may seem that with the events of Ragnarok and their frequent opposition to the ass here that the Norse peoples viewed the yotan are as evil entities but that isn't exactly the case although the yotan are were certainly feared and often presented in a negative light they were a vital part of the mythology to keep the cosmos in balance more importantly the cycle of Ragnarok and the role the yotan are play in it is essential for existence to continue as the doom of the gods and the realms inevitably leads to rebirth even though the Yona have generally been portrayed in negative ways especially in modern culture it's important to remember that every act of creation is first an act of destruction you

Channel: The Exploring Series

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Keywords: norse, mythology, giants, norse mythology, odin, thor, loki, history, ragnarok, vikings, norse gods, tyr, asgard, myth, education, viking gods, viking mythology, nordic gods, norse mythology (literature subject), ymir, gods, cthulhu, cthulhu mythos, story, lore, explained, explain, backstory, explored, exploring, mimir, frost giants in norse mythology, giants in norse mythology, what is a jotun, what is a jotunn, who are the jotnar, what are jotun, what are jotunn, loki jotunn, loki jotun

Id: _SEiWEoXksg

Length: 7min 57sec (477 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 26 2018