Jotunheim

Jötunheim , also Jötunheimr ( Old Norse jǫtunheimr "world of giants", →  Jötunn ), is the name in Old Norse literature for a mythical region in the east.

In Eddic literature , Jötunheim also means the giants' own habitat, which is said to be east of Midgard in Utgard . Both areas should be separated from each other by the iron forest and several rivers.

In the 19th century it became common in Norway to call the highest mountains in the country Jotunheimen . The name of the Jotunheim Valley in Antarctica is also derived from the Jötunheim.

literature

• Rudolf Simek : Lexicon of Germanic Mythology (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 368). 3rd, completely revised edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-520-36803-X .