Dwarfs who slew Kvasir and created the mead of poetry.
Fjalar and Galar (Old Norse Fjalarr ok Galarr) are two dwarfs who play a decisive role in the origin myth of the mead of poetry. According to Skáldskaparmál, they slew the wise being Kvasir, who had been created from the mingled saliva of the gods and the Vanir at the peace settlement, and let his blood flow into three vessels: Odrerir, Son, and Bodn. Mixed with honey, the blood became the mead of poetry that grants whoever drinks it the gift of poetic art and wisdom.
The brothers then slew the giant Gilling and his wife. Gilling's son Suttung avenged his parents and demanded the mead as ransom, which he brought to the mountain Hnitbjorg. Fjalar and Galar disappear from the narrative after Suttung takes the mead, and they do not appear in other myths.
Sources in the Eddas
- Skáldskaparmál 1
- Snorri tells how Fjalar and Galar slew Kvasir and created the mead of poetry from his blood.
Interpretive traditions
A What we know
Fjalar and Galar slew Kvasir and created the mead of poetry (Skáldskaparmál 1).
They also killed the giant Gilling and his wife, which led to Suttung seizing the mead.
B What we think we know
Whether the dwarfs Fjalar and Galar are connected to the Fjalar mentioned in Völuspá 42 (the rooster that crows in Jotunheim) is uncertain.
C What we do not know
Fjalar and Galar's possible connection to older myth complexes outside the mead myth lacks attestation.