Giant in eagle form whose wingbeats create the wind.
Hraesvelg (Old Norse Hræsvelgr, 'corpse-swallower') is a giant who sits in eagle form at the northern edge of the sky. When he beats his wings the wind arises and blows across the worlds. He is mentioned in Vafþrúðnismál 37, where Odin asks Vafthrudnir about the origin of the wind and receives the answer that Hraesvelg sits at heaven's end.
Gylfaginning 18 confirms Snorri's version of the same account. Hraesvelg's name, 'corpse-swallower', suggests he feeds on the dead, but this aspect is not developed further in the sources.
Sources in the Eddas
- Vafþrúðnismál 37
- Odin asks about the origin of the wind and learns that Hraesvelg sits at heaven's end in eagle form.
- Gylfaginning 18
- Snorri describes Hraesvelg as a giant in eagle form whose wingbeats create the wind.
Interpretive traditions
A What we know
Hraesvelg sits in eagle form and creates the wind with his wings (Vafþrúðnismál 37).