Giant who possessed the mead of poetry. Son of Gilling.
Suttung (Old Norse Suttungr) is the giant who came into possession of the mead of poetry after forcing the dwarves Fjalar and Galar to surrender it as compensation for the murder of his father Gilling. He hid the mead inside the mountain Hnitbjorg and set his daughter Gunnlod to guard it. The tale is told in Skáldskaparmál 1.
Odin eventually stole the mead through cunning and fled in eagle form. Suttung pursued him, also in eagle shape, but did not reach Asgard in time. In Hávamál 104 Suttung is mentioned in connection with Odin's deceptions. His name survives in the kenning 'Suttung's mead' for the art of poetry.
Sources in the Eddas
- Skáldskaparmál 1
- Snorri tells how Suttung received the mead as compensation for his father's death and hid it in Hnitbjorg.
Interpretive traditions
A What we know
Suttung possessed the mead of poetry and hid it in Hnitbjorg (Skáldskaparmál 1).