Humans, Trolls and Hel (II)
The inner nature of Búi Andríðsson in the Kjalnesinga saga and otherworldly interactions in Jǫkuls þáttr Búasonar.
Note: This article is part of a two-part series.
Jǫkuls þáttr Búasonar is a direct sequel to the Kjalnesinga saga that follows the twelve year old son of Búi Andríðsson; Jǫkull Búason, as he is shipwrecked off the coast of Greenland with his crew and helmsman, Úlfr. A storm rages over the crew which leaves them cold and short of breath, forcing Jǫkull to swim ashore after the rest of his crew had given up and some had died. The storm was so strong that Jǫkull was tossed through the waves and comes ashore at an unknown location. Jǫkull explores alone for four days before coming across a cabin. Here begins his tale.
Jǫkull’s first encounter with trolls:
After entering the cabin, Jǫkull notices a fire. He takes of his skis and places them onto the fire which lights up the room. He notices two beds and ample living space, but realises that his men would take it for granted that he had abandoned them, so he returns to his ruined ship and swims back out to his men. Seven are dead, but eighteen are alive, including Úlfr the helmsman.
Jǫkull said: ‘Are you going to stay here longer?’
Úlfr answers: ‘I'd rather be somewhere else than here for the time being.’
‘Then will you obey my guidance?’ says he.
Úlfr said he would follow. Jǫkull then took the helmsman Úlfr to land and he did not relieve himself before he had brought all of his crew to land. Jǫkull then went with Úlfr to the cabin and they made a big fire. The other men then quickly became his companions but none of them knew where they were, and so now they were free.
Jǫkull asks: ‘Which lad is willing to stay awake tonight?’
Úlfr answers: ‘I'm going to bed, or do you want me to stay awake?’
‘No.’, says Jǫkull.
Úlfr then went to sleep but Jǫkull stayed up alone. Then a little of the moon was visible, and moved either to and from. A glacier drifted to the sea and along the coastal tide. He sees that much is being driven from his happiness. He stops, listens, and then hears two sisters talking to each other.
The following encounter marks Jǫkull’s first encounter with two troll-girls:
Gnípa says: ‘Something went along the sand.’
‘I don't know what it could be.’, says Geit.
‘I know how to grow germs,’ says Gnípa. ‘Here has come Jǫkull, son of Búi and Friðr Dofrisdóttir. He is now most famous and it would be better if she had such a man.’
Geit then says to Gnípa: ‘Let's go to meet him and offer him two options, either that he marries one of us or we will kill him.’
‘So be it, sister.’, Gnípa says.
The dialogue above is noteworthy as it reveals a recurring motif seen in other sagas about trolls which I will explore further into this article. The troll sisters approach Jǫkull and the interaction goes as follows:
‘After that, they walked towards Jǫkull and stepped rather large. They were almost unadorned, hook-nosed and their lips hung down to their chest. They were dressed in leather boots on the front, so they mostly stepped on them, but on the back they had nothing. They hit their thighs and walked very unfriendly. Jǫkull saw this and took the sword that Friðr, his mother, had given him, and cut Geit’s neck, so that her head fell off. In that, Gnípa came and attacked him. The hardest wrestling took place there. Gnípa kept going forward so that Jǫkull lost energy before her and all his flesh was blue and bloody. Jǫkull saw that he could not continue for much longer, and began to wrestle with Gnípa on the floor, but when she stopped, he held her waist and first toppled her down on the head and then the torso.’
Gnípa was now at the mercy of Jǫkull as he says ‘Die like Geit, your sister.’, but she replies that she will tell him the location of his men and treasure if he spares her life. Jǫkull says ‘So it shall be, since I am loyal and team-oriented.’ Gnípa then reveals to him that they are in the wilderness of Greenland in a fjord called ǫllumlengri. Gnípa reveals that her father’s cave is not far and that his name is Surtr and her mother’s name is Syrpa. Gnípa forms an unlikely alliance with Jǫkull as Gnípa wants her family killed so that she can inherit her siblings’ wealth.
Jǫkull and Úlfr enter Surtr’s cave:
The day that Jǫkull and Úlfr prepare to march to Surtr’s cave, they first approach the glaciers with their crew. Jǫkull advises his men to gather their supplies from the shipwreck and return to the cabin to wait while he and Úlfr as a duo go on their mission to the cave. Gnípa leads the duo to the cave and says:
‘I will not go any further. Here is the cave of Surtr, my father. I want to let you know, Jǫkull, that my brothers are not at home, Sámr, Sniðill and Eitill. He is the worst of the brothers, and they are going to your cabin to kill all your men, but I'm going to help them. Live well.’
Jǫkull and Úlfr waste no time and ambush their enemies at the cave entrance:
‘The duo see three were sitting by a fire, and a kettle over it. Jǫkull lets himself be unstoppable, unfurls his sword and strikes the giant's neck, so his head is taken off and he falls into the cauldron. Then the women reacted and stood up. In that reaction, Úlfr pierces another with a spear, but another runs at Jǫkull, but he anticipated this and retreated. Then they attacked and wrestled for a long time and ran around the cave and the fire. Then there was a lot of upheaval because everyone wanted to bring other things down on the fire. Then the troll woman began to falter. In that, Jǫkull got his hand free and ran under her and brought her over his head and threw her headfirst into the cauldron, and she died there. Then they walked inside the cave and came to where they heard people talking and thought they knew that the couple Surtr and Syrpa would be in there.’
Following this fight, the duo delve deeper into the cave where they encounter Surtr and Syrpa. Without hesitation, the duo attack the giant couple:
‘Surtr ran off and Syrpa followed. Jǫkull sees this and throws the sword at Surtr which took off his elbow. Surtr then raised a large skriek and attacked Jǫkull. Their fight was great and hard. Jǫkull fought all for energy's sake, but he was so nimble that Surtr never got him off his feet. Surtr had shortness of breath. Jǫkull then broke Surtr’s heel so he fell. He then broke Surtr’s neck, then went to look for Úlfr and came to where Syrpa and he were facing each other. She had gotten over Úlfr and dug down on him and was going to bite him on the throat. Jǫkull then took both arms around the old woman's neck and pressed his knees into her back.’
Jǫkull then broke Syrpa’s neck and thus Gnípa’s jǫtunn (giant, anti-god) parents were dead. The companions then explore the cave and discover hoards of gold, jewellery, clothes and many rare artefacts. This is a key note that we will return to later in the article as well, which is a significant detail that relates to trolls, giants and otherworldly beings.
Jǫkull and Úlfr kill Sámr, Sniðill and Eitill:
Jǫkull and Úlfr now journey back to the cabin where their men are, but on the way they spot the three brothers, Sámr, Sniðill and Eitill, carrying supplies on their backs. Without hesitation, the duo attacks them:
‘Jǫkull and Úlfr then saw where the brothers had come and had large burdens on their shoulders and ran forward one by one. But when the brothers stopped, Jǫkull ran to them and cut Sámr in the head and cleaved him down to the shoulders. Then Úlfr runs at Sniðill with a spear and stabs him under the back of the head, so he lies there and kicks his legs. Eitill saw this and threw off the burden. He had a sword in his hand and rushed forward to meet them with great giant courage and cut towards Jǫkull. It hit Jǫkull’s thigh and hurt a lot. Then Úlfr came and they both went after Eitill, but he resisted completely. At last they were able to kill him. They were both tired and hurt.’
This concludes the first part of the story which finishes up with Jǫkull and Úlfr returning to the cabin and living with their crew until the end of the year, a few days before Christmas. Gnípa is satisfied and spends time helping everyone before she suddenly disappears and the men wonder where she had gone.
Jǫkull encounters the king of Jǫtunheimr:
On Christmas Eve, Jǫkull leaves the cabin alone and spots Gnípa walking by. He greets her and asks where she has been or what latest news she has. Gnípa informs him that she has been invited to spend Christmas with King Skráromr, a giant who lives in a cave and is king over the surrounding wilderness and Jǫtunheimr itself. It is also noted that Gnípa wants to marry Grímnir, the twelve year old son of Skráromr, before any other maiden can woo him. The two walk for a time until they reach big, steep rocks, and Gnípa says:
‘Here is the cave of King Skráromr. He has invited all the giants and women who live in the wilderness to come here, but they will take you to Hel when they see you, which I would not have chosen. Here is a gold ring which I want to give to you. It has a natural stone, if you put the gold ring on your finger you will become invisible and no one will see you more than you want.’
Jǫkull thanks her for the gift and they go to the cave. Jǫkull, now invisible, sees trolls sitting on each side of the benches and they greeted Gnípa. King Skráromr asks Gnípa to bring the table some items and she agrees. Gnípa brings in some ale which was most intoxicating and all of the guests become extremely drunk. Jǫkull now sees everyone brawling and shouting with each other and the tale says that he ‘cannot stand this.’
‘Jǫkull rushes into the area and kills one by one and one by one, and now there is no confidence that anyone taught others these little things and wonders, but no one sees Jǫkull. It is now deep into the cave. They slay each other and eventually kill each other, until all were fallen, women and men, except for Skráromr and his son, Grímnir. Jǫkull walked in on Skráromr and put his sword through him. He then fell forward on the floor and there was a great thump.’
Following this, Grímnir is confused as to how his father was killed so he ‘jumps and sweeps his claws all over the cave.’ Jǫkull finds this fun for a time and then takes his ring off, revealing himself to Grímnir. Jǫkull now blackmails Grímnir into marrying Gnípa by saying that he can choose between dying or marrying. If he chooses marriage, Grímnir would become ‘king over Jǫtunheimr, as your father was.’, Jǫkull explains. Grímnir agrees and they walk further into the cave, which is described as having plenty of ‘gold, silver and good clothes.’
Jǫkull saves Saracen captives:
Jǫkull discovers two people ‘scantily clad, a man and a woman’, chained up as prisoners. They are both described as being thin and beautiful in appearance.
Jǫkull walked over to the chair and asked their names.
He says: ‘My name is Hvítserkr, son of King Soldán of Serkland (‘saracen land’ — all Islamic lands and geography south of the Caspian Sea), and my sister is Marsibilla. The big jǫtunn enchanted us here. He intended Grímnir, his son, for my sister. We have been here for five winters. I am now fifteen years old, but my sister is thirteen years. Marsibilla has chosen that I have lived so long because she told her father and mother that the witches had predicted to her that she would die at once if I was thrown into Hel, but they believed it if Skráromr knew you were here, he would have you killed and have you in darkness, because he has done the same to many others.’
Jǫkull answers: ‘There is no need to fear him, because he is now dead and all his huskies except Grímnir, because I gave him life.’
‘Such is good news,’ says Hvítserkr, ‘and you will do well and give us life.’
‘That's how it should be,’ says Jǫkull.
Following this, the two are released and given wine to drink. For three nights everyone stayed in the cave before Jǫkull had prepared to set off and return to the cabin. Grímnir and Gnípa gave him many gifts, including a sword he called Grímnisnaut which he kept for the rest of his life. Grímnir and Gnípa remained there, but the siblings went with Jǫkull back to the cabin. Everyone cheered Jǫkull and his friends on their return.
Jǫkull sails to Serkland:
It has been a long winter, but on a summer's day Grímnir and Gnípa visit Jǫkull and each greeted the other well. Grímnir asked Jökull to go down to the sea with him. He did so. But when they got there, he saw a ship with a row boat floating in front of the land with cargo.
Grímnir said: ‘Here is a boat that Gnípa, your friend, and I want to give you. We built it together this winter.’
Jǫkull thanked them well and said: ‘I want to give you and Gnípa all of the treasure that was in your father's cave.’
They both thanked him and asked him to call if he needed anything. ‘We will not be slow to stay if we don't go. We will part here in vision, but not in friendship.’ - they then went home and Jǫkull asked his men to hurry. They did so, boarded the ship and set sail.
Jǫkull said: ‘Where shall we go from here?’
Hvítserkr replies: ‘If I decide, then we should go to Serkland.’
Jǫkull says that he should take care of it - ‘take the prowl and say the way.’
The tale begins to finish with everyone arriving at the port of King Soldán’s capital in Serkland. When the ship arrives, Soldán is aware of his children’s return and it is said that he went to the shore and ‘Hvítserkr and Marsibilla ran towards him. There was a great celebration.’ Jǫkull was then invited into the palace with his men and sat on one side of the king and Hvítserkr on the other, where Jǫkull was treated ‘with the utmost respect.’ The king asked Hvítserkr what had happened in his life since they parted. He tells him everything clearly and how much Jǫkull had helped him and what an accomplished man he was. The king was pleased and said that he was the best of most people.
‘Now there was great joy in the palace with twilight and red wine. There was singing, trombone playing and all kinds of musical instruments that few knew.
But on the second day of the feast, Jǫkull withdraws his proposal and asks for the hand of the king's daughter, Marsibilla. The king took it well and says that it would be best if he enjoyed her love. This was agreed upon, and the wedding was arranged. Marsibilla was brought into the palace with all the joy that could be found in that country. The feast was now increased again. The king gave half of Serkland to his daughter. The feast lasted half a month, but when it was over, the king and Jǫkull led each man out with good manners, and then they disappeared back home.
Jǫkull gave Hvítserkr a good game board and clothing, the one Grímnir gave him. It was a very good treasure and they swore a foster brotherhood and went to war and sought money and fame, killed berserkers and evil people, but gave peace to the merchants and went home in the autumn. They did that for six summers. But when they got tired of being at war, they settled down.
Then King Soldán, Hvítserk's father, died. He was then made king over all of Serkland and had a queen, the daughter of the king of Bláland. Then he gave the kingdom to Jǫkull, his foster brother, and with it the royal name. Jǫkull ruled his kingdom until his death. He had many children with his queen, Marsibilla, and some took kingship and kingdoms after him.
And that's how it ends for him.’
Jǫtunheimr and otherworldly interactions in Jǫkuls þáttr:
Note: The following section will be explored through the lens of a practicing Pagan with the assumption that the reader is also a Pagan.
Throughout the entirety of Jǫkuls þáttr, Jǫkull has numerous encounters with otherworldly beings and visits liminal locations associated with the otherworld. The theological implications behind these encounters are significant, which we will explore below.
I.
Jǫkull’s first encounter with otherworldly beings occurs upon arrival in Greenland when he discovers a seemingly abandoned cabin and but is then approached by two troll-sisters, Gnípa and Geit. The sisters are referred to as being ugly — their lips drooped down to their breasts, they had hooked noses and were unadorned. The troll-girls also made sexual advances towards Jǫkull, which, as the tale implies, had a reaction of disgust by him. This is noteworthy considering that the age of Jǫkull was twelve and the troll-sisters were twelve and thirteen, which shows us that unwarranted sexual advances of this nature are associated with trolls, a motif that is explored as a single topic in The ‘Troll-Girl Revelation’ Motif: Female Infantile Sexuality and Pedophilia in Hálfdanar saga Brönufóstra and Jökuls þáttr Búasonar by Matthew Harold Roby.
Moreover, Gnípa’s willingness to have Jǫkull kill her family so that she can inherit their wealth and marry her desired husband is a behavioural motif that appears in other sagas concerning tröllsliga (‘trollish’) behaviour such as Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar, Fóstbrœðra saga and Fáfnismál. This shows us that a disregard for one’s family and intense desire for wealth — at the expense of one’s own loved ones — is a pattern of tröllsliga behaviour that expresses itself in these instances and provides us with a detailed understanding of the nature of trolls as beings and representations of a lower spiritual nature that can manifest in human beings.
II.
The encounter in which Jǫkull and Úlfr enter Surtr’s cave followed by killing the three brothers Sámr, Sniðill and Eitill contains significant information regarding the spiritual nature of trolls leading to Jǫkull’s encounter with the king of Jǫtunheimr. As noted in other saga material such as the Kjalnesinga saga (discussed in Humans, Trolls and Hel I), trolls living in caves is a recurring motif seen in Jǫkuls þáttr.
Similarly, Surtr’s cave is described as housing hoards of gold, jewellery, clothes and many rare artefacts. This provides us with another view of the nature of trolls as hoarders of wealth, as noted above. This motif appears in Fáfnismál when the hero Sigurðr enters Fáfnir’s cave, who is described as having killed his father for Andvaranaut (‘Andvari's precious possession’), a ring that helps in finding gold, and his treasure hoard, resulting in his transformation into a dragon. While not a troll, it is notable that Fáfnir's hoarding and murder of his father parallels similar behaviour seen with trolls.
III.
The next insight into the spiritual nature of trolls, jǫtnarr and otherworldly encounters in Jǫkuls þáttr is seen with King Skráromr, the jǫtunn described as king over the ‘surrounding wilderness’ and Jǫtunheimr itself. The theological implication behind this is that the jǫtnarr have established notions of kingship in much the same way that humans and Gods do; Óðinn being the king of the Gods and Ásgarðr in the Norse (and broadly Germanic) cosmological and cosmogonic structure of the universe.
A secular interpretation is explored in Jackon Crawford’s The Norse on Other Cultures where he explores the ‘othering’ of non-Norse cultures from a secular perspective.
It is also noted that Gnípa wants to marry Grímnir, the twelve year old son of Skráromr, before any other maiden can. As explored earlier, the nature of unwarranted sexual advances towards underage characters in the literature is always observed in the context of a troll or otherwise unpleasant otherworldly being. Gnípa, in this instance, desires to marry Grímnir, even if he is unwilling. This behaviour is recognised earlier in the story when the troll-sisters attempted to force themselves upon Jǫkull, who was also twelve.
Similarly, trollish behaviour is further exemplified when Gnípa brings ale to the table. All of the trolls present are described as getting uncontrollably drunk as they start to brawl each other, something that Jǫkull as the hero ‘cannot stand.’ This is notable because the god Óðinn advises against drunkenness in Hávamál (‘Words of the High One’) verse 12-13:
‘There is not as much good as men claim there is in alcohol for one’s wits. A man knows less as he drinks more, and loses more and more of his wisdom. It’s as if a memory-stealing bird flies overhead while you drink, and steals your mind away.’
A recurring motif that appears with trolls in the source literature, and as we’ve explored above, are behavioural patterns that are not only socially unacceptable but also destructive on a physical and spiritual level — not just to those around them — but also to themselves. Altogether, we can recognise recurring motifs associated with trolls and otherworldly beings in the source material, specifically Jǫkuls þáttr Búasonar: underage sexual advances, ugly appearances, insatiable desire for wealth at the expense of loved ones, wealth hoarding, living in caves, drunkenness and anti-social behaviour are markers of troll-like behaviour. These beings not only act as agents of undesirable destruction and a lower level of conscious, spiritual awareness, but also as symbolic representations of similar states we as human beings can find ourselves in based on the choices we make.