Þrúðgelmir


In Norse mythology, Þrúðgelmir is a frost giant, the son of the primordial giant Aurgelmir, and the father of Bergelmir. Þrúðgelmir had one brother and one sister, who were elder than he was. Þrúðgelmir's name is sometimes anglicized as Thrudgelmir.

Attestations

Þrúðgelmir appears in the poem Vafþrúðnismál from the Poetic Edda. When Odin asks who was the eldest of the Æsir or of the giants in bygone days, Vafþrúðnir answers:
According to Rudolf Simek, Þrúðgelmir is identical to the six-headed son that was begotten by Aurgelmir's feet, but the fact that he is mentioned in only one source led John Lindow to suggest that he might have been invented by the poet. Additionally, the identification of one with the other cannot be established with certainty since, according to stanza 33, Aurgelmir had more than one direct male offspring:
Þrúðgelmir was drowned in his father's blood.