King Geirrod Betrayed His Brother Agnar And Sent Him To Die But Justice Finally Prevailed

A. Sutherland  - AncientPages.com - The dispute between Odin and Frigg has been provoked by their relationship with Geirrod (Geirröd) and Agnar, who were sons of King Hrauding of the Goths. Hrauding was a human king and the proud father of Geirrod and Agnar.

His story is beautifully narrated in the poem Grímnismál from the Poetic Edda, the great collection of Norse-Icelandic mythological and heroic poetry.

One day, the boys set out in a boat to catch some small fish. However, the wind swept them off into the open sea. During the pitch-black night, they found themselves shipwrecked on an unfamiliar shore.

Venturing inland, they stumbled upon a humble cottage where they sought refuge for the winter months. In the cottage lived a poor farmer and his wife, who were, in reality, Odin and Frigg.

Odin took Geirrod under his protection, and Frigg fostered Agnar. In the spring, the farmer sent them away in a boat, and he and his wife followed them to the shore.

But at the farewell, the farmer whispered something to Geirrod that the others did not hear.

The boys had favorable wind and easily reached the father's pier, but Geirrod, who was standing in the bow, suddenly jumped ashore and pushed out the boat with baits and said to him:

"Sail where the trolls take you!"

Then, Geirrod went up to the farm and was well received. His father was dead, and he became king himself.

One day, while sitting in Hliðskjálf (Lidskjalv), a formidable throne in Asgard, and looking into all realms, Odin said to Frigg: "do you see how your foster-son Agnar begets children with a giantess in a cave? But my foster son Geirrod is king and ruler of lands."

So, Frigg replied: “King Geirrod is thrifty with food, and he torments his guests if he thinks it will be too many.”

Odin found himself in conflict with her, believing that her statements about Gerrod were entirely untrue. This disagreement eventually led them to make a wager.

Frigg’s Very Clever Trick

Frigg decided to use a very clever trick. As the queen of goddesses, Frigg had a group of divine females around her. Some of them - Lin, Fulla, and Gna - were closely associated with her.

She made the choice to dispatch Fulla to King Geirrod, warning him about the wizard, Grimner, identifiable by his blue robe. This wizard has arrived in their land with the intention of overthrowing the king.

Geirrod at once commands the capture and interrogation of the man to uncover the truth. This is done by placing him between two closely set fires, causing Grimner's mantle to ignite.

The tortured man suffers terribly from heat, hunger, and thirst.

Aware of the wizard’s torture is Agnar, who still lives on in Geirrod's son, whom he named 'Agnar' after his uncle. Agnar comes to the tortured man with a drinking horn to let him quench his terrible thirst.

Grimner (Odin in disguise) greets him, utters a wisdom poem, and finally reveals himself.

All happens with the reason, but sometimes too late.

Finally, Geirrod realizes with whom he has been dealing all along. Now, he sits with his sword over his knees, half drawn out of its sheath, and as he rushes up to free Odin, his foster father, the sword slips from him and falls with its hilt down.

Geirrod stumbles and plunges forward so that the sword pierces him.

Odin is about to exit the scene. The throne will now be passed on to Geirrod's son, Agnar, who is set to reign with justice and integrity for numerous tranquil years.

After a period of patient waiting, the scales of justice have finally tipped in favor of righteousness.

Written by – A. Sutherland  - AncientPages.com Senior Staff Writer

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