Also called the Stone-hearted.
Their story
Hrungnir raced Odin to Asgard on his horse Gullfaxi, then drank and boasted he would carry off Freyja and Sif. Thor challenged him to a duel. Hrungnir had a heart and head of stone and a whetstone for a weapon; Thor's hammer shattered the whetstone and killed him, but a piece lodged in Thor's head. The seeress Gróa began singing it out, but Thor, pleased, distracted her with news of her husband, and the stone is there still.
Best times to give to them
- when sharpening tools
- before a contest
What they like being given
- respect for opponents
- a whetstone kept with care
How to honour them
- Some folk custom held that a whetstone should never be thrown across a floor, for the piece in Thor's head would stir; handle whetstones with care.
- Reflect on how loud boasting at the feast led to a duel he could not win.
How they can help you
- the dangers of boasting
- courage in a duel
- endurance of injury
Symbols
- a three-cornered stone heart
- a whetstone
- the horse Gullfaxi
- the clay giant Mökkurkálfi
The whetstone taboo is from Snorri; how widely it was practised is unknown.
Sources
- Prose Edda, Skáldskaparmál (Hrungnir episode)
- Þjóðólfr of Hvinir, Haustlöng
- Poetic Edda, Hárbarðsljóð 14–15