Riesen: Von wissenshütern und wildnisbewohnern in edda und saga. Skandinavistische Arbeiten 20. Von Katja Schulz. Heidelberg: Winter Universitätsverlag, 2004. Pp. 332. EUR 48.

Giants loom large in Old Icelandic literature. their roles are many and incompatible, for according to eddic mythology, they were the earliest inhabitants of the world (and the world was created from Ymir's body), and some of them are related to the gods, but they also are the enemies of law and order, they lust for Freyja, and keep Pórr, the giant slayer, busy. Yet in the sagas of old times (fornaldarsögur) no one is more loyal than a troll, and some of the noblest chieftains traced their genealogy to giants. One meets their kin in the folklore of many nations. At one time they seem to have populated all of Europe, but now they are gone. Unlike what the unknown author of the picture on the title page of the 1857 book by A. and E. Keary, The Heroes of Asgard, thought (it is reproduced on the cover of Schulz's book), Pórr's adversaries were not huge. They became such in later tales. A medieval giant or giantess could have any number of heads and arms. In heroic tradition, the likes of David always defeated Goliaths. In the Grimms' Märchen, a friendly giant puts his immense strength to good use, while a stupid one is easy prey for a brave little tailor.

Anatoly Liberman
University of Minnesota