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Gilling

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A jötunn murdered by the dwarves Fjalar and Galar, whose death led to further vengeance.

Detailed Definition
Gilling and his wife were killed by the dwarves after Kvasir’s murder, prompting their son Suttungr to seek retribution. He represents the cycle of blood feud. In poetry, Gilling’s story illustrates the cascading consequences of violence, a core theme in Norse narrative ethics.
Example
Example in poetry:
Gilling, the giant murdered by Fjalar and Galar for Kvasir’s mead; His death sets off a chain of vengeance involving his son Suttungr; Poets reference Gilling to show the cost of divine secrets; He symbolizes innocence crushed by ambition; Though minor, his story underscores the mead’s bloody origin; Contemporary verse uses him to explore collateral damage in quests for knowledge.
Additional Notes
Gilling, a jötunn, is killed by Fjalar and Galar when his boat is capsized; his wife’s grief leads to further vengeance, illustrating the Norse chain of blood-feud; this episode underscores how the mead of poetry is steeped in cycles of violence—poets may use Gilling to explore grief, retribution, or the collateral damage of divine ambition.
Also Known As
Gilling the Giant
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