Gullfaxi (Old Norse: [ˈɡulːˌfɑkse]) is a horse in Norse mythology. Its name means "Golden mane".
It was originally owned by Hrungnir, and was later given to Magni by Thor as a reward for lifting off the leg of Hrungnir, which lay over the unconscious Thor and strangled him:
- 'And I will give thee,' he said, 'the horse Gold-Mane, which Hrungnir possessed.'
- Then Odin spake and said that Thor did wrong to give the good horse to the son of a giantess, and not to his father.
- —Skáldskaparmál (17)[1]
Gullfaxi is equally fast on land, in the air and on the water, but not quite as fast as Sleipnir, Odin's horse.
Folk tale
Gullfaxi is also the name of a horse in the modern Icelandic folk-tale The Horse Gullfaxi and the Sword Gunnfoder collected by Jón Árnason, translated into German by Josef Poestion , then rendered into English and included in the Crimson Fairy Book (1903) compiled by Andrew Lang.
See also
References
- ^ "Skáldskaparmal". sacred-texts. Retrieved 24 December 2016.