The primal sea giant, Aegir is the latest to fall victim to what I call my selective mythology. His home beneath the waves is a sactuary to all and he is friend to the Aesir even though he is married to the terrible sea goddess, Ran. I like that… The tale in the Lokasenna where the gods gather for a feast in his hall lit only by gold to forge an alliance, he agrees only after Thor is sent off to retrieve a big enough cauldron to brew the beer from Hymir. Snorri Sturlusson, the greatest skald of all, tells us that Aegir was also known as Hler and Gymir. Hler is not oft mentioned but for his giant kin, while Gymir plays a significant role in Freyr’s wooing of Gerd.
Yet the writer inside of me can’t just leave these characters be. The fragmentary way that Scandinavian myths have been passed down to us is too tempting for filling in the blanks to try to get the real story. Some people are fond of using archaeological or linguistic evidence and the whole scholarly approach, but not me. I’m more interested in the quality of the fleshed out tale… if I’m going to retell these myths, they’ve got to be consistent and interesting right? Over the last few years, I’ve plucked the choicest morsels from any number of sources including sources not at all related to Scandinavian myth and legend. Any one tale I write may be influenced by the Eddas, Saxo, John Gardner and perhaps even H.P. Lovecraft or M.R. James.
So Aegir shall become ripped apart from his other namesakes, for they have their own stories to tell. The myths in which they are involved are distinct enough in flavor to hold their own. Aegir, when I am through with him, will be friend to the Vanir and Jotunns and at a truce with much of the Aesir (I don’t think that he gets along too smashingly with Thor, who battles his daughters on occasion). Also, with utter respect to Viktor Rydberg, I can’t even comprehend the idea of all the juicy tales concerning Ran, Angrboda, Heidh, and Gullveig being about the same giantess. I have so many tales planned for each of them that it would a shame to shakle them into one story.
Aegir and his wife may lose a little depth and complexity, but I don’t think so. I think they will grow into crisper focus, just like they were to the local men and women living on the coasts of the North Sea when gods, giants and other wights controlled the weather and natural surroundings. Either that, or they’ll just seem cooler to me.