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Norse mythical character
Baugi
(
Old Norse
:
[?b?u?e]
; "ring-shaped") is a
jotunn
in
Norse mythology
. He is brother of
Suttungr
, the giant from whom
Odin
obtained the
mead of poetry
.
Name
[
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]
The
Old Norse
name
Baugi
has been translated as 'ring-shaped'.
Attestations
[
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]
The name of the
jotunn
Baugi is only mentioned in
Skaldskaparmal
(The Language of Poetry) and in the
þulur
, and is not attested in other poetic texts. It is notably absent from
Havamal
(Words of the High One), which
Snorri Sturluson
used as a source for the story of the
mead of poetry
.
Some scholars have argued that Baugi may have been an invention or a misunderstanding of
Havamal
by Snorri.
The
Gotlandic
image stone
Stora Hammars III
is held to depict Odin in his eagle fetch (note the eagle's beard),
Gunnloð
holding the mead of poetry, and
Suttungr
.
Mead of poetry
[
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]
In
Skaldskaparmal
,
Odin
causes Baugi's nine slaves to kill each other in his quest to obtain the
mead of poetry
, possessed at that time by Baugi's brother,
Suttungr
. Calling himself
Bolverk
('Evil-deed' or 'Evil worker'), Odin then offers to do the labour of all nine men for Baugi as a reparation for his wrongdoings, in exchange of a wage of one drink of the mead of poetry. Baugi accepts to help him acquire it from his brother.
After the summer of work is over, Bolverk (Odin) asks for his payment, but Suttungr refuses to give him a single drop of the mead. Bolverk then enlists Baugi's help to dig a hole into the
Hnitbjorg mountain
with Baugi's drill,
Rati
, in order to reach the chamber where the mead was kept and watched over by
Gunnloð
, Suttung’s daughter.
When Baugi announces to him that the tunnel is finished, Bolverk blows into the hole but realizes that the other end is still blocked. As he understands that Baugi is trying to deceive him, Bolverk turns himself into a snake and slips into the hole. Baugi tries to strike at him with his auger but misses.
References
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Bibliography
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