Mighty king of the Goths whose treacherous counsellor Bikki drove him to kill his own son and trample his young wife Svanhildr.
Jörmunrekr is the Eddic figure of the historical Gothic king Ermanaric, who lived in the fourth century and is described by Jordanes as a great and feared ruler. In the Norse tradition he appears as an old man in the grip of power's circle, governed by the treacherous counsellor Bikki whose advice led to catastrophe.
Hamðir and Sörli reached Jörmunrekr's hall and cut off his hands and feet, but forgot Óðinn's counsel to cut off his head as well. King Jörmunrekr ordered them stoned, for iron would not bite them. He was said to die of his wounds, though this is unclear in the sources. Jörmunrekr appears in the poems as a victim of his own entourage's treachery as much as a villain.
Sources in the Eddas
- Hamðismál
- Hamðir and Sörli's attack on Jörmunrekr and its outcome. Own translation.
- Guðrúnarhvöt
- Guðrún recalls Jörmunrekr's cruelty against Svanhildr. Own translation.
Interpretive traditions
A What we know
Jörmunrekr's historical model in Ermanaric is well attested and long recognized in scholarship on Germanic heroic poetry.
B What we think we know
The Bikki motif is interpreted by some scholars as a reflection of Germanic honour culture in which the counsellor bears blame for the king's fall in order to protect the ruler's reputation.