Litr

In Norse mythology Litr (often anglicized as Lit, confer Icelandic ""), which means "colour", is a name borne by a dwarf and a giant.

A dwarf

In Snorri Sturluson's "Gylfaginning" (49), Litr is kicked by Thor in Baldr's funeral pyre::Then Thor stood by and hallowed the pyre with Mjöllnir; and before his feet ran a certain dwarf which was named Litr; Thor kicked at him with his foot and thrust him into the fire, and he burned.:::—"Gylfaginning", [http://www.cybersamurai.net/Mythology/nordic_gods/LegendsSagas/Edda/ProseEdda/GylfaginningXLI-LIV.htm#gylf49 Brodeur's translation]

Litr is also listed as a dwarf in "Völuspá" (12).

A giant

But in a stanza by Bragi Boddason [This stanza belongs either to "Ragnarsdrápa" (according to [http://www.heimskringla.no/original/skaldekvad/ragnarsdrapa2.php Finnur Jónsson's edition] ) or to an independent poem about Thor's fishing (according to [http://skaldic.arts.usyd.edu.au/db.php?table=poems&id=11094 Margaret Clunies Ross' edition] ).] quoted in Snorri's "Skáldskaparmál" (42) Litr is also mentioned in a kenning for Thor: "Lit's men's fight-challenger"Faulkes 1995.] ("Litar flotna fangboði"). Given that Thor is the enemy of giants, it is generally assumed that, in this kenning, Litr must refer to a giant [Faulkes 1995, Lindow 2002.] . Litr is also a giant in one version of the poem about Thor by Þorbjörn dísarskáld, where the skald lists giants and giantesses killed by the god (but Litr only appears in one manuscript, the others mentioning Lútr instead)Lindow 2002.] .

This led John Lindow to suggest that there may have been originally only one Litr, a giant, for "it would not have been inappropriate for Thor to have killed a giant in some earlier version of the funeral of Baldr".

Notes

References

* Snorri Sturluson, "Edda", translated and edited by Anthony Faulkes, London: Everyman, 1995, ISBN 0-460-87616-3.
* Lindow, John. "Norse mythology : a guide to the gods, heroes, rituals, and beliefs". New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-19-515382-0.