Despite the relative similarity of the Slavic and German-Scandinavian pagan traditions, they still have a lot of differences. One of them is the presence of evil and gloomy characters. If among the ancient Slavs their number is not too large, then the inhabitants of Scandinavia were not stingy in this regard. Tours are probably the most numerous and famous representatives of the northern sagas.
Most often, these creatures are described as humanoid giants. The most famous of them are the Yotuns, the inhabitants of Yotunheim, one of the nine worlds located east of Midgard, a world inhabited by humans. These are aggressive and cruel creatures with whom the gods waged fierce wars, in battles with them Odin's son, Thor, used his famous hammer.
Much more interesting, in my opinion, are the so-called “ frost giants ”, according to Scandinavian legends, who laid the foundation for life in general. Frost giants or grimtursen (hrimthurs) appeared long before the appearance of people and gods, the giant Ymir is considered their progenitor, who, apparently, should be considered a kind of symbol of the origin of life in the original chaos. He was killed by the Aesir gods, and together with him the whole family of frost giants perished, with the exception of Grimtursen Bergelmir and his wife, from whom the Jotuns or ice giants originated. It should be noted that Jotunheim was created by the gods specifically for the descendants of Bergelmir. During their period of power, frost giants lived in Niflheim, the world of eternal fog and ice.
Niflheim.
In addition to these, the most famous creatures, several other types of turs belong to the genus of giants. Muspelheim, the land of fire, is home to fire giants, led by their leader Surt. This character has a particularly sinister role in Scandinavian mythology. On the day of Ragnarok, the last battle between the forces of light and darkness, Surt will bring down the fire under his control on the battlefield, and then with his fiery sword he will destroy the world tree Yggdrasil, thereby putting an end to the whole world.
Information about the rest of the representatives of the giant family is fragmentary and rather scarce. Mountain and stone giants seem to be the ancestors of trolls, which, in turn, are also divided into several species according to their habitat and way of life. There is evidence that in the pagan tradition of the Scandinavians there was a belief in sea giants, but it remains not entirely clear in which of the worlds these creatures lived, their origin and purpose are dull. Mountain and stone giants seem to be the ancestors of the trolls, which