Hyrrokkin is a giantess (jötunn) in Norse mythology, known for one scene: pushing Baldur’s funeral ship out to sea when nobody else in Asgard could move it. Her name is generally translated “fire-smoked” or “fire-wrinkled” — language scholar Jan de Vries traces it to a compound of hyr (“fire”) and hrokkinn (“wrinkled”), and scholar John Lindow specifically favors “fire-smoked,” possibly describing a dark, weathered appearance.
The Wolf No One Else Could Hold
At Baldur’s funeral, the gods try to push his ship, Hringhorni, out into the water to launch it with his body aboard. None of them can move it, so the gods send word to Jotunheim and summon Hyrrokkin. She arrives riding a wolf, using live snakes as reins. When she dismounts, the wolf is still too dangerous to leave standing — Odin has to call in four berserkers to hold it, and even they can only manage it by knocking it out first.
How Hyrrokkin Launched Baldur’s Ship
Hyrrokkin walks up to the prow of the ship and launches it at the first push. It moves so hard and fast that the rollers underneath catch fire and the ground shakes. Thor is furious at the sheer force of it and reaches for Mjölnir, but the other gods persuade him not to strike her.
This scene is older than Snorri. Around 985, the Icelandic poet Ulf Uggason described it in his poem Húsdrápa: the mighty giantess made the ship move forward, while Odin’s berserkers brought down her steed.
Snorri quotes the verse in his Edda. Not every source lets her go unharmed, though. Snorri also quotes another skaldic verse that lists the giants and giantesses killed by Thor, and Hyrrokkin is on that list.
Is Hyrrokkin the Mother of Skoll and Hati?
Some modern retellings connect Hyrrokkin to Fenrir‘s wolf-children, the sun-and-moon-chasing wolves Sköll and Hati—but the Eddas don’t actually name her as their mother.
The real source is the poem Völuspá, which only mentions an unnamed “old troll-woman” living in the Iron Wood who raises Fenrir’s brood there. Both Lee M. Hollander and Jesse Byock suggest she may be Angrboda, the mother of Fenrir, instead.
Some modern retellings assume this unnamed giantess and Hyrrokkin are the same person, since both are old, powerful jötnar associated with wolves — but that’s a guess drawn from similarity, not something either text states directly. It’s just as possible they’re two different figures entirely.
Hyrrokkin: Quick Answers
Why was Hyrrokkin called to Baldur’s funeral? The gods couldn’t move Baldur’s ship to launch it, no matter what they tried. Hyrrokkin launched it at the first push.
What does Hyrrokkin’s name mean in Norse mythology? Most likely “fire-smoked” or “fire-wrinkled,” from Old Norse roots meaning “fire” and “wrinkled.”
Did Thor attack Hyrrokkin? He tried to. Her first push shook the ground and set the ship’s rollers on fire, and Thor moved to kill her with Mjölnir before the other gods stopped him.
Is Hyrrokkin the mother of Sköll and Hati? It’s a popular guess, not a stated fact. The Eddas only describe an unnamed old giantess in the Iron Wood raising Fenrir’s wolf-children — some assume this is Hyrrokkin, but neither text says so directly.
Sources:
Lee M. Hollander (1962) The Poetic Edda. 15th edition. Texas, USA: University Research Institute of the University of Texas. ISBN 978-0-292-76499-6 — includes Völuspá, source for the Iron Wood/Fenrir’s-children passage.
John Lindow (2001) Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN-13 978-0-195-15382-8 — source for the “fire-smoked” name translation.