They had their own native spoken language known as the Ancient Tongue, which was said to be so old that it predates mountains. The Jötnar were an intelligent and civilized race that practised architecture, masonry, art, trade, and even prophecy, and some were even famous combatants and hunters. Because of his actions, the first King of the Giants of Jötunheim was forever remembered as "Bergelmir the Beloved". Bergelmir never sought revenge against the Aesir desiring only for his people to prosper. As father and mother they reproduced tremendously, and as King and Queen, they made sure that the Jötnar would be the only rulers of their new home and themselves. Together, Bergelmir and Nal searched for and found a land where they could be safe and prosperous, a land they called Jötunheim. Odin, Vé, and Vili slew the primordial Giant whose bleeding fluids drowned almost all of his other descendants, the sole survivors being the Jötunn Bergelmir and his wife, Nal. However, the Aesir, also of his creation, desired to have control over all of creation for themselves. Ymir birthed more of his kind and others through his armpits and feet, who in turn had offspring of their own which marked the beginning of their race. The progenitor of all species was Ymir, who was the largest Jötunn there ever was. Jörmungandr is a Jötunn whose soul was transferred into a snake. Hræsvelgr, Angrboda, Grýla, Sinmara and Sköll and Hati are presumably the last surviving Jötnar who are of pure blood, while Loki, Týr, Thrúd and Ullr only have partial Jötunn blood. The Jötnar speak in an ancient language which only few can understand. There are also some who take the form of large animals like Hræsvelgr. Not all were humanoid in shape either, since several Jötnar were depicted with animal heads in the aftermentioned Shrines. Jötnar Shrine depicting Jörmungandr Backgroundĭespite being called "Giants", not all Jötnar are large in size, as many members of the species depicted in their Shrines vary between human and giant sized. Several terms are used specifically to refer to female entities that fall into this category, including íviðja (plural íviðjur) and gýgr (plural gýgjar). Old Norse jötunn (also jǫtunn,) and Old English eóten developed from the Proto-Germanic masculine noun etunaz which has a connection with the Proto-Germanic etanan which was reconstructed from the words of Old Norse etall, meaning "consuming", Old English etol meaning "voracious, gluttonous", and Old High German filu-ezzal meaning "greedy". The entities are themselves ambiguously defined, variously Jörmungandr referred to by several other terms, including eóten, risi, thurs, ogre and troll.
Jötnar are a type of entity contrasted with Gods and other figures, such as Dwarves and Elves.
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