Gullfaxi

"Golden mane." The swift horse of the giant Hrungnir. The giant encountered Odin mounted on Sleipnir, who said he would wager his head that there was no horse in Jötunheimr that would prove equally good. Hrungnir declared he had a much better paced horse named Gullfaxi. He vaulted upon his horse and galloped after Odin, all the way into Ásgarðr. There he challenged Thor to single-combat at the place called Grjótúnagard.

Hrungnir was killed in the duel and fell forward upon Thor so that his foot lay over the god's neck. None of the Æsir were strong enough to lift the foot off Thor, until Thor's son Magni came up and easily cast the giant's foot aside. In gratitude Thor gave the horse to Magni, but this displeased Odin, who said that Thor did wrong to give the good horse to the son of a giantess, and not to his own father.

The name also appears in a list of horses enumerated in the Rhymes of Þorgrímr.

References

Source

  • Skáldskaparmál, 17, 57.