Hrungnir
;)
in Germanic mythology, was the strongest of the frost giants and owner of a powerful stallion named Gullfaxi, or Golden Mane. He encountered Odin on one of the god's journeys through the nine worlds and challenged him to a horse race. Mounted on eight-legged Sleipnir, Odin won a narrow victory over Hrungnir on Golden Mane. By this time, the two had ridden to Asgard, the divine stronghold, where Hrungnir was invited to rest before returning to Jotunheim, the land of the giants. But Hrungnir drank too much strong ale and became arrogant. He even threatened to carry Valhalla, the hall in which the honoured dead lived with Odin, off to Jotunheim on his back and to kill all the gods, except Freyja and Sif. At this point the giant-slayer Thor returned and waved his magic hammer at Hrungnir, but the frost giant, understanding that he would be easily killed without his own weapons, challenged Thor to a duel on the border between Asgard and Jotunheim. No one had met the thunder god in single combat before. Thor accepted eagerly, even though Hrungnir's head, heart and shield were made of stone.
When the frost giants heard about the forthcoming duel, they were both proud and anxious: proud that Hrungnir bad challenged Thor, but anxious lest the god slay the most powerful of their number. So they made out of clay a man so huge that the thunder god would shake with fright when he first caught sight of him. The heart of a dead mare was used to animate the clay giant, whom they called Mist Calf. Alongside Mist Calf stood Hrungnir, awaiting the arrival of Thor. The frost giant knew that he had to avoid his opponent's hammer, and he held his sharp whetstone in readiness. As soon as Thor was in range, he hurled his magic weapon at Hrungnir, who swiftly launched his own sharp-edged, three-cornered stone in Thor's direction. The weapons met in mid-air. Although the hammer shattered the whetstone and went on to crush Hrungnir's skull, a number of stone fragments lodged in Thor's head and he was also pinned beneath one of the fallen Hrungnir's legs. After this heroic incident, Thor became known as 'Hrungnir's skull splitter'.