Jotuns

Pronounced: Yoo-tun
Old Norse:Jöttin, Jötunn, plural: jötnar. Also: Thurse
Anglo Saxon:Eoten, Ettins
Jotuns are the race of giants, separated into categories such as frost and storm giants. The first race drowned in Ymir’s blood, and were repopulated by Bergelmir(“Mountain roarer”).
Jotuns are a type of powerful being that are on par with the gods and elves. They dwell in the wild relm of Jötunnheim. Usually they are thought of as giants, though not all of them are so large; they can even be human sized. Many Jotuns are friendly to the Gods such as the sea giant Ægir who regularly has the Gods and Goddesses as his guests. Other Jotuns seem to oppose the gods at times. Generally they are wise and quite powerful. Mimer, counted as the wisest being of all, numbers among them. “Jotun-kin” is used as a general term for giants of various sorts and trolls. They are usually seen as the foes of the gods, although many of them are quite helpful, and Jotuns and the Gods often interbreed. In fact, at least two of the goddesses, Uller’s wife Skaði and Freyrs wife Gerd, are Jotuns; and there are none of the Gods who do not have quite a lot of giant ancestry. Some true folk today see the Jotuns as the largest of the land spirits, who now need to be helped to restore the balance of being rather than battled against; others stick to the traditional view of the giants as generally being the embodiment of destruction. Thurse is another term for a giant, especially used for ill-willing giants. Rime-thurses are the wild spirits of ice and snow and are very dangerous and very malevolent.