Open Hand

Open Hand
Leader	King Glaumar
Properties
Weapons	Swords, shields, spears
Head­quarters	Jötunheim
Appearances
Appears in	"The Bride-Price" "Heretic Spear" "Now Hear Of..."
Debut	"The Bride-Price"

The Open Hand was a jötun clan and domain in Jötunheim that was led by King Glaumar. They appeared in two episodes of Twilight of the Gods, excluding Sigrid's appearances separate from the rest of the clan.

History

The gates of Jötunheim.

As their name suggested, the Open Hand was once a welcoming community of jötun. After Princess Sigrid departed to find her mother's homeland, King Glaumar became more closed off and mistrusting. He blamed the gods for poor harvest and considered all outsiders threats.

Sigrid and Leif's wedding.

When his daughter returned years later, Glaumar was slow to warm to her fiance, Leif. Naturally mistrusting him, he initially refused to dine with a human, but Leif earned his respect and the Open Hand prepared for the wedding of Sigrid and Leif. The ceremony was interrupted by Thor Odinson, who came looking for Loki Laufeyson. Unbeknownst to Sigrid, Loki was hiding among the Open Hand. When Glaumar denied Loki's presence, it led to a battle between Thor and the giants. Thor killed all who opposed him and even followed their children to their refuge, leaving none alive. Sigrid and Leif survived only because Baldr convinced his brother that they'd perished.

Mass funeral.

After the battle was over and her clan was wiped out, Sigrid and Leif put together a funeral, burning the remains of the Open Hand giants in three great fires.

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Members

Glaumar

Jarnglumra

Sigrid

Fjölverkr

Sómr

Geitla

Fenja "Little Root"

Norse origins

While the Open Hand doesn't come directly from Norse mythology, its existence in Twilight of the Gods extends from the mythology. King Glaumar mentions in "The Bride-Price" that the Open Hand are the children of Suttung (Suttungr in Old Norse), who was a giant who quarreled with Odin over his mead in Norse mythology. The Open Hand dislikes the gods, and Odin in particular, which may be a reference to Suttungr. Thor similarly takes their mead in "The Bride-Price" and can be seen drinking it in "If I Had a Hammer."

Sigrid also mentions a giant named Hafli, who is a minor character who appears in some tales. He and the other giants of the Open Hand named onscreen (Glaumar, Jarnglumra, Fjölverkr, Sómr, Geitla, and Suttung), are attested in the Nafnaþulur.

The eyes of Thiazi.

Sigrid refers to stars in the sky as the eyes of Thiazi, which is the anglicized name for Þjazi, a jötun whose eyes were plucked from his corpse by Odin and placed in the night sky as stars as recompense to Þjazi's daughter for killing him. Sigrid says these eyes watch over her people.