Grímnismál

The Grímnismál ('the lay about Grímnir') is a mytholgical poem in the Poetic Edda.

It tells of two brothers: Geirrøðr, who is brought up by Óðinn and Agnarr, who is brought up by Frigg, Óðinn's wife. Geirrøðr kills Agnarr in order to inherit the kingdom from his father, Hrauðungr. An argument breaks out between Óðinn and Frigg about Geirrøðr. Óðinn decides to put him to the test. Following Frigg's advice, Geirrøðr welcomes Óðinn, who now calls himself Grímnir, in a most inhospitable way, leaving him tortured between two fires for eight days in order to make him talk, but finally Geirrøðr's ten year old son Agnarr gives him something to drink. Then Grímnir utters 54 stanzas which contain 194 different mythological names in a loosely connected sequence and in various poetic metres. At the end of all this, he recites 55 of his names and discloses his identity and gets his revenge on Geirrøðr who then falls on his own sword.