Beli- Norse GiantGiant
Description
A jötunn struck down by Freyr with nothing but a stag’s antler — the god having given away his self-fighting sword to win Gerðr’s hand. The improvised weapon that felled a giant would prove no substitute when Surtr came at Ragnarök.
Mythology & Lore
The Antler
Freyr had already given away his sword. He had sent his servant Skírnir to woo the giantess Gerðr, and the self-fighting blade was Skírnir's price. When Beli came against him, Freyr had nothing but a stag's antler. He killed the giant with it.
The Gylfaginning records the scene briefly. No details of the fight survive: only that Freyr was unarmed, that an antler served where a sword should have been, and that the giant fell. The episode ends there.
At Ragnarök, Freyr faces Surtr. He has no sword and no antler that will serve him against fire. He falls.