In Norse mythology

Norse mythology

Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...

, Leikn is a giantess killed by Thor

Thor

In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...

.

The fact is mentioned in a lausavísa

Lausavísa

In Old Norse poetry and later Icelandic poetry, a lausavísa is a single stanza composition, or a set of stanzas unconnected by narrative or thematic continuity....

composed by Vetrliði Sumarliðason

Vetrliði Sumarliðason

Vetrliði Sumarliðason is a 10th century Icelandic skald.He was the great-grandson of Ketill hængr , one of the settlers of Iceland. He lived in Fljótshlíð, in the south of the island....

 which praises Thor

Thor

In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...

 for having killed giants and giantesses:

Leggi brauzt Leiknar, lamðir Þrívalda, steypðir Starkeði, stétt of Gjǫlp dauða. —Edith Marold's edition

You broke Leikn's bones, you pounded Thrivaldi Þrívaldi In Norse mythology, Þrívaldi , whose name means "thrice mighty", is a giant killed by Thor.This fact is mentioned by Snorri Sturluson in the Skáldskaparmál , according to which "killer of Þrívaldi" is a kenning for Thor... you cast down Starkad Starkad Starkad, Old Norse: Starkaðr or Störkuðr, Latin: Starcaterus, and during the late Middle Ages, also known as Starkodder, was a legendary hero in Norse mythology.... , you stood over the dead Gialp Gjálp and Greip -Thor's visit to Geirröðr:According to Skáldskaparmál they were daughters of the giant Geirröðr. As Thor was wading across Vimur the river "waxed so greatly that it broke high upon his shoulders"... . —Skáldskaparmál Skáldskaparmál The second part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda the Skáldskaparmál or "language of poetry" is effectively a dialogue between the Norse god of the sea, Ægir and Bragi, the god of poetry, in which both Norse mythology and discourse on the nature of poetry are intertwined... (4), Faulkes' translation

Leikn's name was used by skald

Skald

The skald was a member of a group of poets, whose courtly poetry is associated with the courts of Scandinavian and Icelandic leaders during the Viking Age, who composed and performed renditions of aspects of what we now characterise as Old Norse poetry .The most prevalent metre of skaldic poetry is...

s in kenning

Kenning

A kenning is a type of literary trope, specifically circumlocution, in the form of a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse and later Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon poetry...

s. Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld

Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld

Hallfreðr Óttarsson or Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld was an Icelandic skald. He is the protagonist of Hallfreðar saga according to which he was the court poet first of Hákon Sigurðarson, then of Óláfr Tryggvason and finally of Eiríkr Hákonarson...

 thus uses the kenning "Leikn's horse" (hestr Leiknar) for a wolf (Óláfsdrápa, 6) and Hallvarðr háreksblesi

Hallvarðr Háreksblesi

Hallvarðr Háreksblesi was one of the skalds of Canute the Great. Nothing is known about his life or family but eight fragments of his poetry on Canute have been preserved...

 calls the raven "hawk of Leikn of points" (haukr Leiknar odda) that is "hawk of valkyrie

Valkyrie

In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who decides who dies in battle. Selecting among half of those who die in battle , the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin...

" (Knútsdrápa, 6).

Leikn is also listed in the þulur.