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...

, Mögþrasir (Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

, possibly meaning "the one who is striving for sons") is a jötunn who is solely attested in stanza 49 of the poem Vafþrúðnismál

Vafþrúðnismál

In Norse mythology, Vafþrúðnismál is the third poem in the Poetic Edda. It is a conversation in verse form conducted initially between the Æsir Odin and Frigg, and subsequently between Odin and the giant Vafþrúðnir...

from the Poetic Edda

Poetic Edda

The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends, and from the early 19th century...

.

Vafþrúðnismál

Mögþrasir is mentioned during the contest of wisdom between Odin

Odin

Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....

 and the giant Vafthrudnir (here anglicized as Mogthrasir):

Stanza 48: Odin said: "Much I have travelled, much have I tried out, much have I tested the Powers Æsir In Old Norse, áss is the term denoting a member of the principal pantheon in Norse paganism. This pantheon includes Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Tyr. The second pantheon comprises the Vanir... ; who are those maidens who journey in troops, wise in spirit, over the sea?"

Stanza 49: Vafthrudnir said: "Three of the race of Mogthrasir's girls travel over the settlements, they are bringers of luck in the world, although they are raised among giants."

Theories

According to Carolyne Larrington, the identities of these maidens are uncertain but they are probably the Norns

Norns

The Norns in Norse mythology are female beings who rule the destiny of gods and men, a kind of dísir comparable to the Fates in classical mythology....

. If this is the case, then Mögþrasir is either their father or is being used as a 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...

to indicate the Norns' kinship with the jötnar.