Heartless Giant petrifies the royal riders, Otto Sinding
Actual giant-on-mountainside confronting royal riders inspected. Exact Heartless Giant story. Primary1896 Norwegian illustration list attributes the story plates to Otto Sinding, engraved by Olsen/Hendriksen; individual engraver not securely distinguished. English reproduction catalogued1923, original art19th century.
Overview
The giant lives inside a steep hillside and turns six princes and their brides into stone merely by looking at them. Their youngest brother, called Boots in Dasent's translation, enters the house and meets a captive princess. She conceals him beneath a bed and covers his scent with a story about a magpie carrying a human bone. The giant twice gives her false locations for his heart before revealing the truth.
His heart lies inside an egg, within a duck, in a well inside a church on an island. Boots reaches it with a wolf, raven and salmon whose earlier needs he answered. Pressure on the egg hurts the giant at a distance; he restores the petrified couples in exchange for promised mercy. The egg is nevertheless broken, and the giant bursts. This is one particular external-heart adversary, rather than a description of every Norwegian giant.
Origins & earliest records
This profile follows the named tale in Dasent's English translation of Asbjørnsen and Moe's collected Norwegian stories, first published in 1859. The inspected electronic text includes a notice to a second edition but does not establish its print date. Publication dates document collection and translation; they do not date the beginning of oral storytelling.
Records & interpretation
The story explicitly describes petrification, concealed bodily vulnerability and the nested island hiding place. Its coordinated animal helpers and captive princess form narrative evidence for how the giant is defeated. They are neither zoological observations nor proof that all giants share an external heart. The text also preserves a broken promise of mercy.
In the literature
“in that egg there lies my heart”
Tale IX, The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body; Giant’s third disclosure to the princess · George Webbe Dasent
The giant explains the final object in the sequence concealing his external heart.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body (Popular Tales from the Norse)
Inspected named tale IX. Electronic witness includes a notice to the second edition; its exact print date is unresolved.
- 02
Popular Tales from the Norse — The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body
Dasent historical English translation of Asbjørnsen and Moe. Hosted PG8933 text includes a Second Edition notice but does not establish the exact selected print edition date or printed pagination. The 1859 first English publication is context, not an asserted date for this selected witness. Exact observed HTML tale anchors and narrative episodes provide locators.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Popular Tales from the Norse — The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body
Dasent historical English translation of Asbjørnsen and Moe. Hosted PG8933 text includes a Second Edition notice but does not establish the exact selected print edition date or printed pagination. The 1859 first English publication is context, not an asserted date for this selected witness. Exact observed HTML tale anchors and narrative episodes provide locators.
- The giant turns six princes and their brides to stone. Boots sets out to rescue them and helps a raven, stranded salmon and hungry wolf, which later aid his quest.
- The princess discovers that the giant’s first two supposed heart locations are false. He finally reveals an egg within a duck in a well inside an island church as the real hiding place.
- Wolf carries Boots, raven fetches the key and salmon retrieves the dropped egg. Squeezing it makes the giant promise to restore the captives; after he does so Boots crushes it and the giant bursts.
Complete named tale read. No invented print pages, exact selected edition date, earliest attestation or general rule for all members of a creature class is inferred.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary textPopular Tales from the Norse — The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body (tale IX)Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
Historical illustrationHeartless Giant petrifies the royal riders, Otto Sinding
Actual giant-on-mountainside confronting royal riders inspected. Exact Heartless Giant story. Primary1896 Norwegian illustration list attributes the story plates to Otto Sinding, engraved by Olsen/Hendriksen; individual engraver not securely distinguished. English reproduction catalogued1923, original art19th century.
