In most English translations of Old Norse sagas, the word Jotun{pl jotna} is translated as "giant". But is this what the Old Norse word "jotun" really meant? Upon examining how the "Jotna" are depicted in Norse sagas, one might be inclined to suspect it originally meant something quite different. There are, for instance, many instances in Norse sagas where a man or "madr" mates with a "Jotna" female. Furthermore, many figueres in the Norse myths claim descent from a "jotun". I am inclined to suspect in those sagas set in the pre-Christian period that the term "madr", commonly translated as "man", referred to a caucasion, while the term "jotun" referred to a member of a non-caucasian, probably asiatic race. As one moves on to sagas set in the time period when Scandinavia was starting to accept Christianity, the meaning of the word "jotun" appears to change, now referring to a "heathen". It is only in sagas set in the period when Scandinavia had accepted Christianity that a "jotun" becomes a supernatural being of great size. But would the pre-Christian Norsemen have had much contact with Asiatic peoples? It's quite possible if you consider the following. There are references in several Norse sagas to the climate being much warmer during the pre Christian era. So much so that the Arctic Ocean was free of ice and it was possible to sail aound the north coast of the Scandinavian Pennisula and visit places on the north coast of the Eurasian continent. If the Arctic Ocean was unobstructed by ice, they would have been able to sail even further, navigating around the Eurasian north Coast and reaching lands on the East Asian coast like China and Japan. They could have even saild further and reached the coasts of India. Of course their access to these areas would have been curtailed as global cooling set in circa 1000 AD. The Norsemen would have lost contact with these areas and the people that lived there. This would explain the transformation in the portrayal of the "jotna" in Norse sagas set in the Christian era post 1000 AD. This is the theme of "Journey to Jotunheim". A group of Danes sail through a then navigable arctic Ocean and reach the kingdoms of Jotunheim, i.e. the East Asian and South Asian coasts. Various East and South Asian instruments are used to creat an atmosphere of these cultures.
Prologue
2.Thorkel's Arrival
3.Catalogue of Heroes
4.Island of Amazons
5.King Godmund's Palace
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6.The Athletic Contest
7.Godmund's Proposal
8.Three Gifts
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9.The Island and the Fountain
10.Arrival at Geirroth's Palace
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11.Hrorek battles his friend
12.Warrior Games
13.The Wrestling Competition
14.When Saphires turn Black
15.Escape from the Doomed City
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