| Sumario: | This article investigates the extent to which Jewish exegetical and magical traditions were known in medieval Scandinavia. Particular attention is paid to the mythological work, SnorraEdda (ca. 1220), and the prose narrative Porleifs f)áttrjarlsskálds (ca. 1300). In Snorra Edda, we encounter the character of Mçkkurkálfi, a clay giant who has been magically animated to defend the race of giants against the god Thor (f>órr). In Porleifs páttr jarlsskálds, a similarly animated "trémadr" ("wooden man") is sent on an assassination mission to dispatch a troublesome poet. Both these figures are considered in light of various traditions pertaining to the golem. Possible routes of transmission between the Jewish and Scandinavian worlds are considered to explain these similarities, with a special focus on Norwegian students at the Abbey of St. Victor.
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