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An Ettin is originally a three-headed giant in English fairy tales. In 'The Red Ettin', an Ettin of Ireland steals the daughter of King Malcolm, king of Scotland.
"He beats her, he binds her,
He lays her on a band;
And every day he strikes her
With a bright silver wand.
Like Julian the Roman,
He's one that fears no man."
The Red Ettin ate men's hearts or could turn them into a pillars of stone by knocking them on the head with a mallet. The ettin's power would leave him if a man could answer three riddles told by the three heads each. A young man was told the answers to the riddles by a good fairy. He answered correctly, cut off the three heads with his axe, and saved the princess.
Ettin is also a 2-headed Ogre-like creature in Dungeons and Dragons.
Ettins are also a species in the game Creatures.
Ettin is also a word for Giant, related to the word Jotun from Norse Mythology. Tolkien most likely had this in mind when he described Bilbo's adventures in the Ettinmoors region (where he met 3 angry trolls).
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