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Starkad is a hero of giant blood, Odin's favourite and Thor's enemy. For each gift Odin gave him, Thor laid a curse to match, and Odin's price was the death of Starkad's own king.
Who was Starkad?
Starkad is a hero of giant blood, Odin's favourite and Thor's enemy. Gautreks saga tells how the gods met to decide his fate. For every gift Odin gave him, Thor laid a curse to match it: Odin gave him three lifetimes, and Thor said that in each he would do a nithing's deed, a deed of shame; Odin gave him victory in every battle, and Thor said he would bear a terrible wound in each. Then Odin asked a price. Starkad's lord and friend, King Víkar, was to be sacrificed. Starkad staged a mock sacrifice — a noose of soft calf-gut, a slender reed for a spear — but as he struck, the reed became a spear and the gut became rope, and the king hung and died. It was the first of his three shameful deeds.
He served Odin and was cursed by Thor; Odin was the god of the hanged, as in Odin wins the runes.
Questions
What gifts did Odin give Starkad?
Three lifetimes and victory in every battle.
What was Starkad's first shameful deed?
The sacrifice of his lord, King Víkar, which he meant only as a mock one.