Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

, the megingjörð ( , meaning "power-belt"Orchard (1997:110)) is a belt worn by the god

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

. The Old Norse name megin means power or strength, and gjörð means belt. According to the ''

Prose Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' () or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often considered to have been to some exten ...

'', the belt is one of Thor's

three 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

main possessions, along with the hammer

Mjölnir Mjölnir ( , ; from Old Norse ''Mjǫllnir'' ) is the hammer of the thunder god Thor in Norse mythology, used both as a devastating weapon and as a divine instrument to provide blessings. The hammer is attested in numerous sources, including t ...

and the iron gloves

Járngreipr In Norse mythology, Járngreipr (Old Norse: , "iron grippers") or Járnglófar (, "iron gauntlets"Simek (2007:178).) are the iron gloves of the god Thor. According to the ''Prose Edda'', along with the hammer Mjölnir and the belt Megingjörð, J ...

. When worn, the belt is described as doubling Thor's already prodigious strength. In verse 7 of the skaldic poem

Þórsdrápa ''Þórsdrápa'' (also ''Thorsdrapa''; Old Norse: 'The Lay of Thor') is a skaldic poetry, skaldic poem by Eilífr Goðrúnarson, a poet in the service of Jarl Hákon Sigurðarson. The poem is noted for its creative use of kennings and other meta ...

(Thorsdrapa, Lay of Thor) written by the 10th-century poet

Eilífr Goðrúnarson Eilífr Goðrúnarson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) was a late 10th-century skald, considered to be the author of the poem ''Þórsdrápa''. He is also credited with ''Hákonar drápa jarls'' and a fragment remains of a poem with Christian al ...

, in the service of Jarl Hákon Sigurðarson, refers to Thor's power-belt.

Harðvaxnar sér herðir halllands of sik falla (gatat maðr) njótr (hin neytri) njarð- (ráð fyrir sér) gjarðar. Þverrir lætr nema þyrri Þorns barna sér Mǫrnar snerriblóð til svíra salþaks megin vaxa.

The line "njótr njarðgjarðar" literally means "he who benefits from the mighty belt", referring to Thor's magical belt/girdle of strength/power, Megingjörð. In

Gylfaginning ''Gylfaginning'' (Old Norse: 'The Beguiling of Gylfi' or 'The Deluding of Gylfi'; 13th century Old Norse pronunciation ) is the first main part of the 13th century ''Prose Edda'', after the initial Prologue. The ''Gylfaginning'' takes the form of ...

, which is the first part of

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...

, after

Prologue A prologue or prolog (from Ancient Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier st ...

, verse 45 refers to Thor's power-belt.

En er kom at dagan, þá gekk Þórr út ok sér mann, hvar lá skammt frá honum í skóginum, ok var sá eigi lítill. Hann svaf ok hraut sterkliga. Þá þóttist Þórr skilja, hvat látum verit hafði of nóttina. Hann spennir sik megingjörðum, ok óx honum ásmegin. Ok í því bili vaknar sá maðr ok stóð skjótt upp, en þá er sagt, at Þór varð bilt einu sinni at slá hann með hamrinum ok spurði hann at nafni.

The line "Hann spennir sik megingjörðum, ok óx honum ásmegin" means "He girded himself with his belt of strength, and his divine strength grew" ("He" being Thor).

Notes

References

* Orchard, Andy (1997). ''Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend''. Cassell. Artifacts in Norse mythology Thor Belts (clothing) {{Norse-myth-stub