![Claes Kurck Skåne hammer - HST DIG55488 original](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Claes_Kurck_Sk%C3%A5ne_hammer_-_HST_DIG55488_original.jpg)
Mjölnir (from
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
Mjǫllnir) is the
hammer
A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...
of the
thunder god
Polytheistic peoples from many cultures have postulated a thunder god, the personification or source of the forces of thunder and lightning; a lightning god does not have a typical depiction, and will vary based on the culture. In Indo-European c ...
Thor
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent 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 groves ...
in
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, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...
, used both as a devastating weapon and as a divine instrument to provide blessings. The hammer is attested in numerous sources, including the 11th century runic
Kvinneby amulet
The Kvinneby amulet ( Öl SAS1989;43) is an 11th-century runic amulet found in the mid-1950s buried in the village of Södra Kvinneby in Öland, Sweden. The amulet is a square copper plate measuring approximately 5 cm on each side. Near one e ...
, the ''
Poetic Edda
The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the ''Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic me ...
'', a collection of eddic poetry compiled in the 13th century, and the ''
Prose Edda
The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' ( is, Snorra Edda) or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often assumed to have been t ...
'', a collection of prose and poetry compiled in the 13th century. The hammer was commonly worn as a
pendant
A pendant is a loose-hanging piece of jewellery, generally attached by a small loop to a necklace, which may be known as a "pendant necklace". A pendant earring is an earring with a piece hanging down. Its name stems from the Latin word ...
during the
Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...
in the
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
n cultural sphere, and Thor and his hammer occur depicted on a variety of objects from the archaeological record. Today the symbol appears in a wide variety of media and is again worn as a pendant by various groups, including adherents of modern
Heathenry.
Etymology
The etymology of the hammer's name, ''Mjǫllnir'', is disputed among
historical linguists. Old Norse ''Mjǫllnir'' developed from
Proto-Norse
Proto-Norse (also called Ancient Nordic, Ancient Scandinavian, Ancient Norse, Primitive Norse, Proto-Nordic, Proto-Scandinavian and Proto-North Germanic) was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved as a ...
*''melluniaR'' and one proposed derivation connects this form to
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language.
Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with Standard language, standardizing the lan ...
''mlunuji'' and Russian ''molnija'' meaning 'lightning' (either borrowed from a Slavic source or both stemming from a common source) and subsequently yielding the meaning 'lightning-maker'. Another proposal connects ''Mjǫllnir'' to Old Norse ''mjǫll'' meaning 'new snow' and modern
Icelandic ''mjalli'' meaning 'the color white', rendering ''Mjǫllnir'' as 'shining lightning weapon'. Finally, another proposal connects Old Norse ''Mjǫllnir'' to Old Norse ''mala'' meaning 'to grind' and
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
''malwjan'' 'to grind', yielding ''Mjǫllnir'' as meaning '
the grinder'.
[Simek 2007: 219–220.]
Attestations
Kvinneby amulet
![Kvinnebyamuletten 225526](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Kvinnebyamuletten_225526.jpg)
Likely worn around the neck, the
Kvinneby amulet
The Kvinneby amulet ( Öl SAS1989;43) is an 11th-century runic amulet found in the mid-1950s buried in the village of Södra Kvinneby in Öland, Sweden. The amulet is a square copper plate measuring approximately 5 cm on each side. Near one e ...
is a small copper amulet found in
Öland
Öland (, ; ; sometimes written ''Øland'' in other Scandinavian languages, and often ''Oland'' internationally; la, Oelandia) is the second-largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area ...
, Sweden that dates from the 11th century and features an Old Norse
Younger futhark
The Younger Futhark, also called Scandinavian runes, is a runic alphabet and a reduced form of the Elder Futhark, with only 16 characters, in use from about the 9th century, after a "transitional period" during the 7th and 8th centuries.
The r ...
inscription that invokes Thor and his hammer.
Runologists
Runology is the study of the Runic alphabets, Runic inscriptions and their history. Runology forms a specialized branch of Germanic linguistics.
History
Runology was initiated by Johannes Bureus (1568–1652), who was very interested in the lingu ...
Mindy MacLeod and Bernard Mees translate the amulet as follows:
:'Here I carve for you (runes of) help, Bofi.
:Help me! Knowledge (?) is certain for you.
:And may the lightning hold all evil away from Bofi.
:May Thor protect him with his hammer which came from out of the sea.
:Flee from evil! It (?) gets nothing from Bofi.
:The gods are under him and over him.'
[MacLeod & Mees 2006: 28.]
The amulet inscription references narratives recorded hundreds of years later in both the ''Poetic Edda'' and ''Prose Edda'' (see discussion regarding ''Hymiskviða'' and ''Gylfaginning'' below).
''Poetic Edda''
In the ''Poetic Edda'', Mjölnir is mentioned in the eddic poems ''
Vafþrúðnismál
''Vafþrúðnismál'' (Old Norse: "The Lay of Vafþrúðnir") is the third poem in the ''Poetic Edda''. It is a conversation in verse form conducted initially between the Æsir Odin and Frigg, and subsequently between Odin and the jötunn Vafþr ...
'', ''
Hymiskviða
''Hymiskviða'' (Old Norse: 'The lay of Hymir'; anglicized as ''Hymiskvitha'', ''Hymiskvidha'' or ''Hymiskvida'') is a poem collected in the ''Poetic Edda''. The poem appears to have been first written down in the late 12th century.''Norse Mytholo ...
'', ''
Lokasenna
''Lokasenna'' (Old Norse: 'The Flyting of Loki', or 'Loki's Verbal Duel') is one of the poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. The poem presents flyting between the gods and Loki. It is written in the ljóðaháttr metre, typical for wisdom verse. ''Lo ...
'', and ''
Þrymskviða
''Þrymskviða'' (Þrym's Poem; the name can be anglicised as ''Thrymskviða'', ''Thrymskvitha'', ''Thrymskvidha'' or ''Thrymskvida'') is one of the best known poems from the ''Poetic Edda''. The Norse myth had enduring popularity in Scandinavi ...
''. In a stanza from ''Vafþrúðnismál'', the wise jötunn
Vafþrúðnir
Vafþrúðnir (Old Norse: ; "mighty weaver"Orchard (1997:170).) is a wise jötunn in Norse mythology. His name comes from ''Vaf'', which means weave or entangle, and ''thrudnir'', which means strong or mighty. Some interpret it to mean "mighty in ...
tells the disguised god Odin that after the events of
Ragnarök,
Móði and Magni
In Norse mythology, Móði (Old Norse: ; anglicized Módi or Mothi) and Magni are the sons of Thor. Their names translate to "Wrath" and "Mighty," respectively. Rudolf Simek states that, along with Thor's daughter Þrúðr ("Strength"), they embo ...
, sons of Thor, will wield Mjölnir:
In ''Hymiskviða'', after gaining a tremendous cauldron that the jötunn (and personified ocean)
Ægir
Ægir (anglicised as Aegir; Old Norse 'sea'), Hlér (Old Norse 'sea'), or Gymir (Old Norse less clearly 'sea, engulfer'), is a jötunn and a personification of the sea in Norse mythology. In the Old Norse record, Ægir hosts the gods in his halls ...
has requested so that he may brew the gods ale, Thor battles malicious jötnar with the hammer (referred to here as ''whales'' as a poetic device):
![Loki leaves the hall and threatens the Æsir with fire by Frølich](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Loki_leaves_the_hall_and_threatens_the_%C3%86sir_with_fire_by_Fr%C3%B8lich.jpg)
In ''Lokasenna'', in which the deity
Loki
Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...
and other gods trade insults (see
flyting). In the poem, the gods threaten Loki with Mjölnir as part of a
refrain
A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...
repeated in all four stanzas in which he speaks.
[Larrington 2014: 90–91.]
The hammer is a focal point of the eddic poem ''Þrymskviða''. In the poem, Thor wakes one day to find that his hammer is missing. Furious, the god pulls his beard, shakes his head, and searches for the absent weapon. Thor consults with Loki, informing him that only he knows that his hammer is missing.
[Larrington 2014: 93.]
Thor and Loki go to the goddess
Freyja
In Norse paganism, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chario ...
, and Loki asks her if he might use her feather garment. Freyja readily agrees, Loki puts on the cloak, and flies to
Jötunheimr
The terms Jötunheimr (in Old Norse orthography: Jǫtunheimr ; often anglicised as Jotunheim) or Jötunheimar refer to either a land or multiple lands in Nordic mythology inhabited by the jötnar. are typically, but not exclusively, presente ...
. There he finds the jötunn
Þrymr
In Norse mythology, Þrymr (''Thrymr'', ''Thrym''; "uproar") was king of the jǫtnar. In one legend, he stole Mjǫlnir, Thor's hammer, to extort the gods into giving him Freyja as his wife. His kingdom was called Jötunheimr, but according to ...
sitting on a
burial mound
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
and caring for his animals.
[Larrington 2014: 94.]
The two speak, and Þrymr confirms to Loki that he has stolen the hammer. Þrymr says that he has buried it deep in the ground and no one will ever get it back unless they bring him Freyja to be his wife. Loki flies back to
Asgard
In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr'' ; "enclosure of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in a multitude of Old Norse sagas and mythological texts. It is described as the fortified home of the Æsir ...
and meets with Thor. Thor asks Loki if he has any news, and Loki tells Thor Þrymr's ultimatum.
Thor and Loki go to Freyja. One of the two asks Freyja to put on a bridal head-dress and come with them to Jötunheim. Freyja is so enraged by this request that the hall shakes, and her necklace,
Brísingamen, breaks off. The goddess refuses.
![Ah, what a lovely maid it is! by Elmer Boyd Smith](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Ah%2C_what_a_lovely_maid_it_is%21_by_Elmer_Boyd_Smith.jpg)
The gods meet together in counsel (see
Thing (assembly)
A thing, german: ding, ang, þing, enm, thing. (that is, "assembly" or folkmoot) was a governing assembly in early Germanic society, made up of the free people of the community presided over by a lawspeaker. Things took place at regular in ...
) and discuss how to get the hammer back. The god
Heimdallr proposes that Thor put on a bridal head-dress and wear Brísingamen as if he were Freyja. Thor initially rejects the proposal, but Loki convinces him that if he doesn't, the jötnar in Jötunheim who stole his hammer will soon call Asgard their home. The gods dress Thor in bridal gear, Loki dresses as "Freyja’s" maid to accompany him, and the two drive Thor's goat-led wagon to Jötunheimr, producing flames and splitting mountains along the way.
[Larrington 2014: 96.]
From the hall yard, Þrym spots the duo arriving and tells his retinue to prepare by tossing straw on the hall benches. That night, Þrym says that he is surprised to find his bride-to-be ferociously eating and drinking, consuming nine entrees—one ox and eight salmon—and three casks of mead. Loki responds that "Freyja" had neither drank nor eaten for eight nights before this one as she was so eager to come to Jötunheimr.
Þrym lifts "Freyja"’s bridal veil to kiss her, only to spring back: The bride’s eyes were "terrifying", as if "fire is burning from them". The disguised Loki explains this was because "Freyja" had not slept for eight nights before this one, because she was so eager to arrive in Jötunheim (on the topic of the numbers three and nine in Norse myth, see
numbers in Norse mythology
The numbers three and nine are significant numbers in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Both numbers (and multiples thereof) appear throughout surviving attestations of Norse mythology, in both mythology and Germanic paganism..
While the ...
).
[Larrington 2014: 96–97.]
Finally, Þrymr calls for Mjölnir to be brought forth to sanctify the bride with the assistance of the goddess
Vár
In Norse mythology, Vár or Vór (Old Norse, meaning either "pledge"Orchard (1997:173). or "beloved"Byock (2005:178) and Simek (2007:353).) is a goddess associated with oaths and agreements. Vár is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the ...
:
"Freyja" sees the hammer and laughs internally before grabbing it, killing Þrym and another jötunn, and pummeling the gathered wedding guests. The poem ends with a prose note indicating that this is how the god got his hammer back.
''Prose Edda''
Mjölnir receives mention throughout the Prose Edda books ''Gylfaginning'' and ''Skáldskaparmál''.
''Gylfaginning''
Early in ''Gylfaginning'', High describes the god Thor and his "three special possessions": his hammer Mjölnir, his 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 ...
, and his belt
Megingjörð
In Norse mythology, the megingjörð ( non, megingjǫrð , meaning "power-belt"Orchard (1997:110)) is a belt worn by the god Thor. The Old Norse name megin means power or strength, and gjörð means belt.
According to the ''Prose Edda'', the be ...
. High explains that Thor must wear his gloves with his hammer, and that Mjölnir is well known among the jötnar due to the skulls of many jötunn it has smashed over time.
[Faulkes 1987: 22.]
The enthroned figure of Third reluctantly relates a tale in which Thor and Loki are riding in Thor's chariot, pulled by his two goats,
Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr
Tanngrisnir (Old Norse: , literal meaning "teeth thin", or "one that has gaps between the teeth") and Tanngnjóstr (, "teeth grinder" or "one that grinds teeth") are the goats who pull the chariot of the god Thor in Norse mythology. They are atte ...
. Loki and Thor stop at the home of a peasant farmer, and there they are given lodging for a night. Thor slaughters his goats, skins them and puts them in a pot. When the goats are cooked, Loki and Thor sit down for their evening meal. Thor invites the peasant family to share the meal with him and they do so.
[Faulkes 1987: 37–38.]
At the end of the meal, Thor places the skins of the goat on the opposing side of the fire and tells the peasants to throw the bones of the goats on to the goatskins. The peasant's son Þjálfi takes one of the goat ham-bones and uses a knife to split it open, breaking the bone to get to the marrow. After staying the night at the peasants house, Thor wakes up and gets dressed before the break of dawn. Thor takes the hammer Mjölnir, raises it, and blesses the goat skins. Resurrected, the goats stand, but one of the two goats is lame in the hind leg. Noting this new lameness, Thor exclaims that someone has mistreated the bones of his goats; that someone broke the ham-bone during the meal the night before.
[Faulkes 1987: 38.]
![I am the giant Skrymir by Elmer Boyd Smith](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/I_am_the_giant_Skrymir_by_Elmer_Boyd_Smith.jpg)
In a tale recounted by Third, the gods Loki and Thor, along with Thor's servants
Þjálfi and Röskva
In Norse mythology, Þjálfi (Old Norse: ) and Röskva (O.N.: ) are two siblings, male and female respectively, who are servants of the god Thor. Þjálfi receives a single mention in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlie ...
, encounter an enormous forest when they arrive in Jötunheimr. The group has difficulty finding lodging until they encounter a huge and peculiar building with a very wide entrance. They decide to spend the night in the structure. At midnight they experience an earthquake and decide to search the building. They find nothing. Mjölnir in hand, Thor guards the hall's entrance until the crew hears intense groaning and rumbling.
[Faulkes 1987: 38–39.]
At dawn, Thor leaves the hall and sees an enormous man asleep and loudly snoring. Thor realizes he had in fact heard the snoring of this tremendous man. The god puts on his belt, his strength increases, and the man stands. Seeing his height, Third says that "and the say that Thor was for once was afraid to strike him with the hammer, and asked him for his name". The large man says that his name is Skrýmir and reveals that Thor, Loki, Þjálfi, and Röskva had slept not in a hall but rather in Skrýmir's glove.
[Faulkes 1987: 39.]
Skrýmir tells Thor that he doesn't need to introduce himself because he already knows that he is Thor. Later in the trip, Thor attacks Skrýmir as he sleeps in three separate occasions: In the first instance, Skrýmir awakes and asks if a leaf has fallen on his head; in the second instance, Skrýmir awakes and asks if an acorn fell on his head; and on the third and final instance, Skrýmir asks if birds above him may have knocked twigs down on to his head.
[Faulkes 1987: 39–40.]
Later Skrýmir reveals that this had all been an illusion: For example, the enormous Skrýmir was in fact the sorcerer
Útgarða-Loki
In Norse mythology, Útgarða-Loki (Anglicized as Utgarda-Loki, Utgard-Loki, and Utgardsloki) was the ruler of the castle Útgarðr in Jötunheimr. He was one of the Jötnar and his name means literally "Loki of the Outyards" or "Loki of the ...
and the blows Thor landed terrified him: He details that had they hit him, they would have killed him, and that his blows had hammered a deep valley in the landscape.
[Faulkes 1987: 44–45.]
''Gylfaginning'' contains a retelling of the material found in ''Hymiskviða'' (discussed above). In this version, Thor throws his hammer and strikes off the head of the great serpent
Jörmungandr
In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr ( non, Jǫrmungandr, lit=the Vast gand, see Etymology), also known as the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent ( non, Miðgarðsormr), is an unfathomably large sea serpent or worm who dwells in the world sea, encir ...
. Third notes, however, that he does not believe that this occurred: Third says he believes that the serpent still lives in the sea, coiled around the world.
[Faulkes 1987: 48.]
Later in ''Gylfaginning'', High recounts the death and ship funeral of the god
Baldr. The gods are unable to move the ship on their own, and so request that the powerful jötunn
Hyrrokkin
Hyrrokkin (Old Norse: ) is a female jötunn in Norse mythology. According to 13th-century poet Snorri Sturluson, she launched the largest of all ships at Baldr's funeral after the Æsir gods were unable to budge the vessel.
Hyrrokkin was a re ...
comes from
Jötunheim to help. Hyrrokin arrives riding a wolf with vipers as reins. Hyrrokkin pushes the ship, and it launches with her first touch, it launches with intense flames and earthquakes. This infuriates Thor: He desires to crush Hyyrokkin's skull with his hammer but the other gods convince him not to attack her.
[Faulkes 1987: 49.]
Baldr's body is carried on to the ship. Baldr's wife, the goddess
Nanna
Nanna may refer to:
*Grandmother
Mythology
* Sin (mythology), god of the moon in Sumerian mythology, also called Suen
* Nanna (Norse deity), goddess associated with the god Baldr in Norse mythology
* Nana Buluku, Fon/Dahomey androgynous deity cre ...
, sees it, and she dies of sorrow. The assembled place her with Baldr on the ship's pyre, before lighting it. Thor consecrates the boring ship with his hammer. A
dwarf
Dwarf or dwarves may refer to:
Common uses
*Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore
* Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...
named Lit runs before his feet, and he kicks him into the flames, where he burns.
''Gylfaginning'' concludes with a foretelling of the events of
Ragnarök, during which the world suffers from cataclysm and disasters before returning green and beautiful. High describes the return of various gods after Ragnarök, including Thor's sons Móði and Magni, who return to Asgard holding their father's hammer, Mjölnir. This account quotes the ''Völuspá'' stanza above.
[Faulkes 1987: 56.]
''Skáldskaparmál''
The ''Prose Edda'' book ''Skáldskaparmál'' contains a few mentions of the hammer, including an instance of its mention in
skaldic poetry
A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditional ...
. A section dedicated to
kenning
A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech in the type of circumlocution, a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse-Icelandic and Old English po ...
s used by poets to refer to the god says that Thor can be referred to as "ruler and owner" of Mjölnir.
[Faulkes 1987: 72.]
The section cites a piece from 9th century skald
Bragi Boddason
Bragi Boddason, known as Bragi the Old (Old Norse: ''Bragi hinn gamli'') was a Norwegian skald active in the first half of the 9th century, the earliest known skald from whom verses have survived. Portions of his ''Ragnarsdrápa'' are preserved ...
that references the hammer:
:Oflugbardi's terrifier
hor
Hor Awibre (also known as Hor I) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the Thirteenth dynasty of Egypt, 13th Dynasty reigning from c. 1777 BC until 1775 BCK.S.B. Ryholt, ''The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period'', ''Carsten ...
lifted his hammer in his right hand when he recognized the coal-fish that bounds all lands
he Midgard serpent
The section also cites a piece from
Gamli gnævaðarskáld
Gamli gnævaðarskáld was an Icelandic skald.
One half-stanza from a poem about Thor dealing with the god's fight against Jörmungandr and one fragment from a poem about an unidentifiable king are all that survive of his work. They were preserve ...
who mentions the hammer:
:While Bilskirnir's lord, who never nursed treachery in his heart, did quickly destroy the sea-bed-fish
idgard serpentwith gorge-whales
iant'sbane
iollnir
''Skáldskaparmál'' provides an account of Thor's use of Mjölnir in a fight with the jötunn
Hrungnir
Hrungnir (Old Norse: , 'brawler') is a jötunn in Norse mythology. He is described as made of stone and is ultimately killed in a duel with the thunder god Thor.
Prior to his demise, Hrungnir engaged in a wager with Odin in which Odin stakes his ...
. In it, after the gods had grown tired of Hrungnir's obnoxious boasting in Asgard, they call on Thor, who immediately appears, his hammer raised. Thor ultimately duels Hrungnir, and to the duel Hrungnir brings a
whetstone as a weapon. Thor throws the hammer at Hrungnir and Hrungnir responds by throwing the whetstone at Thor, and Mjölnir splits it in two. One part of the whetstone becomes the predecessor of all whetstones, whereas the other part lodges itself into Thor's head. Meanwhile, Mjölnir smashes Hrungnir's skull into fragments.
[Faulkes 1987: 79–82.]
In reference to this tale, the section provides extended excerpts from ''
Haustlöng
''Haustlǫng'' (Old Norse: 'Autumn-long'; anglicized as ''Haustlöng'') is a skaldic poem composed around the beginning of the 10th century by the Norwegian skald Þjóðólfr of Hvinir.
The poem has been preserved in the 13th-century ''Prose E ...
'', a piece attributed to 10th century skald
Þjóðólfr of Hvinir
Þjóðólfr ór Hvini (anglicized as Thjódólf of Hvinir or Thiodolf; fl. late 9th–early 10th c. AD), was a Norwegian skald, said to have been one of the court-poets of the semi-legendary Norwegian king Harald Fairhair. His name suggests that h ...
. Þjóðólfr's poem mentions Mjölnir in a few different instances, such as "The rock-gentlemen
iantdid not have to wait long after that for a swift blow from the tough multitude-smashing friend
hor
Hor Awibre (also known as Hor I) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the Thirteenth dynasty of Egypt, 13th Dynasty reigning from c. 1777 BC until 1775 BCK.S.B. Ryholt, ''The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period'', ''Carsten ...
of hammer-face-troll
iollnir and "There sank down the gully-land
ountainprince
iantbefore the tough hammer and the rock-Dane-breaker
hor
Hor Awibre (also known as Hor I) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the Thirteenth dynasty of Egypt, 13th Dynasty reigning from c. 1777 BC until 1775 BCK.S.B. Ryholt, ''The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period'', ''Carsten ...
forced back the mighty defiant one."
[Faulkes 1987: 80–81.]
''Skáldskaparmál'' also contains a prose account of Thor's encounter with
Geirröðr
Geirröðr (also Geirröd) is a jötunn in Norse mythology. He is the father of the Gjálp and Greip, who are killed by the thunder-god Thor.
Geirröðr is mentioned in the skaldic poem '' Þórsdrápa'', written by Eilíf Godrúnarson (l ...
: The prose introduction notes that Thor arrived at Geirröðr's courts without his hammer. In its place, he uses a pole given to him by his jötunn lover,
Gríðr
Gríðr (Old Norse: ; or Gríd) is a jötunn in Norse mythology. She is the mother of Víðarr the silent and the consort of Odin.
Saturn's moon Gridr was named after her.
Name
The poetic Old Norse name ''Gríðr'' has been translated as "v ...
.
[Faulkes 1987: 81–82.]
The final mention the hammer in ''Skáldskaparmál'' offers an explanation of its manufacture by the
dwarf
Dwarf or dwarves may refer to:
Common uses
*Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore
* Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...
brothers
Eitri
In Norse mythology, Eitri (Old Norse: ; or Sindri) is a dwarf and the brother of Brokkr.
According to ''Skáldskaparmál'', when Loki had Sif's hair, Freyr's ship Skidbladnir and Odin's spear Gungnir fashioned by the Sons of Ivaldi, he bet ...
and
Brokkr
In Norse mythology, Brokkr (Old Norse: , "the one who works with metal fragments; blacksmith", anglicized Brokk) is a dwarf, and the brother of Eitri or Sindri.
According to ''Skáldskaparmál'', Loki had Sif's hair, Freyr's ship Skíðblaðn ...
. In this narrative, Loki cuts the goddess
Sif
In Norse mythology, Sif (Old Norse: ) is a golden-haired goddess associated with earth. Sif is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century ...
's hair. Upon discovering this, Thor grabs Loki and threatens to crush every bone in his body if he does not come up with a solution. Loki goes to the
svartálfar
In Norse cosmology, svartálfar ( O.N. "black elves", "swarthy elves", sing. svartálfr), also called myrkálfar ("dark elves", "dusky elves", "murky elves", sing. myrkálfr), are beings who dwell in Svartalfheim (''Svartálf eimr'', "home of the ...
, and for him the
Sons of Ivaldi
In Norse mythology, the Sons of Ivaldi are a group of dwarfs who fashion Skíðblaðnir, the flying ship of Freyr, Gungnir, the spear belonging to Odin, along with the golden hair for Sif to replace what Loki had cut off.
According to ''Skál ...
make three special items: Sif's hair of gold, Freyr's ship
Skíðblaðnir
''Skíðblaðnir'' (Old Norse: , 'assembled from thin pieces of wood'Simek (2007:289).), sometimes anglicized as ''Skidbladnir'' or ''Skithblathnir'', is the best of ships in Norse mythology. It is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in th ...
, and Odin's spear
Gungnir
In Norse mythology, Gungnir (, "the rocking") is the spear of the god Odin.
Attestations ''Poetic Edda''
In the Poetic Edda poem ''Völuspá'', the Æsir-Vanir War is described as officially starting when Odin throws a spear over the heads of ...
.
[Faulkes 1987: 96.]
Seeing this, Loki wagers his head with the dwarf
Brokkr
In Norse mythology, Brokkr (Old Norse: , "the one who works with metal fragments; blacksmith", anglicized Brokk) is a dwarf, and the brother of Eitri or Sindri.
According to ''Skáldskaparmál'', Loki had Sif's hair, Freyr's ship Skíðblaðn ...
on whether his brother
Eitri
In Norse mythology, Eitri (Old Norse: ; or Sindri) is a dwarf and the brother of Brokkr.
According to ''Skáldskaparmál'', when Loki had Sif's hair, Freyr's ship Skidbladnir and Odin's spear Gungnir fashioned by the Sons of Ivaldi, he bet ...
can make three more items of equal quality. As Eitri works on the three precious objects, a fly enters the room and bites him three times: First, the fly lands on the dwarf's arm and bites it, but Brokkr does not react: He places a pig skin in the forge and from it pulls the golden boar
Gullinbursti
Gullinbursti (Old Norse: , meaning "Gold Mane" or "Golden Bristles") is a boar in Norse mythology.
When Loki had Sif's hair, Freyr's ship Skíðblaðnir, and Odin's spear Gungnir fashioned by the Sons of Ivaldi, he bet his own head with Brok ...
; second, the fly lands on and bites the back of the dwarf's neck, but he does not react: after inserting gold, he pulls from the forge
Draupnir
In Norse mythology, Draupnir (Old Norse: , "the dripper"Orchard (1997:34).) is a gold ring possessed by the god Odin with the ability to multiply itself: Every ninth night, eight new rings 'drip' from Draupnir, each one of the same size and weig ...
, a golden ring that produces eight more of itself every nine nights; and third and final, the fly lands on the dwarf's eyelid and bites him, causing blood to obscure his vision. Nonetheless, Brokkr inserts iron into the forge and pulls from it a hammer, Mjölnir.
The gods Odin, Thor, and Freyr assemble to judge the quality of these items. While reviewing items and explaining their function, Brokkr says the following about Mjölnir:
:Then he gave Thor the hammer and said he would be able to strike as heavily as he liked, whatever the target, and the hammer would not fail, and if he threw it at something, it would never miss, and never fly so far that it would not find its way back to his hand, and if he liked, it was so small that it could be kept inside his shirt. But there was this defect in it that the end of the hammer was rather short.
[Faulkes 1987: 97.]
The three assembled gods judge the hammer to be the best of all the objects, and the tale continues without further mention of the object.
Archaeological record
Hammer pendants, rings, coins, typology, taxonomy, and Eitri database
Around 1000 pendants in distinctive shapes representing the hammer of Thor have been unearthed in what are today the
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...
, England, northern Germany, the Baltic countries and Russia. Most have very simple designs in iron or silver. Around 100 have more advanced designs with ornaments.
[Natmus.dk 2014.] The pendants have been found in a variety of contexts (including at urban sites, and in hoards) and occur in a variety of shapes. As of 2004, 10% of all finds were from graves, nearly all of which are cremations.
[Nordeide 2006: 218–219.] The burials are often identified as women's graves.
In addition to pendants, the hammer has been found depicted on objects such as on two Arabic coins found at an urban dig site.
Here are four examples of Mjölnir finds, their dating, and their discovery context:
In 1999, German archaeologist Jörn Staecker proposed a typology for the hammer finds based on decorative style and material properties (such as amber, iron, or silver). In 2019, American scholar Katherine Suzanne Beard proposed an extension of the typology based on factors such as hammer shape and suspension type.
[Beard 2019: 14–15.] In 2019, Beard also launched
Eitri: The Norse Artifacts Database', an online database that lists numerous hammer finds and includes data about their composition and discovery context.
[''Eitri: The Norse Artifacts Database'' may be viewed online here](_blank)
(last accessed 18 January 2021). Beard developed the database as part of her MA thesis at the University of Iceland under superivision by Terry Gunnell. Some of these entries may also be found in Beard 2019: 171–228.
The development of the hammer pendants has been the subject of study by a variety of scholars. The hammers amulets appear to have developed from an earlier tradition of similar pendants among the north Germanic peoples.
[Beard 2019: 124–125.] Scholars have also noted that the hammer may have developed from a pendant worn by other ancient Germanic people, the so-called
club of Hercules amulet.
[Simek 1993: 14–15.] The increase in popularity of the amulet in the Viking Age and some variants of it shape may have been a response to the use of Christian cross pendants appearing more commonly in the region during the process of Christianization.
File:Mjollnir.png, Drawing of a 4.6 cm gold-plated silver pendant found at on , Sweden
File:Thor's hammer, Fitjar.jpg, Drawing of a silver Thor's hammer amulet found in , , Norway
File:Torshammare Muller 1888-1895 pl41.jpg, Drawing of Thor's hammer amulet from , , Denmark
File:Torshammare_fr_Skåne_(KVHoA_Akademiens_Månadsblad_1895_s102_fig82)_vit_bakgr.jpg, Drawing of a silver-gilted Thor's hammer found in Scania
Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...
, Sweden
File:Thorshammer from Rømersdal (Original Piece).jpg, Photograph of a hammer from Rømersdal, Bornholm, Denmark, dated c. 790-1100 CE
In Viking Age cremation graves in the
Mälaren
Mälaren ( , , or ), historically referred to as Lake Malar in English, is the third-largest freshwater lake in Sweden (after Vänern and Vättern). Its area is 1,140 km2 and its greatest depth is 64 m. Mälaren spans 120 kilometers from e ...
area,
Åland
Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1 ...
and Russia, there are finds of what archaeologists have named Thor's hammer-rings. These are iron rings with multiple amulets attached; many but not all amulets are shaped like hammers. Found in cinerary urns, in graves for both sexes but more often in women's graves, the amulet rings may have played a role in cremation practices, but their exact function is unknown. The earliest examples are from the
Vendel Period
In Swedish prehistory, the Vendel Period ( sv, Vendeltiden; 540–790 AD) appears between the Migration Period and the Viking Age. The name is taken from the rich boat inhumation cemetery at Vendel parish church, Uppland. This is a period wit ...
but they appear to have become more common in the late Viking Age, which might be connected to political and religious conflicts.
Eyrarland Statue
![Reykjavik - Thor-Figur 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Reykjavik_-_Thor-Figur_1.jpg)
The
Eyrarland Statue
The Eyrarland Statue is a bronze statue of a seated figure (6.7 cm) from about AD 1000 that was recovered at the Eyrarland farm in the area of Akureyri, Iceland. The object is a featured item at the National Museum of Iceland. The statue may ...
, a copper alloy figure found near , Iceland dating from around the 11th century, may depict Thor seated and gripping his hammer.
[Orchard 1997: 161.]
Rune stones and picture stones
Pictorial representations of Thor's hammer appear on several
runestone
A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones da ...
s, such as
DR 26,
DR 48 and
DR 120 in Denmark and
VG 113,
Sö 86 and
Sö 111 in Sweden.
[McKinnell, Simek, Düwel (2004: 116–133).] At least three stones depict Thor fishing for the serpent , and two of them feature hammers: the
Altuna Runestone in , Sweden and the
Gosforth depiction in
Gosforth
Gosforth is a suburb of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It constituted a separate Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland), urban district from 1895 until 1974 before officially merging with the city of New ...
, England.
File:Sö 111, Stenkvista.jpg, A runestone from , Sweden bearing a depiction of Thor's hammer
File:U1161 Altunastenen Tors fiskafänge 2.jpg, The Altuna stone from Sweden, one of four stones depicting Thor's fishing trip
File:Altunastenen U 1161 (Raä-nr Altuna 42-1) Tor detalj 0440.jpg, Closeup of Thor with depicted on the Altuna stone.
File:Gosforth fishing.jpg, The Gosforth depiction, one of the stones depicting Thor's fishing trip
As Beard notes, Thor "is the only known god to have been called on to bless or hallow
runestone
A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones da ...
s from the Viking Age", a fact observed by scholars since at least the 19th century.
[Beard 2019: 119.]
Scholarly reception and interpretation
Latin sources: Adam of Bremen and Saxo Grammaticus
![Olaus Magnus - On the three Main Gods of the Geats](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Olaus_Magnus_-_On_the_three_Main_Gods_of_the_Geats.jpg)
Two sources describe Thor as wielding hammer-like objects, although not described as hammers. In the 11th century, chronicler
Adam of Bremen
Adam of Bremen ( la, Adamus Bremensis; german: Adam von Bremen) (before 1050 – 12 October 1081/1085) was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. Adam is most famous for his chronicle ''Gesta ...
records in his that a statue of Thor, who Adam describes as "mightiest", sits in the
Temple at Uppsala
The Temple at Uppsala was a religious center in the ancient Norse religion once located at what is now Gamla Uppsala (Swedish "Old Uppsala"), Sweden attested in Adam of Bremen's 11th-century work '' Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum'' and ...
in the center of a triple throne (flanked by
Woden
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
and "Fricco") located in , Sweden. Adam details that "Thor, they reckon, rules the sky; he governs thunder and lightning, winds and storms, fine weather and fertility" and that "Thor, with his mace, looks like Jupiter". Adam details that the people of had appointed
priests
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in p ...
to each of the gods, and that the priests were to offer up
sacrifices
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...
. In Thor's case, he continues, these sacrifices were done when plague or famine threatened.
[Orchard 1997: 168—169.] Earlier in the same work, Adam relays that in 1030 an English preacher, Wulfred, was
lynched
Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...
by assembled Germanic pagans for "profaning" a representation of Thor.
[North 1998: 236.]
12th century Danish author Saxo Grammaticus's ''Gesta Danorum'', an
euhemerized
Euhemerism () is an approach to the interpretation of mythology in which mythological accounts are presumed to have originated from real historical events or personages. Euhemerism supposes that historical accounts become myths as they are exagge ...
version of the god depicts him as wielding a ''clava'', a club made from oak. Saxo provides a euhemerized tale about its origins that, like the ''Skáldskaparmál'' narrative above, describes the hammer as having a short handle, confirming a broader tradition both of the shortness of the hammer and also its role in narrative as a weapon intended for protecting the gods.
[Davidson & Fisher 1996: II 54.] This description occurs in book three of ''Gesta Danorum'':
:But Thor shattered all their shield-defences with the terrific swings of his club, calling on his enemies to attack him as much as his comrades support him. There was no armour which could stand up to his strokes, nor anyone who could survive them. Shields, helmets, everything he drove at with his oak cudgel was crushed on impact, nor were bodily size or muscle any protection. Consequently victory would have gone to the gods, had not
Høther, whose line of men had bent inwards, flown forward and rendered the club useless by lopping off the handle. Immediately they were denied this weapon the deities fled.
[Davidson & Fisher 1996: I 72, II 54.]
Various scholars have considered these weapons to simply be references to Mjölnir. Beard notes that "the archaeological hammer finds (even those contemporary to Adam's account) clearly do not resemble these club-like weapons at all, making it possible that their existence in the literature is more likely a result of ''
interpretatio romana
''Interpretatio graeca'' (Latin, "Greek translation") or "interpretation by means of Greek odels is a discourse used to interpret or attempt to understand the mythology and religion of other cultures; a comparative methodology using ancient Gr ...
'' than anything else (although one should remember that the Irish
Dagda
The Dagda (Old Irish: ''In Dagda,'' ga, An Daghdha, ) is an important god in Irish mythology. One of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Dagda is portrayed as a father-figure, king, and druid.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia' ...
also uses a club ...). Indeed, there is only a single instance of a hammer made of wood in the entirety of
he Eitri database and this artifact is a mere half fragment that may not be a hammer at all."
[Beard 2019: 154–155.]
Temple instruments and ceremonial significance
The Old Norse record mentions Thor using Mjölnir not only as a fearsome weapon but also a means of sanctifying or hallowing. For example, as detailed above, ''Þrymskviða'' mentions that the hammer was to be brought in to sanctify the bride (who in fact turns out to be Thor in disguise), in ''Gylfaginning'' Thor revives his goats
Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr
Tanngrisnir (Old Norse: , literal meaning "teeth thin", or "one that has gaps between the teeth") and Tanngnjóstr (, "teeth grinder" or "one that grinds teeth") are the goats who pull the chariot of the god Thor in Norse mythology. They are atte ...
with the hammer, and in ''Skáldskaparmál'' Thor uses his hammer to bless Baldr's ship at his and Nana's ship funeral. A variety of items from the archaeological record call upon Thor for healing, some explicitly representing or invoking his hammer. According to Book 13 of Saxo Grammaticus's ''
Gesta Danorum
''Gesta Danorum'' ("Deeds of the Danes") is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark an ...
'',
Magnus the Strong
Magnus the Strong ( sv, Magnus Nilsson; da, Magnus Nielsen Bricka, Carl Frederik, ''Dansk Biografisk Lexikon'', vol. XI aar – Müllner 1897, pp.45Available online/ref>) (about 1106 – 4 June 1134 in the Battle of Fotevik) was a Danish duke wh ...
removed large hammer models from a temple dedicated to Thor (here referred to as ''Jupiter'' via ''interpretatio romana'') in 1125:
:
Oliver Elton
Oliver Elton, FBA (3 June 1861 – 4 June 1945) was an English literary scholar whose works include ''A Survey of English Literature (1730–1880)'' in six volumes, criticism, biography, and translations from several languages including Iceland ...
translation (1894):
::He took care to bring home certain hammers of unusual weight, which they call Jupiter's, used by the island men in their unique faith. For the men of old, desiring to comprehend the causes of thunder and lightning by means of the similitude of things, took hammers great and massy of bronze, with which they believed the crashing of the sky might be made, thinking that great and violent noise might very well be imitated by the smith's toil, as it were. But Magnus, in his zeal for Christian teaching and dislike for Paganism, determined to spoil the temple of its equipment, and Jupiter of his tokens in the place of his sanctity. And even now the Swedes consider him guilty of sacrilege and a robber of spoil belonging to the god.
[Cited in Davidson 1964: 81.]
According to Davidson, "it would seem indeed as though the power of the thunder god, symbolized by his hammer, extended all over that had to do with the well-being of the community. It covered birth, marriage, and death, burial, and cremation ceremonies, weapons and feasting, travelling, land-taking, and the making of oath between men. The famous weapon of Thor was not only the symbol of destructive power of the storm, of fire from heaven, but also a protection against the forces of evil and violence."
[Davidson 1964: 83–84.]
Nordic Bronze Age and potential Proto-Indo-European origins
Nordic Bronze Age
The Nordic Bronze Age (also Northern Bronze Age, or Scandinavian Bronze Age) is a period of Scandinavian prehistory from c. 2000/1750–500 BC.
The Nordic Bronze Age culture emerged about 1750 BC as a continuation of the Battle Axe culture (the ...
petroglyph
A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...
s depict figures holding hammers and hammer-like weapons, such as axes. Some scholars have proposed these to depict precursors to Mjölnir. As scholar Rudolf Simek summarizes, "as the Bronze Age rock carvings of axe or hammer-bearing god-like figures show,
jölnirplayed a role as a consecratory instrument early on, probably in a fertility cult ... ".
[Simek 2007: 219.]
Thor is one various deities associated with or personifying thunder who wields a hammer-like object associated with phenomena such as lighting or fire in a variety of myth bodies. In some cases these hammer-like objects return to the deity when thrown or result in changes in weather. Examples frequently cited by scholars include
Vedic
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...
, who wields a lightning spear;
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
, who throws lightning bolts; and the Celtic deity
Dagda
The Dagda (Old Irish: ''In Dagda,'' ga, An Daghdha, ) is an important god in Irish mythology. One of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Dagda is portrayed as a father-figure, king, and druid.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia' ...
, who carries a club. Numerous scholars have identified the concept of Thor and his hammer, like Indra, Zeus, and the Dagda, as stemming from
Proto-Indo-European mythology
Proto-Indo-European mythology is the body of myths and deities associated with the Proto-Indo-Europeans, the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language. Although the mythological motifs are not directly attested ...
.
[Cf. Beard 2019: 31, 39, 41.]
File:Tanum_Lövaasen_321_ID_10160603210001_IMG_8413.JPG, Nordic Bronze Age petroglyph featuring a figure holding a hammer-like object among the Tanum rock carvings, Sweden
File:Tanumshede_2005_rock_carvings_5.jpg, Nordic Bronze Age petroglyph featuring figures holding hammers or axe-like objects among the Tanum rock carvings, Sweden
Relationship to the swastika and Icelandic folk belief
The
swastika
The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...
appears on a variety of objects produced or used by the ancient Germanic peoples. In late Icelandic
folk belief
In folkloristics, folk belief or folk-belief is a broad genre of folklore that is often expressed in narratives, customs, rituals, foodways, proverbs, and rhymes. It also includes a wide variety of behaviors, expressions, and beliefs. Examples of ...
, Icelandic
grimoire
A grimoire ( ) (also known as a "book of spells" or a "spellbook") is a textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms and divination, and ...
s list the swastika symbol as 'Thor's hammer'. According to
runologists
Runology is the study of the Runic alphabets, Runic inscriptions and their history. Runology forms a specialized branch of Germanic linguistics.
History
Runology was initiated by Johannes Bureus (1568–1652), who was very interested in the lingu ...
Mindy MacLeod and Bernard Mees, "By early modern times, the description 'Thor's hammer' had come to be applied to swastikas ('sun-wheels'), not the hammer symbols seen in medieval runic inscriptions. Similarly, terms once used for other symbols had also come to be associated with new forms, often of unclear origin."
[MacLeod & Mees 2006: 252.] Other scholars have proposed that the swastika represented Thor's hammer among the ancient Germanic peoples form an early date.
[For discussion on this topic, see Beard 2019: 23–24.] English
folklorist
Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...
Hilda Ellis Davidson
Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson (born Hilda Roderick Ellis; 1 October 1914 – 12 January 2006) was an English folklorist. She was a scholar at the University of Cambridge and The Folklore Society, and specialized in the study of Celtic and G ...
surveys the swastika's use in the ancient archaeological Germanic record (up to 1964) and concludes that "Thor was the sender of lightning and the god who dealt out both sunshine and rain to men, and it seems likely the swastika as well as the hammer sign was connected with him."
[Davidson 1964: 82–83.]
Modern popular culture
![Sigurblót_2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Sigurbl%C3%B3t_2009.JPG)
Mjölnir is depicted in a variety of media in the modern era. As noted by Rudolf Simek, in art "Thor is almost always depicted with
jölnir, but how the hammer appears in modern depictions varies: At times it may appear as hammer-like depictions of the club of
Hercules
Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the Gr ...
, to a large
sledge hammer
A sledgehammer is a tool with a large, flat, often metal head, attached to a long handle. The long handle combined with a heavy head allows the sledgehammer to gather momentum during a swing and apply a large force compared to hammers designed t ...
, and displaying influence from the archaeological record.
[Simek 2007: 220.] Examples include
Henry Fuseli
Henry Fuseli ( ; German: Johann Heinrich Füssli ; 7 February 1741 – 17 April 1825) was a Swiss painter, draughtsman and writer on art who spent much of his life in Britain. Many of his works, such as '' The Nightmare'', deal with supernatu ...
's 1780 painting ''
Thor Battering the Midgard Serpent
''Thor Battering the Midgard Serpent'' is a 1790 painting by the Swiss artist Henry Fuseli. The nude and muscular Thor stands in Hymir's boat with the Jörmungandr on his fish hook. In the top left corner, the god Odin appears as an old man. It ...
''; 's 1821–1822 statue ''Thor''; B. E. Fogelberg's 1844 marble statue ''Thor'';
Mårten Eskil Winge's 1872 painting ''
Thor's Fight with the Giants
''Thor's Fight with the Giants'' () is an 1872 painting by the Swedish artist Mårten Eskil Winge. It depicts the Norse mythology, Norse god Thor in a battle against the Jötunn, jötnar. The thunder god rides his chariot pulled by the goats Tann ...
''; K. Ehrenberg's 1883 drawing ; several illustrations by published in 's 1901 (''Thor''; ; ; ; ; ; );
J. C. Dollman's 1909 drawings ''Thor and the Mountain'' and ''Sif and Thor''; G. Poppe's painting ''Thor''; 's 1914 drawing ; H. Natter's marble statue ''Thor''; and U. Brember's 1977 illustrations to by .
[Simek 2007: 323.]
A variety of locations, organizations, and objects are named after the hammer. Examples include
Mjølnerparken in Copenhagen, Denmark; the
Mjølnir crater, a meteorite crater off the coast of Norway; the
Hammer of Thor monument in Quebec, Canada; the
Thor's Hammer
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, and ...
rollercoaster in the
Tusenfryd
Tusenfryd (lit. "Thousand Joys", also Common Daisy) is an amusement park at Vinterbro, Norway. The park is located 20 kilometers south of Oslo. Two of the longest motorway corridors in Norway, E6 and E18, meet nearby ''Tusenfryd'' and the park ...
theme park in Norway; the Norwegian football club
FK Mjølner
FK Mjølner is a Norwegian football club from Narvik. It currently plays in the 3. divisjon, after having been relegated from the 2. divisjon in 2019. The club played at the top tier in 1972 and 1989.
History
It is named after Mjöllnir in ...
; and a variety of ship names, including the
HNoMS Mjølner (1868) and several ships by the name of
HSwMS Mjölner. Musical projects who take their name from that of the hammer include American-Norwegian metal band
Thorr's Hammer
Thorr's Hammer was an American-Norwegian death-doom band.
History
Thorr's Hammer was formed in Ballard, Seattle, Washington by Greg Anderson and Stephen O'Malley during winter 1994–1995. Soon after, Runhild Gammelsæter, then a 17-year-ol ...
and Icelandic rock band
Thor's Hammer
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, and ...
.
Tórshavn Municipality
Tórshavn Municipality (Tórshavnar kommuna) is the municipality of the Faroese capital Tórshavn and its surroundings.
The municipality covers the southern half of Streymoy island and adjacent minor islands and has an area of 173 km2. It ...
, the capital city of the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
, features a depiction of Mjölner on its seal and coat of arms, as does the
Torsås Municipality
Torsås Municipality (''Torsås kommun'', Torsås meaning "Thor's ridge") is the southernmost municipality of Kalmar County, Sweden. Its seat is located in the town Torsås.
The present municipality was created in 1971, when "old" Torsås was m ...
in Sweden.
In the modern era, Mjölnir pendants are worn by a variety of people and for a variety of purposes.
[See discussion in Beard 2019: 9–11.] For example, the symbol is commonly used by adherents of
Heathenry, a
new religious movement
A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin or th ...
.
Writing in 2006, scholars Jenny Blain and Robert J. Wallis observe that "the most common of heathen sacred artefacts is Thor's hammer" and details that "heathen spirituality is expressed visually and publicly in a number of ways, such as the display of reproduced artefacts (for example, Thor's hammer as a pendant … ), pilgrimages to sacred sites (and votive offerings left there), and 'visits' to museum collection displays of artefacts which offer direct visual (and other resonant) links to ancient religions."
[Blain & Wallis 2006: 90 & 93.] In the United States, Thor's Hammer is offered as a religious emblem (#55, "Hammer of Thor") for military veteran
grave stones produced by the
United States National Cemetery Administration.
[United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Undated. "Available Emblems of Belief for Placement on Government Headstones and Markers". cem.va.gov. Online. Last accessed 17 January 2021.]
The symbol has seen some use in
white nationalist
White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...
and
neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
circles. As noted by the
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
symbol database entry for "Thor's Hammer", "Although its traditional origins are non-racist, and although most Asatruers today are not racist, the Thor's Hammer symbol has been appropriated by neo-Nazis and other white supremacists, especially those who practice racist or white supremacist versions of neo-Norse beliefs under the guise of Odinism or Wotanism. White supremacists will often even create racist versions of the Thor's Hammer, incorporating swastikas or other hate symbols into the decoration."
["Thor's Hammer"](_blank)
Undated. Hate on Display Hate Symbol Database. Online. Last accessed 18 January 2021. Scholar Katherine Beard notes that "most people who wear hammer pendants today do so for cultural, religious, or decorative reasons and maintain absolutely no ties to any racist groups or beliefs".
[Beard 2019: 10.]
Notes
References
*Beard, Katherine Suzanne. 2019.
Hamarinn Mjǫllnir:The Eitri Database and the Evolution of the Hammer Symbol in Old Norse Mythology'. MA database project. University of Iceland. Online. Last accessed 18 January 2021.
*
Bellows, Henry Adams. Tarns. 1923. ''The Poetic Edda''. New York:
The American-Scandinavian Foundation
The American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) is an American non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting international understanding through educational and cultural exchange between the United States and Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Swede ...
.
*Blain, Jenny & Robert J. Wallace. 2006. "Representing Spirit: Heathenry, New-Indigenes and the Imaged Past" in Ian Russell, editor. ''Images, Representations and Heritage'', p. 89–108. Springer.
*
Ellis Davidson, H. R. 1964. ''Gods and Myths of Northern Europe''. Penguin.
*Davidson, Hilda Ellis &
Peter Fisher. 1996. ''Saxo Grammaticus: The History of the Danes, Books I-IX''. Boydell & Brewer Ltd.
*
Faulkes, Anthony. 1987. Trans. ''Edda''. Everyman.
*Imer, Lisbeth M. 2017
"Gamle fund – nye opdagelser" ld finds – new discoveries ''Die Faszination des Verborgenen und seine Entschlüsselung – Raði sāʀ kunni'' (in Danish). De Gruyter.
*
Larrington, Carolyne. 2014. ''The Poetic Edda''. Revised edition.
Oxford World's Classics
Oxford World's Classics is an imprint of Oxford University Press. First established in 1901 by Grant Richards and purchased by OUP in 1906, this imprint publishes primarily dramatic and classic literature for students and the general public. I ...
.
* MacLeod, Mindy & Bernard Mees. 2006. ''Runic Amulets and Magic Objects''.
Boydel & Brewer Ltd.
*
"Runer bekræfter: Thors hammer er en hammer" unes confirm: Thor's hammer is a hammer ''
Natmus.dk'' (in Danish and English). 12 June 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
* Nordeide, Sæbjørg Walaker. 2006. "Thor's hammer in Norway" in Anders Andrén, editor. ''Old Norse Religion in Long-term Perspectives''. Nordic Academic Press.
*
Orchard, Andy. 1997. ''Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend''.
Cassell.
*Sawyer, Birgit. 2003. ''The Viking-Age Rune-Stones: Custom and Commemoration in Early Medieval Scandinavia''. Oxford University Press. .
*
Simek, Rudolf. 2007
993
Year 993 ( CMXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Spring – The 12-year-old King Otto III gives the Sword of Saints Cosmas and Damian ...
Translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''.
D.S. Brewer.
*
Thorpe, Benjamin. Trans. 1866. ''Edda Sæmundar Hinns Frôða: The Edda of Sæmund the Learned.'' Part I. London: Trübner & Co.
*
Williams, Howard. 2013
"Death, Memory, and Material Culture: Catalytic Commemoration and the Cremated Dead"in
Sarah Tarlow
Sarah Tarlow is a British archaeologist and academic. As professor of historical archaeology at the University of Leicester, Tarlow is best known for her work on the archaeology of death and burial. In 2012, Tarlow was awarded the chair in archae ...
and
Liv Nilsson Stutz
Liv Nilsson Stutz is a full professor at Linnaeus University. She is a bioarchaeologist and archaeologist.
Education
She received her PhD in 2004 from Lund University
, motto = Ad utrumque
, mottoeng = Pre ...
, editors. ''The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Death and Burial''. Oxford University Press.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mjollnir
Archaeological artefact types
Early Germanic symbols
Mythological Norse weapons
Hammers
Religious symbols
Thor