Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in
Germanic paganism
Germanic paganism or Germanic religion refers to the traditional, culturally significant religion of the Germanic peoples. With a chronological range of at least one thousand years in an area covering Scandinavia, the British Isles, modern Germ ...
. 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 ...
, he is a hammer-wielding
god
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
associated with
lightning
Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...
,
thunder
Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...
,
storm
A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere
An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmos ...
s,
sacred groves and trees,
strength
Strength may refer to:
Physical strength
*Physical strength, as in people or animals
* Hysterical strength, extreme strength occurring when people are in life-and-death situations
*Superhuman strength, great physical strength far above human c ...
, the protection of humankind,
hallow
To hallow is "to make holy or sacred, to sanctify or consecrate, to venerate". The adjective form ''hallowed'', as used in ''The Lord's Prayer'', means holy, consecrated, sacred, or revered. The noun form ''hallow'', as used in ''Hallowtide'', ...
ing, and
fertility
Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...
. Besides
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 ...
, the deity occurs in
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
as , in
Old Frisian
Old Frisian was a West Germanic language spoken between the 8th and 16th centuries along the North Sea coast, roughly between the mouths of the Rhine and Weser rivers. The Frisian settlers on the coast of South Jutland (today's Northern Friesl ...
as ', in
Old Saxon
Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, was a Germanic language and the earliest recorded form of Low German (spoken nowadays in Northern Germany, the northeastern Netherlands, southern Denmark, the Americas and parts of Eastern Europe). It i ...
as ', and in
Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
as , all ultimately stemming from the
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages.
Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...
theonym
A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), "god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity.
Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and u ...
, meaning 'Thunder'.
Thor is a prominently mentioned god throughout the
recorded history
Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world hist ...
of the
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...
, from the
Roman occupation of regions of , to the Germanic expansions of the
Migration Period
The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman ...
, to his high popularity 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 ...
, when, in the face of the process of the
Christianization of Scandinavia
The Christianization of Scandinavia, as well as other Nordic countries and the Baltic countries, took place between the 8th and the 12th centuries. The realms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden established their own Archdioceses, responsible directly ...
, emblems of his hammer, , were worn and
Norse pagan
Old Norse religion, also known as Norse paganism, is the most common name for a branch of Germanic religion which developed during the Proto-Norse period, when the North Germanic peoples separated into a distinct branch of the Germanic people ...
personal name
A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is known ...
s containing the name of the god bear witness to his popularity.
Due to the nature of the Germanic corpus, narratives featuring Thor are only attested in Old Norse, where Thor appears throughout
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 ...
. Norse mythology, largely recorded in
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
from traditional material stemming from Scandinavia, provides numerous tales featuring the god. In these sources, Thor bears at least
fifteen names, is the husband of the golden-haired goddess , is the lover of the , and is generally described as fierce-eyed, with
red hair
Red hair (also known as orange hair and ginger hair) is a hair color found in one to two percent of the human population, appearing with greater frequency (two to six percent) among people of Northern or Northwestern European ancestry and ...
and red beard.
[On the red beard and the use of "Redbeard" as an epithet for Thor, see H.R. Ellis Davidson, ''Gods and Myths of Northern Europe'', 1964, repr. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin, 1990, ]
p. 85
citing the '' Saga of Olaf Tryggvason'' in , ''Saga of Erik the Red
The ''Saga of Erik the Red'', in non, Eiríks saga rauða (), is an Icelandic saga on the Norse exploration of North America. The original saga is thought to have been written in the 13th century. It is preserved in somewhat different versions ...
'', and . The Prologue to 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 ...
'' says ambiguously that "His hair is more beautiful than gold." With , Thor fathered the goddess (and possible
valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997:36) ...
) ; with , he fathered ; with a mother whose name is not recorded, he fathered , and he is the stepfather of the god . Thor is the son of
Odin
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
Jörð
Jörð ( non, Jǫrð, lit=earth) is the personification of earth and a goddess in Norse mythology. She is the mother of the thunder god Thor and a sexual partner of Odin. Jörð is attested in Danish historian ''Gesta Danorum'', composed in t ...
, by way of his father Odin, he has
numerous brothers, including . Thor has two servants,
and , rides in a cart or chariot pulled by two goats,
and (that he eats and resurrects), and is ascribed three dwellings (, , and ). Thor wields the hammer , wears the belt and the iron gloves , and owns the staff . Thor's exploits, including his relentless slaughter of his foes and fierce battles with the monstrous serpent —and their foretold mutual deaths during the events of —are recorded throughout sources for Norse mythology.
Into the modern period, Thor continued to be acknowledged in rural folklore throughout
Germanic-speaking Europe
Most languages of Europe belong to the Indo-European language family. Out of a total European population of 744 million as of 2018, some 94% are native speakers of an Indo-European language. Within Indo-European, the three largest phyla are Rom ...
. Thor is frequently referred to in place names, the day of the week
Thursday
Thursday is the Names of the days of the week, day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. According to the ISO 8601 international standard, it is the fourth day of the week. In countries which adopt the "Sunday-first" convention, it is the fi ...
bears his name (modern English ''Thursday'' derives from Old English , 'Þunor's day'), and names stemming from the pagan period containing his own continue to be used today, particularly in Scandinavia. Thor has inspired numerous works of art and references to Thor appear in modern popular culture. Like other Germanic deities, veneration of Thor is revived in the modern period in
Heathenry.
Name
The
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 ...
theonym
A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), "god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity.
Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and u ...
' (older poetic ') goes back to an earlier
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 ...
form
reconstructed as '. It is a
cognate
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...
(linguistic sibling of the same origin) of the medieval Germanic forms ' (
Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
), ' (
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
), ' (
Old Frisian
Old Frisian was a West Germanic language spoken between the 8th and 16th centuries along the North Sea coast, roughly between the mouths of the Rhine and Weser rivers. The Frisian settlers on the coast of South Jutland (today's Northern Friesl ...
), and ' (
Old Saxon
Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, was a Germanic language and the earliest recorded form of Low German (spoken nowadays in Northern Germany, the northeastern Netherlands, southern Denmark, the Americas and parts of Eastern Europe). It i ...
). They descend from the
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages.
Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...
reconstructed theonym ('Thunder'), which is identical to the name of the ancient Celtic god ''
Taranus'' (by
metathesis–switch of sounds–of an earlier , attested in the dative ''tanaro'' and the
Gaulish
Gaulish was an ancient Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium ...
river name ''
Tanarus''), and further related to the Latin epithet
''Tonans'' (attached to
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 ...
), via the common
Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...
root for 'thunder' . According to scholar Peter Jackson, those theonyms may have emerged as the result of the fossilization of an original
epithet
An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...
(or
epiclesis
The epiclesis (also spelled epiklesis; from grc, ἐπίκλησις "surname" or "invocation") refers to the invocation of one or several gods. In ancient Greek religion, the epiclesis was the epithet used as the surname given to a deity in reli ...
, i.e.
invocation
An invocation (from the Latin verb ''invocare'' "to call on, invoke, to give") may take the form of:
*Supplication, prayer or spell.
*A form of possession.
*Command or conjuration.
*Self-identification with certain spirits.
These forms are ...
al name) of the Proto-Indo-European thunder-god , since the Vedic weather-god
Parjanya Parjanya ( sa, पर्जन्य ) according to the Vedas is a deity of rain, thunder, lightning, and the one who fertilizes the earth. It is another epithet of Indra, the Vedic deity of the sky and heaven.
Description
It is assumed Parjanya is ...
is also called ('Thunderer').
The perfect match between the thunder-gods *''Tonaros'' and *''Þun(a)raz'', which both go back to a common form *''ton(a)ros'' ~ *''tṇros'', is notable in the context of early Celtic–Germanic linguistic contacts, especially when added to other inherited terms with thunder attributes, such as *''
Meldunjaz''–*''meldo-'' (from *''meldh''- 'lightning, hammer', i.e. ' weapon) and *''
Fergunja''–*''
Fercunyā'' (from 'wooded mountains', i.e. *Perk
wunos' realm).
The English
weekday
The weekdays and weekend are the complementary parts of the week devoted to labour and rest, respectively. The legal weekdays (British English), or workweek (American English), is the part of the seven-day week devoted to working. In most of th ...
name ''
Thursday
Thursday is the Names of the days of the week, day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. According to the ISO 8601 international standard, it is the fourth day of the week. In countries which adopt the "Sunday-first" convention, it is the fi ...
'' comes from Old English ''Þunresdæg'', meaning 'day of Þunor'. It is cognate with Old Norse ''Þórsdagr'' and with Old High German ''Donarestag''. All of these terms derive from the Late Proto-Germanic weekday *''Þonaresdag'' ('Day of '), a
calque
In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language wh ...
of Latin ' ('Day of
Jove
Jupiter ( la, Iūpiter or , from Proto-Italic "day, sky" + "father", thus " sky father" Greek: Δίας or Ζεύς), also known as Jove ( gen. ''Iovis'' ), is the god of the sky and thunder, and king of the gods in ancient Roman religio ...
'; cf. modern Italian ', French ', Spanish '). By employing a practice known as during the
Roman period
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
, ancient Germanic peoples adopted the Latin weekly calendar and replaced the names of Roman gods with their own.
Beginning in 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 ...
,
personal name
A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is known ...
s containing the
theonym
A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), "god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity.
Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and u ...
are recorded with great frequency, whereas no examples are known prior to this period. -based names may have flourished during the Viking Age as a defiant response to attempts at Christianization, similar to the wide scale Viking Age practice of wearing Thor's hammer pendants.
Historical attestations
Roman era
![AE 1971,282 Vorderansicht](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/AE_1971%2C282_Vorderansicht.jpg)
The earliest records of the Germanic peoples were recorded by the Romans, and in these works Thor is frequently referred to – via a process known as (where characteristics perceived to be similar by Romans result in identification of a non-Roman god as a Roman deity) – as either the Roman god
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 ...
(also known as ''Jove'') or the
Greco-Roman
The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...
god
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
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 ...
.
The first clear example of this occurs in the Roman historian
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars.
The surviving portions of his t ...
's late first-century work , where, writing about the religion of the (a confederation of
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...
), he comments that "among the gods Mercury is the one they principally worship. They regard it as a religious duty to offer to him, on fixed days, human as well as other sacrificial victims. Hercules and Mars they appease by animal offerings of the permitted kind" and adds that a portion of the also venerate "
Isis
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
".
[Birley (1999:42).] In this instance, Tacitus refers to the god
Odin
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 ...
as "
Mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
", Thor as "Hercules", and the god as "
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
", and the identity of the
Isis
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
of the Suebi has been debated. In Thor's case, the identification with the god Hercules is likely at least in part due to similarities between Thor's hammer and Hercules' club.
[Birley (1999:107).] In his ''
Annals
Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record.
Scope
The nature of the distinction between ann ...
'', Tacitus again refers to the veneration of "Hercules" by the Germanic peoples; he records a wood beyond the river
Weser
The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Bre ...
(in what is now northwestern
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
) as dedicated to him.
[Birley (1999:42 and 106—107).] A deity known as
Hercules Magusanus
Hercules Magusanus is a Romano-Germanic deity or hero worshipped during the early first millennium AD in the Lower Rhine region among the Batavi, Marsaci, Ubii, Cugerni, Baetasii, and probably among the Tungri.
Name Attestations
The name i ...
was venerated in
Germania Inferior
Germania Inferior ("Lower Germania") was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed Germania Secunda in the fourth century, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Agrippin ...
; due to the Roman identification of Thor with Hercules,
Rudolf Simek
Rudolf Simek (born 21 February 1954) is an Austrian philologist and religious studies scholar who is Professor and Chair of Ancient German studies, German and Scandinavian studies, Nordic Studies at the University of Bonn. Simek specializes in G ...
has suggested that ''Magusanus'' was originally an epithet attached to the
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages.
Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...
deity *''Þunraz''.
Post-Roman era
![Bonifacius by Emil Doepler](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Bonifacius_by_Emil_Doepler.jpg)
The first recorded instance of the name of the god appears upon the
Nordendorf fibulae, a piece of jewelry created during the
Migration Period
The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman ...
and found in
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
. The item bears an
Elder Futhark
The Elder Futhark (or Fuþark), also known as the Older Futhark, Old Futhark, or Germanic Futhark, is the oldest form of the runic alphabets. It was a writing system used by Germanic peoples for Northwest Germanic dialects in the Migration Peri ...
inscribed with the name (i.e. ), the southern Germanic form of Thor's name.
[Simek (2007:235—236).]
Around the second half of the 8th century, Old English texts mention (), which likely refers to a
Saxon
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
*
*
*
*
peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
version of the god. In relation, is sometimes used in Old English texts to gloss ''Jupiter'', the god may be referenced in the poem ''
Solomon and Saturn
''Solomon and Saturn'' is the generic name given to four Old English works, which present a dialogue of riddles between Solomon, the king of Israel, and Saturn, identified in two of the poems as a prince of the Chaldeans.
On account of earlie ...
'', where the thunder strikes the devil with a "fiery axe", and the Old English expression ("thunder ride") may refer to the god's thunderous, goat-led chariot.
[Turville-Petre (1964:99)][See North (1998:238—241) for and tales regarding .]
A 9th-century AD codex from
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
, Germany, known as the ''
Old Saxon Baptismal Vow
The ''Old Saxon Baptismal Vow'', also called the ''Old Saxon Catechism'', ''Utrecht Baptismal Vow'' and ''Abrenuntiatio Diaboli'', is a baptismal vow that was found in a ninth-century manuscript in a monastery library in Mainz, Germany. The vow ...
'', records the name of three Old Saxon gods, (Old Saxon "
Wodan
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered 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, victor ...
"), , and , by way of their renunciation as demons in a formula to be repeated by Germanic pagans formally
converting to Christianity.
[Simek (2007:276).]
According to a near-contemporary account, the Christian missionary
Saint Boniface
Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant ...
felled an
oak tree
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...
dedicated to "Jove" in the 8th century, the
Donar's Oak
Donar's Oak (also Thor's Oak or, via ''interpretatio romana'', Jove's Oak) was a sacred tree of the Germanic pagans located in an unclear location around what is now the region of Hesse, Germany. According to the 8th century ''Vita Bonifatii auct ...
in the region of
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
[Simek (2007:238) and Robinson (1916:63).]
The
Kentish royal legend
The Kentish Royal Legend is a diverse group of Medieval texts which describe a wide circle of members of the royal family of Kent from the 7th to 8th centuries AD. Key elements include the descendants of Æthelberht of Kent over the next four ge ...
, probably 11th-century, contains the story of a villainous reeve of
Ecgberht of Kent
Ecgberht I (also spelled Egbert) (died 4 July 673) was a King of Kent (664-673), succeeding his father Eorcenberht.
He may have still been a child when he became king following his father's death on 14 July 664, because his mother Seaxburh was ...
called Thunor, who is swallowed up by the earth at a place from then on known as (Old English 'Thunor's mound').
Gabriel Turville-Petre
Edward Oswald Gabriel Turville-Petre (25 March 1908 – 17 February 1978) was an English philologist who specialized in Old Norse studies.
Born at Bosworth Hall, Leicestershire to a prominent Roman Catholic family, Turville-Petre was edu ...
saw this as an invented origin for the placename demonstrating loss of memory that Thunor had been a god's name.
Viking age
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
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. 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).]
Two objects with
runic
Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised ...
inscriptions invoking Thor date from the 11th century, one from
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and one from Sweden. The first, the
Canterbury Charm from
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, calls upon Thor to heal a wound by banishing a .
[McLeod, Mees (2006:120).] The second, 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 ...
, invokes protection by both Thor and his hammer.
[McLeod, Mees (2006:28).]
On four (or possibly five)
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, an invocation to Thor appears that reads "May Thor hallow (these
runes
Runes are the letter (alphabet), letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, a ...
/this monument)!" The invocation appears thrice in Denmark (
DR 110
DR 110, or the Virring stone, is a runestone made of granite that measures in height, in width and in thickness. It is written in Old East Norse in the Younger Futhark, and the runestone style is in a form called RAK.
It was discovered in 1865 ...
,
DR 209, and
DR 220), and a single time in (
VG 150), Sweden. A fifth appearance may possibly occur on a runestone found in , Sweden (
Sö 140), but the reading is contested.
[Sawyer (2003:128).]
Pictorial representations of Thor's hammer appear on a total of five runestones found in Denmark (
DR 26 and
DR 120) and in the Swedish counties of (
VG 113) and (
Sö 86 and
Sö 111).
It is also seen on runestone
DR 48. The design is believed to be a heathen response to Christian runestones, which often have a cross at the centre. One of the stones,
Sö 86, shows a face or mask above the hammer.
Anders Hultgård
Anders Hultgård (born 23 December 1936) is a Swedish theologist and religious studies scholar who is Professor Emeritus and former Chair of Religious History at Uppsala University. He specializes in the study of Indo-European religions.
Biograph ...
has argued that this is the face of Thor. At least three stones depict Thor fishing for the serpent : the
stone in , Denmark, the
Altuna Runestone in , Sweden and the
Gosforth Cross
The Gosforth Cross is a large stone monument in St Mary's churchyard at Gosforth in the English county of Cumbria, dating to the first half of the 10th century AD. Formerly part of the kingdom of Northumbria, the area was settled by Scandinavia ...
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.
Sune Lindqvist argued in the 1930s that the image stone
Ardre VIII on depicts two scenes from the story: Thor ripping the head of Hymir's ox and Thor and Hymir in the boat, but this has been disputed.
Image gallery
File:Runestone from Sønder Kirkby, Falster, Denmark.jpg, The Runestone (DR 220), a runestone from Denmark bearing the "May Thor hallow these runes!" inscription
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 four stones depicting Thor's fishing trip
File:Vg150 Väne-Åsaka 8 Velandastenen Thor vigi.jpg, Runes () on the Velanda Runestone
The Velanda Runestone ( sv, Velandastenen), designated as Vg 150 in the Rundata catalog, is a runestone dated to the late tenth century or the early eleventh century that is located in the village of Velanda, Trollhättan Municipality, Västra Gö ...
, Sweden, meaning "may hallow
To hallow is "to make holy or sacred, to sanctify or consecrate, to venerate". The adjective form ''hallowed'', as used in ''The Lord's Prayer'', means holy, consecrated, sacred, or revered. The noun form ''hallow'', as used in ''Hallowtide'', ...
".
Post-Viking age
In the 12th century, more than a century after Norway was "officially" Christianized, Thor was still being invoked by the population, as evidenced by a stick bearing a runic message found among the
Bryggen inscriptions
The Bryggen inscriptions are a find of some 670 medieval runic inscriptions on wood (mostly pine) and bone found from 1955 and forth at ''Bryggen'' (and its surroundings) in Bergen, Norway. It has been called the most important runic find in the ...
in
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. On the stick, both Thor and Odin are called upon for help; Thor is asked to "receive" the reader, and Odin to "own" them.
[McLeod, Mees (2006:30).]
''Poetic Edda''
In 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 ...
'', compiled during the 13th century from traditional source material reaching into the pagan period, Thor appears (or is mentioned) in the poems , , , , , , , , and .
[Larrington (1999:320).]
![Thor und die Midgardsschlange](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Thor_und_die_Midgardsschlange.jpg)
In the poem , a dead recounts the history of the universe and foretells the future to the disguised god Odin, including the death of Thor. Thor, she foretells, will do battle with the
great serpent during the immense mythic war waged at , and there he will slay the monstrous snake, yet after he will only be able to take nine steps before succumbing to the venom of the beast:
:
Afterwards, says the , the sky will turn black before fire engulfs the world, the stars will disappear, flames will dance before the sky, steam will rise, the world will be covered in water and then it will be raised again, green and fertile.
[Larrington (1999:11—12).]
![Thor wades while the æsir ride by Frølich](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Thor_wades_while_the_%C3%A6sir_ride_by_Fr%C3%B8lich.jpg)
In the poem , the god Odin, in disguise as , and tortured, starved and thirsty, imparts in the young cosmological lore, including that Thor resides in , and that, every day, Thor wades through the rivers
and , and the two . There, says, Thor sits as judge at the immense cosmological world tree, .
[Larrington (1999:57).]
In , the god 's messenger, , threatens the fair , with whom is smitten, with numerous threats and curses, including that Thor, , and Odin will be angry with her, and that she risks their "potent wrath".
[Larrington (1999:66).]
Thor is the main character of , where, after traveling "from the east", he comes to an inlet where he encounters a ferryman who gives his name as (Odin, again in disguise), and attempts to hail a ride from him. The ferryman, shouting from the inlet, is immediately rude and obnoxious to Thor and refuses to ferry him. At first, Thor holds his tongue, but only becomes more aggressive, and the poem soon becomes a match between Thor and , all the while revealing lore about the two, including Thor's killing of several in "the east" and berzerk women on (now the Danish island of ). In the end, Thor ends up walking instead.
[Larrington (1999:69–75).]
![Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr by Frølich](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Tanngrisnir_and_Tanngnj%C3%B3str_by_Fr%C3%B8lich.jpg)
Thor is again the main character in the poem , where, after the gods have been hunting and have eaten their prey, they have an urge to drink. They "sh
kethe twigs" and interpret what they say. The gods decide that they would find suitable cauldrons at 's home. Thor arrives at 's home and finds him to be cheerful, looks into his eyes, and tells him that he must prepare feasts for the gods. Annoyed, tells Thor that the gods must first bring to him a suitable cauldron to brew ale in. The gods search but find no such cauldron anywhere. However, tells Thor that he may have a solution; east of lives , and he owns such a deep kettle.
[Larrington (1999:78—79).]
So, after Thor secures his goats at 's home, Thor and go to 's hall in search of a
cauldron
A cauldron (or caldron) is a large pot (kettle) for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a lid and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger and/or integral handles or feet. There is a rich history of cauldron lore in religion, mythology, and ...
large enough to brew
ale
Ale is a Type of beer, type of beer brewed using a Warm fermentation, warm fermentation method, resulting in a sweet, full-bodied and fruity taste. Historically, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops.
As with most beers, ale typicall ...
for them all. They arrive, and sees his nine-hundred-headed grandmother and his gold-clad mother, the latter of which welcomes them with a horn. After —who is not happy to see Thor—comes in from the cold outdoors, 's mother helps them find a properly strong cauldron. Thor eats a big meal of two oxen (all the rest eat but one), and then goes to sleep. In the morning, he awakes and informs that he wants to go fishing the following evening, and that he will catch plenty of food, but that he needs bait. tells him to go get some bait from his pasture, which he expects should not be a problem for Thor. Thor goes out, finds 's best ox, and rips its head off.
[Larrington (1999:79—80).]
After a
lacuna
Lacuna (plural lacunas or lacunae) may refer to:
Related to the meaning "gap"
* Lacuna (manuscripts), a gap in a manuscript, inscription, text, painting, or musical work
**Great Lacuna, a lacuna of eight leaves where there was heroic Old Norse po ...
in the manuscript of the poem, abruptly picks up again with Thor and in a boat, out at sea. catches a few
whale
Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...
s at once, and Thor baits his line with the head of the ox. Thor casts his line and the monstrous serpent bites. Thor pulls the serpent on board, and violently slams him in the head with his hammer. shrieks, and a noisy commotion is heard from underwater before another lacuna appears in the manuscript.
[Larrington (1999:81).]
After the second lacuna, is sitting in the boat, unhappy and totally silent, as they row back to shore. On shore, suggests that Thor should help him carry a whale back to his farm. Thor picks both the boat and the whales up, and carries it all back to 's farm. After Thor successfully smashes a crystal goblet by throwing it at 's head on 's mother's suggestion, Thor and are given the cauldron. cannot lift it, but Thor manages to roll it, and so with it they leave. Some distance from 's home, an army of many-headed beings led by attacks the two, but are killed by the hammer of Thor. Although one of
his goats is lame in the leg, the two manage to bring the cauldron back, have plenty of ale, and so, from then on, return to 's for more every winter.
[Larrington (1999:82—83).]
![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 the poem , the half-god
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 ...
angrily
flites with the gods in the sea entity 's hall. Thor does not attend the event, however, as he is away in the east for unspecified purposes. Towards the end of the poem, the flyting turns to , Thor's wife, whom Loki then claims to have slept with. The god 's servant interjects, and says that, since all of the mountains are shaking, she thinks that Thor is on his way home. adds that Thor will bring peace to the quarrel, to which Loki responds with insults.
[Larrington (1999:84 and 94).]
Thor arrives and tells Loki to be silent, and threatens to rip Loki's head from his body with his hammer. Loki asks Thor why he is so angry, and comments that Thor will not be so daring to fight "the wolf" () when it eats Odin (a reference to the foretold events of ). Thor again tells him to be silent, and threatens to throw him into the sky, where he will never be seen again. Loki says that Thor should not brag of his time in the east, as he once crouched in fear in the thumb of a glove (a story involving deception by the magic of , recounted in the ''Prose Edda'' book )—which, he comments, "was hardly like Thor". Thor again tells him to be silent, threatening to break every bone in Loki's body. Loki responds that he intends to live a while yet, and again insults Thor with references to his encounter with . Thor responds with a fourth call to be silent, and threatens to send Loki to . At Thor's final threat, Loki gives in, commenting that only for Thor will he leave the hall, for "I know alone that you do strike", and the poem continues.
[Larrington (1999:94—95).]
![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)
In the comedic poem , Thor again plays a central role. In the poem, Thor wakes and finds that his powerful hammer, , is missing. Thor turns to Loki, and tells him that nobody knows that the hammer has been stolen. The two go to the dwelling of the goddess , and so that he may attempt to find , Thor asks her if he may borrow her feather cloak. agrees, and says she would lend it to Thor even if it were made of silver or gold, and Loki flies off, the feather cloak whistling.
[Larrington (1999:97).]
In , the sits on a
barrow, plaiting golden collars for his female dogs, and trimming the manes of his horses. sees Loki, and asks what could be amiss among the and the
elves
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...
; why is Loki alone in ? Loki responds that he has bad news for both the elves and the —that Thor's hammer, , is gone. says that he has hidden eight leagues beneath the earth, from which it will be retrieved, but only if is brought to him as his wife. Loki flies off, the feather cloak whistling, away from and back to the court of the gods.
[Larrington (1999:97–98).]
Thor asks Loki if his efforts were successful, and that Loki should tell him while he is still in the air as "tales often escape a sitting man, and the man lying down often barks out lies." Loki states that it was indeed an effort, and also a success, for he has discovered that has the hammer, but that it cannot be retrieved unless is brought to as his wife. The two return to and tell her to put on a bridal head dress, as they will drive her to . , indignant and angry, goes into a rage, causing all of the halls of the to tremble in her anger, and her necklace, the famed , falls from her. pointedly refuses.
[Larrington (1999:98).]
As a result, the gods and goddesses meet and hold a
thing
Thing or The Thing may refer to:
Philosophy
* An object
* Broadly, an entity
* Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant
* Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuses ...
to discuss and debate the matter. At the thing, the god puts forth the suggestion that, in place of , Thor should be dressed as the bride, complete with jewels, women's clothing down to his knees, a bridal head-dress, and the necklace . Thor rejects the idea, yet Loki interjects that this will be the only way to get back . Loki points out that, without , the will be able to invade and settle in
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 ...
. The gods dress Thor as a bride, and Loki states that he will go with Thor as his maid, and that the two shall drive to together.
[Larrington (1999:99).]
After riding together in Thor's
goat-driven chariot, the two, disguised, arrive in . commands the in his hall to spread straw on the benches, for has arrived to be his wife. recounts his treasured animals and objects, stating that was all that he was missing in his wealth.
[Larrington (1999:100).]
Early in the evening, the disguised Loki and Thor meet with and the assembled . Thor eats and drinks ferociously, consuming entire animals and three casks of
mead
Mead () is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 20%. The defining character ...
. finds the behavior at odds with his impression of , and Loki, sitting before and appearing as a "very shrewd maid", makes the excuse that "'s" behaviour is due to her having not consumed anything for eight entire days before arriving due to her eagerness to arrive. then lifts "'s" veil and wants to kiss "her". Terrifying eyes stare back at him, seemingly burning with fire. Loki says that this is because "" has not slept for eight nights in her eagerness.
[
The "wretched sister" of the appears, asks for a bridal gift from "", and the bring out to "sanctify the bride", to lay it on her lap, and marry the two by "the hand" of the goddess . Thor laughs internally when he sees the hammer, takes hold of it, strikes , beats all of the , kills their "older sister", and so gets his hammer back.][Larrington (1999:101).]
In the poem , Thor tricks 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 ...
, , to his doom upon finding that he seeks to wed his daughter (unnamed, possibly ). As the poem starts, Thor meets a dwarf who talks about getting married. Thor finds the dwarf repulsive and, apparently, realizes that the bride is his daughter. Thor comments that the wedding agreement was made among the gods while Thor was gone, and that the dwarf must seek his consent. To do so, Thor says, must tell him what he wants to know about all of the worlds that the dwarf has visited. In a long question and answer session, does exactly that; he describes natural features as they are known in the languages of various races of beings in the world, and gives an amount of cosmological lore.[Larrington (1999:109—113). For hypothesis, see Orchard (1997:164—165).]
However, the question and answer session turns out to be a ploy by Thor, as, although Thor comments that he has truly never seen anyone with more wisdom in their breast, Thor has managed to delay the dwarf enough for the Sun to turn him to stone; "day dawns on you now, dwarf, now sun shines on the hall".[Larrington (1999:113).]
In the poem , offers to the woman to (sacrifice) to Thor so that she may be protected, and comments that Thor does not care much for women.[Larrington (1999:254).]
''Prose Edda'', , and sagas
The prologue to 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 ...
'' euhemerises Thor as a prince of Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...
, and the son of Menon Menon may refer to:
People
*Menon (subcaste), an honorary title accorded to some members of the Nair community of Kerala, southern India; used as a surname by many holders of the title
Surnamed
*Menon (surname), the surname of several people
Give ...
by Troana, a daughter of . Thor, also known as , is said to have married the prophetess Sibyl
The sibyls (, singular ) were prophetesses or oracles in Ancient Greece.
The sibyls prophesied at holy sites.
A sibyl at Delphi has been dated to as early as the eleventh century BC by PausaniasPausanias 10.12.1 when he described local traditi ...
(identified with ). Thor is further said here to have been raised in Thrace
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...
by a chieftain named Lorikus, whom he later slew to assume the title of "King of Thrace", to have had hair "fairer than gold", and to have been strong enough to lift ten bearskins.
The name of the is explained as "men from Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
", ''Asgard'' being the "Asian city" (i.e., Troy). Alternatively, Troy is in (Turkey, i.e., Asia Minor), and ''Asialand'' is Scythia
Scythia (Scythian: ; Old Persian: ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) or Scythica (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ), also known as Pontic Scythia, was a kingdom created by the Scythians during the 6th to 3rd centuries BC in the Pontic–Caspian steppe.
His ...
, where Thor founded a new city named Asgard. Odin is a remote descendant of Thor, removed by twelve generations, who led an expedition across Germany, Denmark and Sweden to Norway.
In the ''Prose Edda'', Thor is mentioned in all four books; ''Prologue
A prologue or prolog (from Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "word") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ...
'', , , and .
In , composed in the 13th century by , Thor or statues of Thor are mentioned in , , , and . In chapter 5, a heavily euhemerized account of the gods is provided, where Thor is described as having been a —a pagan priest—who was given by Odin (who himself is explained away as having been an exceedingly powerful magic-wielding chieftain from the east) a dwelling in the mythical location of , in what is now Sweden. The saga narrative adds that numerous names—at the time of the narrative, popularly in use—were derived from ''Thor''.[Hollander (2007:10—11).]
Saint Olaf
Around the 12th century, folk traditions and iconography of the Christianizing king Olaf II of Norway
Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title ''Rex Perpet ...
(Saint Olaf; c. 995 – 1030) absorbed elements of both Thor and Freyr.[Dumézil (1973:125).] After Olaf's death, his cult had spread quickly all over Scandinavia, where many churches were dedicated to him, as well as to other parts of Northern Europe. His cult distinctively mixed both ecclesiastical and folk elements. From Thor, he inherited the quick temper, physical strength and merits as a giant-slayer. Early depictions portray Olaf as clean-shaven, but after 1200 he appears with a red beard. For centuries, Olaf figured in folk traditions as a slayer of troll
A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...
s and giants, and as a protector against malicious forces.
Modern folklore
Tales about Thor, or influenced by native traditions regarding Thor, continued into the modern period, particularly in Scandinavia. Writing in the 19th century, scholar Jacob Grimm
Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He is known as the discoverer of Grimm's law of linguistics, the co-author of th ...
records various phrases surviving into Germanic languages that refer to the god, such as the Norwegian ("Thor's warmth") for lightning and the Swedish ("The good old (fellow) is taking a ride") as well as the word ("Thor's rumble" or "Thor's thunder") when it thunders. Grimm comments that, at times, Scandinavians often "no longer liked to utter the god's real name, or they wished to extol his fatherly goodness".[Grimm (1882:166—77).] In Sweden, it was probably as a euphemism that people referred to thunder as "the ride of the god" – *''ās-ækia'' (OWN: *''áss-ekja'') resulting in the modern Swedish word for thunder – '' åska''.
Thor remained pictured as a red-bearded figure, as evident by the Danish rhyme that yet referred to him as ("Thor with the long beard") and the North-Frisian curse ("let red-haired thunder see to that!").
A Scandinavian folk belief that lightning frightens away troll
A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...
s and appears in numerous Scandinavian folktales, and may be a late reflection of Thor's role in fighting such beings. In connection, the lack of trolls and ettins in modern Scandinavia is explained as a result of the "accuracy and efficiency of the lightning strokes".[See Lindow (1978:89), but noted as early as Thorpe (1851:154) who states, "The dread entertained by the Trolls for thunder dates from the time of paganism, Thor, the god of thunder, being the deadly foe of their race."]
In the Netherlands, The Sagas of Veluwe
The Sagas of Veluwe ( nl, Veluwsche Sagen) are collection of Dutch fairy tales from Eastern Netherlands, particularly in the Province of Gelderland in Veluwe
The Veluwe () is a forest-rich ridge of hills (1100 km2) in the province of Geld ...
has a story called ''Ontstaan van het Uddeler- en Bleeke meer'' which features Thor and that he fights giants.
Archaeological record
Hammer pendants, hammer coins, and Eyrarland Statue
Around 1000 pendants in distinctive shapes representing the hammer of Thor have been unearthed in what are today the Nordic countries, 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. The pendants have been found in a variety of contexts (including at urban sites, and in hoards) and occur in a variety of shapes. Similarly, coins featuring depictions of the hammer have also been discovered.
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).]
File:Thor's hammer, Skåne.svg, 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: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:Reykjavik - Thor-Figur 1.jpg, A bronze statue of a seated figure from about AD 1000 that was recovered at the Eyrarland farm in the area of Akureyri
Akureyri (, locally ) is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's fifth-largest municipality, after Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður, Reykjanesbær and Kópavogur, and the largest town outside Iceland's more populated southwest corner.
Nicknamed ...
, Iceland.
Swastikas
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 ...
symbol has been identified as representing the hammer or lightning of Thor.[The symbol was identified as such since 19th century scholarship; examples include Worsaae (1882:169) and Greg (1884:6).] Scholar 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 Ge ...
(1965) comments on the usage of the swastika as a symbol of Thor:
The protective sign of the hammer was worn by women, as we know from the fact that it has been found in women's graves. It seems to have been used by the warrior also, in the form of the swastika. ... Primarily it appears to have had connections with light and fire, and to have been linked with the sun-wheel. It may have been on account of Thor's association with lightning that this sign was used as an alternative to the hammer, for it is found on memorial stones in Scandinavia besides inscriptions to Thor. When we find it on the pommel of a warrior's sword and on his sword-belt, the assumption is that the warrior was placing himself under the Thunder God's protection.[Davidson (1965:12—13).]
Swastikas appear on various Germanic objects stretching from the Migration Period to the Viking Age, such as the 3rd century Fibula (DR EM85;123) from Zealand
Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020.
It is the 1 ...
, Denmark; the 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 ...
spearhead from Brest-Litovsk, Belarus; numerous Migration Period bracteate
A bracteate (from the Latin ''bractea'', a thin piece of metal) is a flat, thin, single-sided gold medal worn as jewelry that was produced in Northern Europe predominantly during the Migration Period of the Germanic Iron Age (including the Vende ...
s; cremation urns from early Anglo-Saxon England
Anglo-Saxon England or Early Medieval England, existing from the 5th to the 11th centuries from the end of Roman Britain until the Norman conquest in 1066, consisted of various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms until 927, when it was united as the Kingdom o ...
; the 8th century sword from , Norway; and the 9th century Snoldelev Stone
The Snoldelev Stone, listed as DR 248 in the Rundata catalog, is a 9th-century runestone that was originally located at Snoldelev, Ramsø, Denmark.
Description
The Snoldelev Stone, which is 1.25 meters in height, is decorated with painted scrat ...
(DR 248) from , Denmark.
Eponymy and toponymy
Numerous place names in 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, ...
contain the Old Norse name . The identification of these place names as pointing to religious significance is complicated by the aforementioned common usage of as a personal name element. Cultic significance may only be assured in place names containing the elements (signifying the location of a , a type of pagan Germanic shrine), (a structure used for religious purposes, see heathen hofs
A heathen hof or Germanic pagan temple was a temple building of Germanic religion; a few have also been built for use in modern heathenry. The term ''hof'' is taken from Old Norse.
Background
Etymologically, the Old Norse word ''hof'' is the ...
), and (a holy grove
Sacred groves or sacred woods are groves of trees and have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. They were important features of the mythological landscape and ...
). The place name is recorded with particular frequency in Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
(and has direct cognates in Norse settlements in Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, such as ), whereas appears particularly often in southern Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
.[Simek (2007:321).] (''Thor's Island'') appears on the Swedish west coast. Thor also appears in many place names in Uppland
Uppland () is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. On the small uninhab ...
.
In English place names, Old English (in contrast with the Old Norse form of the name, later introduced to the Danelaw
The Danelaw (, also known as the Danelagh; ang, Dena lagu; da, Danelagen) was the part of England in which the laws of the Danes held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. The Danelaw contrasts with the West Saxon law and the Mercian ...
) left comparatively few traces. Examples include Thundersley
Thundersley is a town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Benfleet, in the Castle Point borough, in southeast Essex, England. It sits on a clay ridge shared with Basildon and Hadleigh, east of Charing Cross, London. In 1951 ...
, from * and ''Thurstable'' (Old English "Thunor's pillar"). F. M. Stenton noted that such place names were apparently restricted to Saxon and Jutish territory and not found in Anglian areas.
In what is now Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, locations named after Thor are sparsely recorded, but a number of locations called (German "Donner's mountain") may derive their name from the deity , the southern Germanic form of the god's name.
In as late as the 19th century in Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
, a specific breed of fox was known as ("Thor of the holt"), likely due to the red coat of the breed.[Grimm (1882:177).] In Sweden in the 19th century, smooth, wedge-shaped stones found in the earth were called ("Thor's wedges"), according to a folk belief that they were once hurled at a troll
A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...
by the god Thor. (Compare Thunderstones.) Similarly, meteorites
A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or moon. When the original object en ...
may be considered memorials to Thor in folk tradition due to their sheer weight. On the Swedish island of Gotland
Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...
, a species of beetle (''Scarabæus stercorarius'') was named after the god; the . When the beetle is found turned upside down and one flips it over, Thor's favor may be gained. In other regions of Sweden the name of the beetle appears to have been demonized with Christianization, where the insect came to be known as or (both meaning "Thor-devil").[Thorpe (1851:51—54).]
In the northwest of Spain, there is a river called Torío in the municipality of Cármenes
Cármenes () is a municipality located in the province of León, Castile and León, Spain. At the 2011 census (INE
INE, Ine or ine may refer to:
Institutions
* Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research center
* Instituto Na ...
( León) that take name from the god Thor.
Origin, theories, and interpretations
Thor closely resembles other Indo-European deities associated with the thunder: the Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
Taranis
In Celtic mythology, Taranis (Proto-Celtic: *''Toranos'', earlier ''*Tonaros''; Latin: Taranus, earlier Tanarus) is the god of thunder, who was worshipped primarily in Gaul, Hispania, Britain, and Ireland, but also in the Rhineland and Danube r ...
,[Simek (2007:322).] the Estonian Taara
Taara (variations of the name include Tooru, Tharapita and Tarapitha), also known as Uku or Jumal, is a prominent god in Estonian mythology, with a strong resemblance to the Finnish Ukko and the Germanic Thor.
History
The Chronicle of Henry of ...
(or Tharapita), the Baltic
Baltic may refer to:
Peoples and languages
* Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian
*Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
, the Slavic Perun
In Slavic mythology, Perun (Cyrillic: Перýн) is the highest god of the pantheon and the god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility and oak trees. His other attributes were fire, mountains, wind, iris, eagle, firmam ...
, and particularly the Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
, whose red hair and thunderbolt weapon the are obvious parallels noted already by Max Müller
Friedrich Max Müller (; 6 December 1823 – 28 October 1900) was a German-born philologist and Orientalist, who lived and studied in Britain for most of his life. He was one of the founders of the western academic disciplines of Indian ...
. Scholars have compared Indra's slaying of with Thor's battle with . Although in the past it was suggested that Thor was an indigenous sky god or a Viking Age import into Scandinavia, these Indo-European parallels make him generally accepted today as ultimately derived from a Proto-Indo-European deity.
In 's trifunctional hypothesis
The trifunctional hypothesis of prehistoric Proto-Indo-European society postulates a tripartite ideology ("''idéologie tripartite''") reflected in the existence of three classes or castes— priests, warriors, and commoners (farmers or trades ...
of Indo-European religion, Thor represents the second function, that of strength. notes that as a result of displacements, he does not lead armies; most of the functions of Indra have been in effect taken over by Odin. Many scholars have noted the association of Thor with fertility, particularly in later folklore and in the reflex of him represented by the Sami ("Good-man Thor"). For , this is the preservation by peasants of only the side-effect of the god's atmospheric battles: the fertilizing rain. Others have emphasized Thor's close connection to humanity, in all its concerns. Scholar 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 Ge ...
summarizes:
The cult of Thor was linked with men's habitation and possessions, and with the well-being of the family and community. This included the fruitfulness of the fields, and Thor, although pictured primarily as a storm god
A weather god or goddess, also frequently known as a storm god or goddess, is a deity in mythology associated with weather phenomena such as thunder, snow, lightning, rain, wind, storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Should they only be in charge of ...
in the myths, was also concerned with the fertility and preservation of the seasonal round. In our own times, little stone axes from the distant past have been used as fertility symbols and placed by the farmer in the holes made by the drill to receive the first seed of spring. Thor's marriage with of the golden hair, about which we hear little in the myths, seems to be a memory of the ancient symbol of divine marriage between sky god and earth goddess
An Earth goddess is a deification of the Earth. Earth goddesses are often associated with the "chthonic" deities of the underworld.
Ki and Ninhursag are Mesopotamian earth goddesses. In Greek mythology, the Earth is personified as Gaia, corres ...
, when he comes to earth in the thunderstorm and the storm brings the rain which makes the fields fertile. In this way Thor, as well as Odin, may be seen to continue the cult of the sky god which was known in the Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
.[Davidson (1975:72).]
Modern influence
In modern times, Thor continues to be referred to in art and fiction. Starting with 's 1776 ode to Thor, , Thor has been the subject of poems in several languages, including 's 1807 epic poem and, by the same author, three more poems (, , and ) collected in his 1819 ; (1859) by ; the 1820 satirical poem by ; (1832) by ; the poem by ; (1836) by ; (1915) by ; 's (published in , 1937); and (1977) by .[Simek (2007:323).] In English he features for example in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...
's "The Challenge of Thor" (1863) and in two works by Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
: ''Letters of Travel: 1892–1913'' and "Cold Iron" in ''Rewards and Fairies
''Rewards and Fairies'' is a historical fantasy book by Rudyard Kipling published in 1910. The title comes from the poem "Farewell, Rewards and Fairies" by Richard Corbet, which was referred to by the children in the first story of Kipling's ...
''. L. Sprague de Camp
Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and works of non-fiction, including biog ...
's ''Harold Shea
The "Harold Shea" Stories is a name given to a series of five science fantasy stories by the collaborative team of L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt and to its later continuation by de Camp alone, Christopher Stasheff, Holly Lisle, John Mad ...
'' met with Thor, as with other Norse gods, in the first of Shea's many fantasy adventures.
Artists have also depicted Thor in painting and sculpture, including 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 supernatura ...
'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
Mårten Eskil Winge (21 September 1825 – 22 April 1896) was a Swedish artist. He was a professor at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts.
He was associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. His art was influenced by the Norse mythology t ...
'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 .
In the fields of science and technology, Swedish chemist (1779–1848) discovered a chemical element
A chemical element is a species of atoms that have a given number of protons in their nuclei, including the pure substance consisting only of that species. Unlike chemical compounds, chemical elements cannot be broken down into simpler sub ...
that he named after Thor – thorium
Thorium is a weakly radioactive metallic chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. Thorium is silvery and tarnishes black when it is exposed to air, forming thorium dioxide; it is moderately soft and malleable and has a high me ...
.[Morris (1992:2212).] Thor is also the namesake of the PGM-17 Thor
The PGM-17A Thor was the first operational ballistic missile of the United States Air Force (USAF). Named after the Norse god of thunder, it was deployed in the United Kingdom between 1959 and September 1963 as an intermediate-range ballistic m ...
missile.
In 1962, American comic book artist Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...
, Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
editor Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
and his brother Larry Lieber
Lawrence D. Lieber (; born October 26, 1931) (Scroll down) is an American comic book artist and writer best known as co-creator of the Marvel Comics superheroes Iron Man, Thor (Marvel Comics), Thor, and Ant-Man; for his long stint both writing an ...
created a feature in the comic book ''Journey Into Mystery
''Journey into Mystery'' is an American comic book series initially published by Atlas Comics (1950s), Atlas Comics, then by its successor, Marvel Comics. Initially a horror comics anthology, it changed to giant-monster and science fiction stori ...
'' a series featuring 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 ...
as a superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
.[Reynolds (1994:54).] This version of Thor is portrayed as a clean-shaven blonde, instead of red-haired and bearded. The magazine soon added the backup feature "Tales of Asgard" in which Kirby illustrated stories from Norse mythology; eventually, the magazine was retitled ''Thor''. Lee and Kirby included Thor as a founding member of their superhero team the Avengers. 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 ...
has been portrayed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
by Australian actor Chris Hemsworth
Christopher Hemsworth (born 11 August 1983) is an Australian actor. He rose to prominence playing Kim Hyde in the Australian television series ''Home and Away'' (2004–2007) before beginning a film career in Hollywood. In the Marvel Cinemati ...
, appearing in ''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 ...
'', '' The Avengers'', '' Thor: The Dark World'', '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'', ''Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...
'', ''Team Thor
''Team Thor'' is a series of American direct-to-video mockumentary short films produced by Marvel Studios, featuring characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Initially released from 2016 to 2018, they were included as special featu ...
'', '' Thor: Ragnarok'', '' Avengers: Infinity War'', '' Avengers: Endgame'' and '' Thor: Love and Thunder''. Thor has also been featured in comic books by other publishers. In the Savage Dragon
The Savage Dragon is a fictional superhero created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic features the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon. The character first appeared ...
comics, Thor is portrayed as a villain. In Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...
's ''Sandman
The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes.
Representation in traditional folklore
The Sandman is a traditional charact ...
'' comic, Thor is portrayed as a buffoon who wields a tiny toffee hammer.
First described in 2013, Thor's hero shrew
Thor's hero shrew (''Scutisorex thori'') is an extant species of shrew native to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It and its sister species, the hero shrew (''Scutisorex somereni''), are the only mammal species known to have interlocking ver ...
(''Scutisorex thori'') is a species of shrew
Shrews (family Soricidae) are small mole-like mammals classified in the order Eulipotyphla. True shrews are not to be confused with treeshrews, otter shrews, elephant shrews, West Indies shrews, or marsupial shrews, which belong to different fa ...
native to the Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
. It and its sister species
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree.
Definition
The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram:
Taxon A and t ...
, the hero shrew
The hero shrew (''Scutisorex somereni''), also known as the armored shrew, is a large shrew native to the Congo Basin of Africa. Its features are typical of a white-toothed shrew − short legs, slender snout, dense fur − except for a highly u ...
(''Scutisorex somereni''), are the only mammal species known to have interlocking vertebrae
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic i ...
.[Johnson (2013).] The team named the shrew after Thor due to the god's association with strength.
From 2015 to 2017, a fictionalised version of Thor was a supporting character in ''Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard
''Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels written by American author Rick Riordan with the subject of Norse mythology and published by Disney- Hyperion. It is based on Norse mythology and is set in the same unive ...
'', a trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...
of fantasy novels
Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fa ...
written by American author Rick Riordan
Richard Russell Riordan Junior (; born June 5, 1964) is an American author, best known for writing the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. Riordan's books have been translated into forty-two languages and sold more than thirty million co ...
and published by Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
- Hyperion, set in the same fictional universe
A fictional universe, or fictional world, is a self-consistent setting with events, and often other elements, that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed, or fictional realm (or world). Fictional universes may ...
as the ''Camp Half-Blood Chronicles
''Camp Half-Blood Chronicles'' is a media franchise created by author Rick Riordan, encompassing three five-part novel series, two short-story collections, two myth anthology books, a stand-alone short story, three crossover short stories, an es ...
'', and ''The Kane Chronicles
''The Kane Chronicles'' is a trilogy of Adventure novel, adventure and Egyptian mythology, Egyptian Mythic fiction, mythological fiction books written by American author Rick Riordan. The series is set in the same universe as Riordan's other fra ...
'' series by the same author. Neil Gaiman's books ''American Gods
''American Gods'' (2001) is a fantasy novel by British author Neil Gaiman. The novel is a blend of Americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on the mysterious and taciturn Shadow.
The book was pub ...
'' and ''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 ...
'' also feature Thor.
In January 2020, the streaming service Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
produced ''Ragnarok''. In the show, a high school student, Magne Seier, receives Thor's powers and abilities to fight the giants that are polluting Norway and murdering people. Netflix released the second season on 27 May 2021. Thor/Magne is portrayed by David Stakston.
Thor is also featured in a number of video games. In the 2002 Ensemble Studios
Ensemble Studios was an American video game developer. It was founded by Tony Goodman in 1994 and incorporated the following year. It borrowed the name of Ensemble Corporation, a consulting firm founded by Goodman in 1990. It was acquired by M ...
game ''Age of Mythology
''Age of Mythology'' (''AoM'') is a real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on October 30, 2002, in North America and a week later in Europe.
A spin-off from the '' ...
'', Thor is one of three major gods Norse players can worship. In Santa Monica Studio
Santa Monica Studio is an American video game developer based in Los Angeles. A First-party developer, first-party studio for Sony Interactive Entertainment, it is best known for developing the ''God of War (franchise), God of War'' series. Th ...
's 2018 video game ''God of War
A war god in mythology associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in both monotheistic and polytheistic religions.
Unlike most gods and goddesses in polytheistic religions, monotheistic deities have traditionally been po ...
'', Thor is mentioned throughout and his sons Magni and Modi are secondary antagonists. Thor makes an appearance at the end of the main storyline if certain difficulty conditions are met by the player. He makes a much more substantial appearance in the game's 2022 sequel ''God of War Ragnarök
''God of War Ragnarök'' is an action-adventure game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was released worldwide on November 9, 2022, for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, marking the first cros ...
'' as a primary antagonist, played by Ryan Hurst
Ryan Douglas Hurst (born June 19, 1976) is an American actor, known for his roles as Gerry Bertier in ''Remember the Titans'' (2000), Sgt. Ernie Savage in ''We Were Soldiers'' (2002), Tom Clarke in '' Taken'' (2002), Opie Winston in the FX dram ...
. Thor is also mentioned in Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', '' ...
's 2020 game ''Assassin's Creed Valhalla
''Assassin's Creed Valhalla'' is a 2020 action role-playing video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the twelfth major installment in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, and the successor to 2018's ''Assassin's Creed ...
'', where items of his such as Mjölnir can be found and used by the player in combat. Thor is also one of the playable gods in the third-person multiplayer online battle arena
Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is a subgenre of strategy video games in which two teams of players compete against each other on a predefined battlefield. Each player controls a single character with a set of distinctive abilities that im ...
game ''Smite
''Smite'' is a 2014 free-to-play, third-person multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game developed and published by Hi-Rez Studios for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch, and Amazon Luna.[List of Germanic deities
In Germanic paganism, the indigenous religion of the ancient Germanic peoples who inhabited Germanic Europe, there were a number of different gods and goddesses. Germanic deities are attested from numerous sources, including works of literature, ...]
*Hercules Magusanus
Hercules Magusanus is a Romano-Germanic deity or hero worshipped during the early first millennium AD in the Lower Rhine region among the Batavi, Marsaci, Ubii, Cugerni, Baetasii, and probably among the Tungri.
Name Attestations
The name i ...
*Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D ...
*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 ...
*Perun
In Slavic mythology, Perun (Cyrillic: Перýн) is the highest god of the pantheon and the god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility and oak trees. His other attributes were fire, mountains, wind, iris, eagle, firmam ...
*Axe of Perun
An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many for ...
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
* Chrisholm, Hugh (Editor) (1910
''Encyclopædia Britannica'', vol. 9
The Encyclopædia Britannica Co.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* De Vries, Jan (1957). ''Altgermanische Religionsgeschichte'' Volume 2. 2nd ed. (repr. 1970). Grundriß der germanischen Philologie, Volume 12/II. De Gruyter.
*
*
External links
MyNDIR (My Norse Digital Image Repository)
Illustrations of from manuscripts and early print books. Clicking on a thumbnail brings up the full image and information concerning it.
{{Authority control
Æsir
Germanic gods
Heroes in Norse myths and legends
Sky and weather gods
Sons of Odin
Thunder gods
Jovian deities
Dragonslayers
Killed deities
Norse gods